Auburn Tigers vs USC Trojans Prediction, 12/18/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Auburn Tigers vs USC Trojans

Date: Sunday, December 18, 2022

Location: Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: ESPN

The Auburn Tigers (9-1) are en route to Galen Center on Sunday where they will meet the USC Trojans (8-3).

The Auburn Tigers took the court against Georgia State and took a loss by a score of 82-72 in their last game. Auburn walked away from the contest having earned a 51.0% FG percentage (25 of 49) and buried 3 of their 12 shots from downtown. From the charity stripe, the Tigers buried 19 of 30 tries for a rate of 63.3%. Concerning grabbing boards, they earned 26 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 12 dimes in this game in addition to forcing the other team into 19 turnovers and getting 9 steals. With respect to defending, Auburn allowed 50.0% from the floor on 30 of 60 shooting. Georgia State dished out 14 assists and had 9 steals in this game. Furthermore, Georgia State grabbed 40 boards (13 offensive, 27 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Georgia State walked away from this one shooting 72.0% at the free throw line by making 18 of 25 attempts. They made 4 out of their 11 attempts from 3-point range. With respect to fouls, the Tigers ended up finishing with 17 while Georgia State recorded 23 fouls.

Jaylin Williams is a guy who came through in this contest. He scored 20 points on 8 of 11 shooting. He saw the court for 27 minutes and also collected 8 boards. He went 72.7% from the floor and also earned 1 assist.

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Auburn will play this game with a record of 9-1 this season. They lose possession by turning the ball over 13.1 times per contest and as a team they commit 18.7 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Auburn is pulling in 39.4 boards per contest and has 133 dimes so far this year, which is 243rd in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Tigers are hitting 28.3% on shots from downtown (60 of 212) and 66.2% from the free throw line. They are averaging 72.9 pts per game (171st in D-1) while connecting on 43.4% from the field.

Defensively, the Tigers are forcing 14.9 turnovers per game and they draw 19.3 personal fouls. They are giving up 27.1% on shots from distance and they rank 34th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (61.0). The Tigers are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 38.3% (227 of 592) and they surrender 36.2 rebounds per game as a squad. They rank 36th in D-1 in giving up assists with 100 conceded for the campaign.

When they last stepped on the court, the USC Trojans walked away with a victory by a final of 88-50 against Long Beach State. When it comes to cleaning up the glass, USC allowed Long Beach State to grab 37 overall (12 on the offensive side). They finished 27.3% from distance by connecting on 6 of 22 and finished the game at 6 of 10 at the charity stripe (60.0%). The Trojans allowed Long Beach State to bury 19 of 58 attempts from the floor which had them at 32.8% for the game. At the conclusion of this game, the Trojans shot 32 for 65 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 49.2%. In regard to shooting from distance, USC converted 11 of 25 attempts (44.0%). They were able to make 13 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 68.4%. Long Beach State committed 14 fouls for the game which took the Trojans to the charity stripe for a total of 19 attempts. They gave up possession of the ball 10 times, while getting 7 steals for this contest. The Trojans collected 21 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 31 for this contest.

Reese Waters was important for the Trojans in this matchup. He buried 8 of 12 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 66.7%, and accounted for 3 rebounds. He earned 20 points in his 26 minutes of playing time and earned 4 dimes for the contest.

USC has a win-loss record of 8-3 on the year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Trojans are shooting 45.7% from the field, which ranks 139th in the country. USC has tallied 787 pts on the campaign (71.5 per game) and they grab 36.5 boards per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.8 times per game (104th in the nation) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 13.7 times per game. The Trojans are committing 16.5 fouls every game and they connect on 69.6% from the free throw line.

The Trojans on the defensive side of the court are 91st in the nation in points allowed per contest with 65.2. They are able to force 12.5 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 37.4% from the floor (16th in college basketball). The USC defense allows 32.5% on three-point shots (78 of 240) and opponents are knocking down 70.9% of their free throw attempts. They have conceded 12.1 dimes and 38.1 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 159th and 329th in Division 1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Auburn

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