USC Trojans vs UCLA Bruins Prediction, 1/5/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: USC Trojans vs UCLA Bruins

Date: Thursday, January 5, 2023

Location: Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA

TV: ESPN

The USC Trojans (11-4) are en route to Pauley Pavilion on Thursday where they will attempt to defeat the UCLA Bruins (13-2).

The USC Trojans stepped onto the hardwood against Washington State and took a loss by a final of 81-71 in their last game. When it comes to fouls, the Trojans walked away with 21 and Washington State recorded 14 fouls. They also converted 14 out of their 29 attempts from long range. Washington State finished 65.0% at the free throw line by knocking down 13 of their 20 shots. On top of that, Washington State had 28 rebounds (7 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Washington State doled out 16 dimes and had 6 steals for the game. In regard to defense, USC allowed the other team to go 49.1% from the field on 27 out of 55 shooting. They also doled out 9 assists in the matchup while forcing 5 turnovers and getting 4 steals. With regard to rebounding, they earned 40 with 16 of them being offensive. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Trojans made 12 of their 16 shots for a percentage of 75.0%. USC wrapped up the contest having earned a 43.1% field goal percentage (28 of 65) and buried 3 out of their 18 3-point shots.

Drew Peterson is one guy who played a role for this game. He ended up finishing with 16 points on 7 of 16 shooting. He played 37 minutes and also pulled down 8 boards. He walked away from this one shooting 43.8% from the field and dished out 1 assist.

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USC heads into this one with a win-loss mark of 11-4 this year. They have an average of 72.3 pts per game (177th in the country) on 46.0% from the field. The Trojans are connecting on 32.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (87 of 269) and 71.3% from the free throw line. As a team, USC is pulling in 36.3 rebounds per game and is sitting with 212 assists for the year, which is 111th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They lose possession via turnover 14.1 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 16.9 fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Trojans have forced 13.1 turnovers per game and they draw 18.4 personal fouls. They currently rank 231st in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 191 surrendered on the campaign. The Trojans defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 38.2% (346 of 905) and they concede 36.0 boards per contest as a unit. They are conceding 32.9% on shots from distance and they rank 123rd in college hoops in points per game allowed (66.7).

The last time they took the hardwood, the UCLA Bruins went home victorious with a score of 74-49 when they played Washington. The Bruins were able to pull down 24 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards for a total of 32 for the game. They also gave up possession 7 times, while getting 5 steals in the game. Washington committed 13 personal fouls in this game which took the Bruins to the charity stripe for 8 shots. They were able to make 7 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 87.5%. When it comes to shooting from distance, UCLA made 9 out of their 23 attempts (39.1%). When the final whistle blew, the Bruins finished the game shooting 29 for 64 from the field which had them shooting 45.3%. The Bruins permitted Washington to convert 19 out of their 55 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 34.5% for this contest. They wrapped up this game 8.0% from 3-point land by shooting 2 of 25 and finished the game at 9 out of 16 from the charity stripe (56.3%). In reference to how they cleaned up the glass, UCLA allowed Washington to collect 31 in all (7 on the offensive glass).

Adem Bona was important for the Bruins for the contest. He converted 8 out of 10 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 80.0%, and tallied 2 rebounds. He tallied 18 points in his 26 mins of playing time, but went home with no dimes.

UCLA has a record of 13-2 so far this year. The Bruins are committing 15.4 personal fouls per game and they go 74.4% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 15.5 times per game (64th in college basketball) and they turn it over 9.7 times per contest. UCLA has totaled 1,185 pts this year (79.0 per contest) and they pull in 35.1 boards per game. As an offensive unit, the Bruins are hitting on 48.8% from the floor, which has them ranked 28th in the country.

The Bruins defensively are ranked 27th in the country in points given up per game with 61.0. They are forcing 17.1 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 41.3% from the floor (99th in the nation). The UCLA defense surrenders 29.4% on three-point shots (100 of 340) and their opponents are making 65.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 12.0 assists and 32.7 total boards per game, which ranks 144th and 98th in college basketball.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take UCLA and under the total points

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