#20 Southern Cal vs Washington Road to March Madness

While the University of Washington is playing out the string on a very disappointing season, No. 20 Southern Cal will be an NCAA Tournament team and is battling rival UCLA for the Pac-12 title. The Trojans will be favored at Washington on the NCAAB odds for Thursday’s matchup.

How to Bet USC at Washington NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 10 PM ET
Where: Alaska Airlines Arena
TV: Pac-12 Network
Stream: Pac-12 Network Live
Radio:com
Opening NCAAB Lines: TBA (USC will be favored)

Last Meeting

On Jan. 14, USC hosted Washington and rolled to a 95-68 win. Trojans freshman star Evan Mobley had 17 points and older brother Isaiah had 18. The Trojans jumped on the Huskies from the opening tip, scoring seven straight points. The Mobleys dominated an early stretch, combining for 12 consecutive points that gave USC a 22-8 lead. The Trojans made their first seven shots, while holding the Huskies to a 3 for 13 start. USC led by 21 at halftime. The Huskies were limited to 23 points in the half while shooting 25% and committing 10 of their 16 turnovers.

Why Bet on USC? | 2021 NCAA Basketball Expert Analysis

Southern Cal (15-3) won its fourth in a row Saturday, 66-48 over then-No. 21 UCLA in a huge game for the Pac-12 regular-season title. UCLA’s frontline took a hit before the game when big men Cody Riley (right ankle) and Jalen Hill (personal reasons) were declared out. Between them, they average 17 points and 12 rebounds.

“You’re not winning games scoring 48 points,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “We didn’t come close to making enough (shots) to give ourselves a chance against a good team. They’re a team that, in my mind, easily could have one loss.”

Ethan Anderson had career highs of five 3-pointers and 19 points for USC. Tahj Eaddy added 16 points for the Trojans. Freshman big man Evan Mobley, the league’s leading rebounder, had nine rebounds and older brother Isaiah Mobley grabbed 11.

USC outscored UCLA 36-28 in the second half. USC has outscored the opposition in the second half in all but two games this season (Montana and Washington State). USC has outscored the opposition by 124 points in the 18 games (6.9 points per game).

USC has won 10 of 11 games with the lone loss being a 58-56 setback at Oregon State on Jan. 19.  The 48 points that UCLA scored were a season low and its fewest in a game against USC since falling 67-46 at Pauley Pavilion on Jan. 16, 2010.

“It was a good win. UCLA is an excellent offensive team and to hold them to 48 points is a credit to our players. They challenged most shots and stayed focused on the game plan,” USC coach Andy Enfield said.

Why Bet on Washington? | 2021 NCAA Basketball Expert Analysis

Washington (3-14) lost its third in a row Saturday, 86-74 at Oregon even though Ducks leading scorer Chris Duarte (17.8 points per game) sat out after injuring his right ankle in the previous game. The Ducks were also without starting forward Eric Williams (12.3) because of COVID-19 protocols.

Both teams shot around 50% but the Ducks outrebounded Washington 32-20 including plus-7 on the offensive boards. Oregon maintained a double-digit lead in the second half and built a 20-point bulge with 11 minutes remaining. Washington ran off 10 straight points to get within 11 with four minutes left but the Ducks responded with an 8-0 run that ended with a pair of free throws.

Quade Green had 23 points for the Huskies. Marcus Tsohonis added 15 points and Nate Roberts 13 for Washington, which is 2-10 in the conference. Green is a very good player but he’s about all UW has. He now has 10 20-point games in his 32-game UW career.

Roberts is currently seventh in the league in rebounding, averaging 6.6 per game overall and is sixth in Pac-12 games pulling down 6.8 per night. Junior Jamal Bey is currently second in the league in 3-point FG percentage at 52.6 percent and is third in Pac-12 games in shooting 53.3 percent. From 3-point range, UW has been shooting 41.8 percent over the last eight outings compared to its season percentage of 32.2.

Regarding this game, the Dawgs have 1,018 wins inside Alaska Airlines Arena. Washington’s 1,018 wins are the most by any Division I team at its current home arena. The Huskies started playing in their arena on Dec. 27, 1927.