UCLA Bruins at USC Trojans Betting Preview

The Pac-12 will be on full display on Saturday as the No. 12 UCLA Bruins (17-4, 9-3 in Pac-12) take on the No. 21 USC Trojans (20-4, 9-4 in Pac-12). The Trojans will host this one at the Galen Center, with tipoff scheduled for 10:00 pm ET.
This will be the first of two matchups between the two teams as they play again in their regular-season finale.
After losing back-to-back games, UCLA bounced back with a 79-70 road victory over Stanford on Tuesday.
In the win, Johnny Juzang had a game-high 23 points. Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr. also played well as they added 14 points apiece.
The USC Trojans were also able to bounce back from a tough 72-63 loss against No. 4 Arizona by taking down Pacific 74-68 at home on Tuesday.
Boogie Ellis led the Trojans with 13 points, while Chevez Goodwin and Drew Peterson added 12 points each.
UCLA is the slight favorite despite playing on the road. They are -126 to win while the Trojans’ moneyline sits at +105. The spread features USC +2 (-114), and the over/under for total points is 137.
More Odds
The Bruins currently hold the ninth-best odds of winning the National Championship this season at +2000. USC comes in at +8000 to win it all.
By The Numbers
UCLA has been the better of the two teams offensively. They rank 25th in the nation in scoring, averaging 77.8 points per game (70.1 on the road). USC ranks 92nd, averaging 73.3 points per game (78.4 at home).
Defensively, USC holds the advantage. They rank 32nd in scoring defense as they are allowing opponents just 63.6 points per game (66.2 at home). UCLA ranks 72nd, allowing 65.9 points.
UCLA Looks To Keep Pace In Pac-12
Given that UCLA split with Arizona in their season series, the Bruins would love nothing more than to keep pressure on Arizona by picking up another conference win Saturday. To do so, they will have to take down a tough USC team on the road.
This season, junior guard Johnny Juzang has been outstanding. He is averaging 18.1 points on 45.5% shooting. He is also chipping in 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
The Bruins are deep as they have three others averaging in double digits too. Jaime Jaquez Jr (13.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals), Jules Bernard (12.8 points, 5.1 rebounds), and Tyger Campbell (11.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.2 steals) have been solid.
Trojans Trying To Stay Solid At Home
It has been a fantastic season thus far for USC, and the Trojans will hope to use their home court advantage, where they are 10-2, to pick up a big win over their rivals at UCLA.
Junior forward Isaiah Mobley has paced the Trojans on the offensive side. He is averaging 14.7 points while also producing 8.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and a block per game.
Other major contributors for USC include Boogie Ellis (12.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists), Chevez Goodwin (11.9 points, 6.8 rebounds), and Drew Peterson (10.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists).
Take USC And The Points
This is an interesting matchup as both teams are solid at both ends of the floor, and both teams take care of the ball. USC would prefer for this to be a slower, halfcourt battle. If they can slow the momentum and pound the ball inside, the Trojans could pick up the home win.
At the very least, this one will likely stay close throughout. For that reason, take the points. In this case, that means taking USC +2.