USC Trojans vs UCLA Bruins Prediction, 2/24/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: USC Trojans vs UCLA Bruins

Date: Saturday, February 24, 2024

Location: Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA

TV: ESPN+

The UCLA Bruins (14-12) will try to defeat the USC Trojans (10-16) at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday.

The USC Trojans faced Colorado and took a loss by a final of 92-89 in their last game. When talking about personal fouls, the Trojans ended up finishing with 18 and Colorado totaled 15 personal fouls. They also buried 9 out of their 20 shots from beyond the arc. Colorado finished the contest at 72.4% when shooting free throws by making 21 of 29 tries. Furthermore, Colorado pulled down 42 boards (11 offensive, 31 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Colorado totaled 15 dimes and had 5 steals in this matchup. Pertaining to the defense, USC allowed their opponent to shoot 52.5% from the field on 31 of 59 shooting. They also doled out 22 dimes for the contest as well as forcing 20 turnovers and getting 11 steals. When talking about pulling down boards, they collected 20 with 6 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Trojans buried 12 of their 17 tries for a rate of 70.6%. USC ended the contest with a 46.6% field goal percentage (34 of 73) and made 9 of their 21 shots from distance.

Boogie Ellis is someone who was important in this matchup. He shot 52.6% from the floor and also dished out 5 assists. He played 47 minutes and also collected 4 rebounds. He scored 30 points on 10 out of 19 shooting.

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USC enters this game with a win-loss record of 10-16 for the year. They average 74.7 points per outing (158th in Division 1) while connecting on 44.6% from the field. The Trojans are connecting on 34.8% on shots from downtown (201 of 578) and 68.7% from the free throw line. As a unit, USC is grabbing 35.1 rebounds per game and has 419 dimes so far this season, which ranks 45th in the country in terms of passing. They lose possession via turnover 12.7 times per contest and as a group they are committing 16.8 fouls per contest.

On the defensive end, the Trojans are able to force 13.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.2 fouls. They give up 36.6% on shots from distance and they are 284th in the nation in points per game allowed (75.5). The Trojans are giving up a FG percentage of 43.1% (686 of 1,591) and they relinquish 37.1 rebounds per contest as a squad. They are currently ranked 338th in Division 1 in giving up assists with 409 surrendered for the year.

In their last game, the UCLA Bruins took a defeat with a final score of 70-69 when they faced Utah. The Bruins snagged 21 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 32 for this game. They also gave up possession of the ball 4 times, while earning 2 steals in this contest. Utah committed 18 personal fouls for this game which took the Bruins to the charity stripe for a total of 15 tries. They were able to knock down 14 of the free throws for a clip of 93.3%. In relation to shots from distance, UCLA converted 5 of their 21 tries (23.8%). When this game wrapped up, the Bruins walked away from this one shooting 25 out of 63 from the floor which gave them a rate of 39.7%. The Bruins allowed Utah to make 24 of 57 tries from the floor which had them shooting 42.1% in the game. They wrapped up this game 32.1% from downtown by shooting 9 out of 28 and finished the contest at 13 out of 18 at the free throw line (72.2%). In regard to team rebounding, UCLA permitted Utah to snag 32 in all (7 offensive).

Lazar Stefanovic pitched in for the Bruins in this matchup. He scored 19 points in his 40 minutes on the hardwood and had 3 assists in this contest. He made 5 out of 13 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 38.5%, and had 8 rebounds.

UCLA has a win-loss mark of 14-12 so far this season. The Bruins are committing 18.2 fouls per game and they hit 72.4% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 11.2 times per game (318th in college basketball) and they lose possession via turnover 11.0 times per game. UCLA has totaled 1,722 points for the season (66.2 per game) and they collect 34.8 boards per game. As an offense, the Bruins are connecting on 41.7% from the floor, which ranks 317th in college basketball.

The UCLA defense gives up 32.2% on three-point shots (194 of 603) and opponents are connecting on 70.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 10.8 dimes and 32.0 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks 30th and 44th in the country. The Bruins are ranked 16th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 64.1. They are forcing 12.2 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 41.5% from the floor (63rd in college basketball).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take UCLA

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