USC Trojans vs California Golden Bears Prediction, 1/6/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: USC Trojans vs California Golden Bears

Date: Thursday, January 6, 2022

Location: Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, CA

TV: FS1

The California Golden Bears (9-5) host the USC Trojans (12-0) at Haas Pavilion on Thursday.

The USC Trojans took the court against Georgia Tech and earned the victory with a final of 67-53 in their last contest. In the matter of fouls, the Trojans finished with 7 and Georgia Tech accounted for 16 fouls. They also made 5 of 19 attempts from 3-point range. Georgia Tech finished the contest at 66.7% from the charity stripe by knocking down 6 of 9 tries. Moreover, Georgia Tech pulled down 31 rebounds (9 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Georgia Tech earned 5 assists and had 7 steals for this contest. In relation to defense, USC allowed their opponent to shoot 32.8% from the floor on 21 out of 64 shooting. They also dished out 13 assists for this game in addition to creating 7 turnovers and earning 1 steal. Pertaining to grabbing boards, they earned 38 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. At the free throw line, the Trojans made 8 of 13 attempts for a rate of 61.5%. USC walked away from the contest having earned a 48.1% field goal percentage (25 out of 52) and converted 9 out of their 19 shots from beyond the arc.

Chevez Goodwin is a player who played a role for this game. He ended up shooting 57.1% from the floor and totaled 1 assist. He saw the court for 27 mins played and grabbed 8 rebounds. He ended up with 13 points on 4 of 7 shooting.

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USC comes into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 12-0 for the campaign. They turn the ball over 10.7 times per game and as a unit they commit 14.0 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, USC is pulling in 42.8 rebounds per contest and has racked up 192 assists on the year, which has them ranked 119th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Trojans are connecting on 35.2% from downtown (77 of 219) and 58.4% from the free throw line. They average 75.9 points per contest (99th in the country) while connecting on 48.8% from the field.

Defensively, the Trojans are forcing their opponents into 10.0 turnovers per game while drawing 16.1 personal fouls. They rank 28th in college basketball in allowing assists with 121 surrendered on the year. The Trojans are giving up a shooting percentage of 35.2% (269 of 764) and they relinquish 34.9 boards per game as a group. They surrender 27.4% from 3-point land and they are 30th in college hoops in points per game allowed (60.7).

The last time they took the hardwood, the California Golden Bears walked away with a victory by a final of 74-50 when they faced Arizona State. The Golden Bears were able to collect 30 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds totaling 34 for this game. They also coughed up the ball 9 times, while earning 4 steals in this game. Arizona State earned 18 personal fouls in this contest which got the Golden Bears to the free throw line for 17 attempts. They were able to make 11 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 64.7%. In terms of shooting from downtown, California buried 9 of 19 tries (47.4%). When all was said and done, the Golden Bears shot 27 out of 53 from the field which gave them a rate of 50.9%. The Golden Bears permitted Arizona State to make 19 out of 58 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 32.8% for the contest. They finished shooting 17.6% from three-point range by shooting 3 out of 17 and finished the contest at 9 out of 11 at the charity stripe (81.8%). In the matter of cleaning the glass, California allowed Arizona State to get 31 in all (7 offensive).

Jordan Shepherd was important for the Golden Bears in this contest. He converted 3 out of 8 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 37.5%, and added 1 rebound. He accumulated 16 points in his 29 mins of playing time and had 4 dimes for this game.

California has a mark of 9-5 so far this season. The Golden Bears are responsible for committing 15.4 fouls per game while shooting 71.7% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 10.9 times per game (318th in college basketball) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.1 times per game. California has tallied 936 pts on the season (66.9 per game) and they pull in 37.6 rebounds per contest. In terms of offensive execution, the Golden Bears are hitting on 44.7% from the floor, which is 164th in the nation.

The California defense gives up 30.0% on shots from distance (88 of 293) and opponents are making 75.2% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 9.4 dimes and 32.4 boards per game, which ranks them 12th and 80th in those defensive categories. The Golden Bears on the defensive end are ranked 40th in the nation in points allowed per game with 61.6. They are forcing 10.1 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 39.1% from the floor (44th in college hoops).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take USC

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