USC Trojans vs Washington State Cougars Prediction, 2/29/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: USC Trojans vs Washington State Cougars

Date: Thursday, February 29, 2024

Location: Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, WA

TV: PAC12

The USC Trojans (11-16) are headed to Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum on Thursday where they will play the Washington State Cougars (21-7).

The USC Trojans faced UCLA and walked away with a win by a score of 62-56 in their last contest. USC ended the game having earned a 44.0% FG percentage (22 of 50) and knocked down 8 of 18 three-point shots. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Trojans made 10 of 20 attempts for a percentage of 50.0%. In terms of pulling down boards, they earned 23 with 6 of them being offensive. They also distributed 11 assists for this contest while forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and getting 12 steals. Concerning the defense, USC allowed their opponent to shoot 33.3% from the field on 18 out of 54 shooting. UCLA totaled 9 dimes and had 6 steals in the game. In addition, UCLA had 29 boards (8 offensive, 21 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. UCLA went 88.9% from the charity stripe by converting 16 of their 18 attempts. They converted 4 of 19 attempts from three-point range. In regard to personal fouls, the Trojans walked away with 18 and UCLA accumulated 19 personal fouls.

Boogie Ellis is one guy who came through for the matchup. He finished with 24 points on 9 of 18 shooting. He played for 37 minutes and pulled down 5 rebounds. He ended up going 50.0% from the floor and totaled 2 assists.

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USC will enter this contest with a mark of 11-16 on the season. They are losing possession via turnover 12.7 times per game and as a unit they commit 16.9 personal fouls every game. As a unit, USC is collecting 34.9 rebounds per game and is sitting with 430 dimes on the year, which has them ranked 63rd in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Trojans are shooting 35.1% on shots from distance (209 of 596) and 68.0% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 74.2 pts per contest (167th in the country) while hitting 44.6% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Trojans are forcing their opponents into 13.4 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.3 personal fouls. They are giving up 36.2% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 267th in college hoops in points per game allowed (74.8). The Trojans defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 42.8% (704 of 1,645) and they concede 37.0 boards per contest as a basketball team. They currently rank 322nd in the nation in allowing assists to the opposition with 418 surrendered on the year.

When they last played, the Washington State Cougars took a loss by a score of 73-61 when they played Arizona State. The Cougars recorded 20 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive rebounds totaling 33 for the contest. They turned the ball over 11 times, while getting 5 steals for this contest. Arizona State committed 13 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 12 attempts. They were able to knock down 10 of them for a clip of 83.3%. Regarding three-point attempts, Washington State knocked down 3 out of 18 tries (16.7%). When this game wrapped up, the Cougars shot 24 for 61 from the floor which had them shooting 39.3%. The Cougars permitted Arizona State to make 29 of their 59 attempts from the field which had them shooting 49.2% in the matchup. They went 42.9% from 3-point land by going 6 of 14 and walked away from this one shooting 9 out of 11 from the free throw line (81.8%). In the matter of how they rebounded, Washington State allowed Arizona State to snag 35 in total (11 offensive).

Isaac Jones pitched in for the Cougars for this game. He converted 6 out of 11 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 54.5%, and had 11 rebounds. He had 16 points in his 32 minutes on the hardwood and earned 3 dimes for this game.

Washington State has a mark of 21-7 on the campaign. As an offensive unit, the Cougars are hitting on 47.0% from the floor, which has them ranked 54th in D-1. Washington State has totaled 2,101 points for the year (75.0 per game) and they snag 37.8 boards per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 12.5 times per contest (240th in D-1) and they lose possession via turnover 10.5 times per game. The Cougars are committing 17.2 personal fouls every game while shooting 70.6% from the charity stripe.

The Washington State defense allows 32.4% from downtown (165 of 510) and their opposition makes 74.9% of their foul shots. They have relinquished 10.6 assists and 32.3 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 24th and 49th in Division 1. The Cougars on the defensive end are ranked 53rd in D-1 in points given up per game with 67.0. They are forcing their opponents into 10.6 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 41.2% from the field (53rd in the nation).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Washington State

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