USC Vs Providence Odds, Expert Pick & TV Info

The Providence Friars will look to duplicate their March Madness win from a year ago over the USC Trojans when the two longshot NCAA championship hopefuls square off in their First Four matchup on Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio. Providence bounced the Trojans out of the 2016 NCAA Tournament 70-69 in a first-round game last season as Rodney Bullock drained a basket with 1.5 seconds remaining to lift the Friars to victory. Now the two will square off as 11 seeds for the right to face sixth-seeded SMU in Tulsa on Friday. Now, let’s find out where the March Madness picks value in this matchup lies.

Here’s A Closer Look At The Trojans Vs Friars Odds, Expert Pick & TV Info

When: Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at 9:10 PM ET Where: University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio TV: truTV Live Stream: NCAA Live NCAAB Odds: USC vs. Providence Pk     The Friars and Trojans are a pick ‘em in their first round pairing which gets underway on Wednesday, March 15 at 9:10 PM ET, live from the University of Dayton Arena while airing live on TruTV.

Why Bet The USC Trojans as a Pick ‘Em

The Trojans (24-9 SU, 16-16 ATS) had their modest three-game winning streak snapped in their heartbreaking 76-74 Pac-12 tournament loss to rival UCLA on Thursday to fall to an uninspiring 3-5 over their last eight games. Still, USC is averaging an impressive 78.7 points per game (56th) on 45.4 percent shooting from the field (123rd) and 36.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc (115th). Bennie Boatwright (14.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg) leads the Trojans in scoring while Chimezie Metu contributes 14.5 points per contest. Jordan McLaughlin (13.1 ppg) and Elijah Stewart (12.4 ppg) also average double figures for USC, even though the Trojans have been mediocre at best in allowing 73.2 points per game to rank 211th in points allowed defensively.

Why Bet The Providence Friars as a Pick ‘Em

Providence (20-12 SU, 20-12 ATS) had their impressive six-game winning streak halted in their 70-58 Big East tournament loss to Creighton on Thursday but played excellent basketball down the stretch to reach March Madness for the fourth straight season. The Friars average a modest 70.2 points per game to rank 248th in scoring while shooting 44.7 percent from the field (157th) and 36.8 percent from beyond the arc (90th). Defensively, the Friars limit the opposition to just 66.6 points per contest to rank a stellar 50th in points allowed while holding their opponents to 44.1 percent shooting from the field (195th) and just 32.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc (65th). Providence has three double-digit scorers on the roster in forward Rodney Bullock (15.7 points), frontcourt mate Emmitt Holt (12.4 ppg) and guard Kyron Cartwright (11.4 ppg, 6.7 apg) and Jalen Lindsey (10.2 ppg).

Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction

While I really like Providence’s defense, I’m going to advise you to go along with the 58 percent of public bettors that like the more offensively-explosive USC Trojans to win and cash in. USC has gone 4-1 in neutral site games this season and 6-5 in away games while Providence has gone 1-2 in three neutral site games this season and 4-7 on the road. I know Providence is 4-1 ATS in their last five games following a straight-up loss and a blistering 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games overall, but the Friars are also just 1-5 ATS in their last six NCAA Tournament games and will take on a USC ballclub that apparently likes playing on Tuesdays, seeing as how the Trojans are 6-1 ATS in the last seven Tuesday games. Providence won’t go easily into the night, but I do expect them to fall in a heartbreaker.

My final score prediction is USC 78, Providence 68