USC Trojans vs Colorado Buffaloes Prediction, 2/25/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: USC Trojans vs Colorado Buffaloes

Date: Thursday, February 25, 2021

Location: CU Events Center in Boulder, CO

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: USC (+2)

The Colorado Buffaloes (17-7) play the USC Trojans (19-4) at CU Events Center on Thursday. USC opens this game as 2-point underdogs. The O/U is set at 136.5.

USC heads into this matchup with a win-loss record of 19-4 for the campaign. The Trojans are connecting on 35.2% on shots from distance (149 of 423) and 64.8% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 75.7 points per outing (80th in the nation) while going 46.9% from the field. They lose possession via turnover 12.6 times per game and as a squad are committing 15.8 fouls per game. As a team, USC is grabbing 40.2 boards per game and has accounted for 329 assists on the season, which is 45th in D-1 in terms of passing. Defensively, the Trojans are forcing their opponents into 11.8 turnovers per game and they draw 19.4 personal fouls. The Trojans are giving up a field goal percentage of 38.6% (535 of 1,387) and they surrender 32.3 rebounds per game as a team. They are ranked 248th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 283 conceded for the campaign. They give up 32.0% on 3-point shots and they rank 42nd in college basketball in opponents PPG (64.1).

The USC Trojans stepped onto the hardwood against the Oregon Ducks and notched a win by a score of 72-58 in their last contest. USC ended the contest with a 49.1% field goal percentage (27 of 55) and made 10 out of their 21 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Trojans buried 8 of 13 attempts for a rate of 61.5%. In reference to grabbing boards, they earned 35 with 13 of them being offensive. They also doled out 17 assists in the game in addition to earning 4 steals and 2 blocks. With respect to the defense, USC allowed the other team to shoot 49.1% from the field on 27 out of 55 shooting. Oregon earned 10 assists and had 11 steals in the matchup. In addition, the Ducks had 25 rebounds (9 offensive, 16 defensive) and had 2 blocks. Oregon ended up shooting 55.6% when shooting free throws by burying 5 of their 9 tries. They also knocked down 7 of 17 shots from 3-point land.

Tahj Eaddy is one guy who was a major contributor in this matchup. He scored 24 points on 8 of 15 shooting. He played for 37 minutes and snagged 4 rebounds. Eaddy walked away from this one shooting 53.3% from the floor and earned 2 assists. One more player that was a major factor in this matchup for the Trojans was Evan Mobley. He collected 5 rebounds in 34 min on the hardwood. He ended up going 71.4% from the field for this game by connecting on 5-of-7 (11 points). When the final whistle was blown, Mobley had accumulated 2 assists.

Colorado has a win-loss record of 17-7 for the year. Colorado has tallied 1,765 pts on the campaign (73.5 per game) and they average 35.1 rebounds per game. The Buffaloes commit 16.5 fouls per game and they hit 82.7% from the charity stripe. In terms of offensive execution, the Buffaloes are connecting on 45.7% from the floor, which has them ranked 93rd in Division 1. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 13.7 times per contest (140th in the nation) and they are giving up possession 11.4 times per contest. The Buffaloes on the defensive end are ranked 27th in the country in points given up per game with 63.2. They relinquish 11.3 assists and 31.0 boards per game, which ranks them 61st and 31st in college hoops. The Colorado defense concedes 32.5% on three-point shots (149 of 459) and their opponents are knocking down 73.3% of their free throw shots. They have forced 13.5 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 41.7% from the floor (107th in college basketball).

When they last stepped on the court, the Colorado Buffaloes took home the win by a final score of 61-57 against the Oregon State Beavers. The Buffaloes snagged 25 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 32 in this matchup. They rejected 2 shots while recording 6 steals in the game. The Beavers had 17 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Buffaloes to the free throw line for a total of 22 shots. They were able to bury 19 of those for a rate of 86.4%. Regarding three-point attempts, Colorado made 4 of their 18 tries (22.2%). When all was said and done, the Buffaloes shot 19 out of 43 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 44.2%. The Buffaloes allowed the Beavers to make 21 out of their 58 tries from the floor which left them shooting 36.2% for this contest. They shot 27.3% from three-point range via 6 out of 22 and ended up going 9 out of 12 from the free throw line (75.0%). In reference to cleaning up the glass, Colorado allowed Oregon State to get 29 in all (12 on the offensive glass).

McKinley Wright ended up being a factor for the Buffaloes for this game. He buried 7 out of 12 for the contest for a field goal rate of 58.3%, and had 3 rebounds. Wright earned 21 points in his 36 minutes on the court and accounted for 3 dimes in this contest. Someone else that was important for Colorado was Evan Battey. He finished with 1 assist in 27 mins on the court, and he converted 3 out of 4 from the floor. Battey wrapped this one up going 75.0% from the floor as well as earning 10 points and 6 total rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take USC (+2)

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