Colorado Buffaloes vs USC Trojans Prediction, 12/31/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Colorado Buffaloes vs USC Trojans

Date: Thursday, December 31, 2020

Location: Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Colorado (+1.5)

The USC Trojans (5-1) play the Colorado Buffaloes (6-2) at Galen Center on Thursday. Colorado opens this contest as 1.5-point underdogs. The over/under is set at 140.

Colorado heads into this matchup with a mark of 6-2 on the season. The Buffaloes are hitting 38.8% on shots from 3-point land (66 of 170) and 85.4% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 77.4 points per outing (100th in college basketball) while shooting 46.2% from the floor. They are turning it over 11.5 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 17.0 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Colorado is snagging 36.3 rebounds per game and has tallied 122 assists on the season, which is 84th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. On the defensive end of the court, the Buffaloes are able to force 14.4 turnovers per game and they draw 18.3 personal fouls. The Buffaloes are giving up a shooting percentage of 39.9% (178 of 446) and they concede 31.1 boards per contest as a squad. They are ranked 218th in the country in giving up assists with 100 relinquished this season. They relinquish 31.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 31st in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (61.3).

The Colorado Buffaloes stepped onto the hardwood against the Arizona Wildcats and took a loss by a score of 88-74 in their last game. Colorado wrapped up the game with a 43.6% FG percentage (24 out of 55) and buried 12 of their 26 three-point attempts. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Buffaloes made 14 of 17 tries for a percentage of 82.4%. With respect to hauling in rebounds, they collected 28 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 14 assists in this matchup while having 5 steals and 2 blocks. In the matter of defending, Colorado let their opponent shoot 43.6% from the floor on 24 of 55 shooting. Arizona distributed 20 assists and had 4 steals in this game. Moreover, the Wildcats grabbed 29 rebounds (8 offensive, 21 defensive) and had 2 blocks. Arizona finished shooting 74.1% at the free throw line by knocking down 20 of 27 attempts. They made 8 out of their 17 shots from distance.

Evan Battey is a player who came through for the contest. He ended up scoring 18 points on 5 out of 8 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 21 mins and also pulled down 2 boards. Battey finished the contest at 62.5% from the field and earned 2 dimes. An additional guy that came through in this contest for the Buffaloes was Maddox Daniels. He snagged 2 rebounds and collected 2 dimes. He finished shooting 66.7% from the field in the matchup by going 4-of-6 (12 points). At the conclusion of this game, Daniels played for 18 minutes.

USC has a win-loss mark of 5-1 for the year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Trojans are hitting on 49.2% from the field, which ranks them 64th in Division 1. USC has 485 points this season (80.8 per game) and they collect 43.2 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 14.5 times per game (126th in the country) and they turn it over 12.7 times per game. The Trojans have committed 17.3 fouls per contest and they connect on 60.1% from the free throw line. The Trojans are ranked 61st in the country in points given up per game with 63.7. They are able to force 13.5 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 35.5% from the floor (6th in D-1). The USC defense allows 30.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter (44 of 143) and opponents are knocking down 65.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 11.5 dimes and 34.8 boards every game, which is 100th and 152nd in the nation.

For their last game, the USC Trojans got the win with a final of 86-63 when they played the Santa Clara Broncos. The Trojans earned 26 defensive boards and 15 offensive rebounds for a total of 41 in this matchup. They also stuffed 6 tries while getting 8 steals for the matchup. The Broncos had 18 fouls for this game which got the Trojans to the charity stripe for 19 shots. They were able to convert 11 of those for a clip of 57.9%. In the matter of three-point attempts, USC converted 7 out of their 14 tries (50.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Trojans finished the game shooting 34 out of 73 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.6%. The Trojans allowed the Broncos to bury 23 of 61 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 37.7% in this game. They went 11.8% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 2 out of 17 and finished the game at 15 of 24 at the charity stripe (62.5%). In the matter of how they rebounded, USC allowed Santa Clara to get 37 overall (11 on the offensive side).

Evan Mobley was important for the Trojans in this matchup. He converted 6 of 7 for the game for a field goal percentage of 85.7%, which gave him 17 points. Mobley collected 7 rebounds in his 26 mins and accounted for 2 dimes in this game. An additional guy that played a role for USC was Tahj Eaddy. He was able to score 13 points in 29 minutes on the court by way of 5 of 13 shooting in this matchup. Eaddy wrapped this one up going 38.5% from the field in addition to earning 2 assists and 6 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Colorado (+1.5)

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