The Arizona Wildcats (19-8, 9-5 Pac-12) visit the USC Trojans (19-9, 8-7) Thursday night in a Pac-12 battle at Galen Center. Tip-off is at 10 p.m. ET. We analyze the Arizona-USC odds and betting lines, with college basketball betting advice and tips around this matchup.
Arizona at USC: Three things you need to know
- USC heads into the game having lost two in a row and five of its last seven. Four of those defeats were on the road; at home, the Trojans are 11-2. Southern Cal did beat Arizona at the Galen Center a year ago (80-57) and has won six of the last nine home meetings against the Wildcats.
- Arizona has put together subpar performances against up-tempo teams who can drain mid-range jumpers and collect offensive boards at a sharp clip. USC only clicks in one of those areas; the Trojans are a top-75 team in the rebounding department. USC has averaged 10 offensive boards per game over its last five games.
- The Wildcats and Trojans met Feb. 6 in Tucson, and Arizona won 85-80. The Wildcats led throughout and at one point in the second half held a 20-point lead. USC gradually whittled away at the deficit the rest of the way. Arizona finished the contest plus-6 in rebounding margin (33-27) and plus-5 in turnover margin (6 to 11).
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Arizona at USC: Odds, betting lines and picks
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 3:45 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Arizona 69, USC 66
Moneyline (ML)
PASS on USC (+180).
Against the Spread (ATS)
The Trojans are 6-1 over their last seven games as an underdog. They are 10-3 ATS over their last 13 against teams playing better than .600 basketball, and the home team is 5-1 ATS over the last half-dozen USC-Arizona meetings. The lean is on USC but for some illness issues among a couple key players (see below).
PASS on USC (+5, -110).
Over/Under (O/U)
The Under is 4-1 in Arizona’s last five games as a favorite, 5-1 in the Trojans’ last six games following an ATS loss and 20-8 in USC’s last 28 games vs. a team with a winning percentage above .600. The Under is also 39-18-1 in the Trojans’ last 58 home games.
USC seniors Jonah Mathews (virus) and Nick Rakocevic (virus) had both been listed as questionable but were upgraded to probable this afternoon. They are two of the Trojans’ top players. One has to figure they may not be at full strength and may not factor into the final minutes of a game that gets away from USC. TAKE THE UNDER 139.5 (-115) as a strong play in this one.
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