Utah Utes vs USC Trojans Prediction, 2/15/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Utah Utes vs USC Trojans

Date: Thursday, February 15, 2024

Location: Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: FS1

The USC Trojans (9-15) will play the Utah Utes (15-9) at Galen Center on Thursday.

The Utah Utes stepped onto the hardwood against Arizona State and went home with a loss by a final score of 85-77 in their last game. Utah finished the contest having earned a 46.3% field goal percentage (31 of 67) and converted 9 out of their 32 three-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Utes converted 6 of their 13 attempts for a rate of 46.2%. In terms of pulling down rebounds, they collected a total of 37 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 22 assists in this matchup while creating 10 turnovers and earning 7 steals. Pertaining to defense, Utah allowed the other team to shoot 46.4% from the floor on 32 of 69 shooting. Arizona State doled out 13 dimes and had 10 steals for the game. Additionally, Arizona State totaled 32 rebounds (6 offensive, 26 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Arizona State finished the game shooting 73.3% at the charity stripe by burying 11 of their 15 tries. They converted 10 of 24 shots from beyond the arc. When discussing personal fouls, the Utes left the arena with 15 while Arizona State totaled 15 personal fouls.

Branden Carlson is one player who was a contributor for the matchup. He shot 50.0% from the floor and also totaled 3 assists. He played for 34 mins and snagged 12 rebounds. He ended up with 25 points on 10 out of 20 shooting.

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Utah will enter this contest with a mark of 15-9 this year. They are turning it over 11.8 times per game and as a unit they are committing 15.8 personal fouls per game. As a team, Utah is collecting 39.6 rebounds per game and has 424 assists on the year, which ranks 15th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Utes are hitting 36.5% from downtown (214 of 586) and 64.0% from the free throw line. They have an average of 79.2 pts per game (61st in D-1) while going 47.0% from the field.

On defense, the Utes are able to force 10.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.1 personal fouls. They currently rank 283rd in college basketball in allowing assists with 343 relinquished so far this year. The Utes defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 42.3% (650 of 1,535) and they surrender 37.0 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They are conceding 35.6% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 226th in D-1 in points per game allowed (73.2).

When they last played, the USC Trojans took a loss by a score of 99-68 against Stanford. With respect to cleaning the glass, USC allowed Stanford to collect 39 in total (9 offensive). They went 50.0% from distance by shooting 19 out of 38 and finished the contest at 8 of 10 at the free throw line (80.0%). The Trojans permitted Stanford to convert 36 of 64 attempts from the floor which had them at 56.3% for this contest. Overall, the Trojans finished shooting 26 out of 58 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 44.8%. In terms of shooting from 3-point land, USC converted 6 of 20 tries (30.0%). They were able to knock down 10 of those for a rate of 47.6%. Stanford committed 13 fouls for the matchup which got the Trojans to the free throw line for a total of 21 tries. They also turned the ball over 12 times, while getting 6 steals in this matchup. The Trojans earned 18 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards totaling 23 in this matchup.

Isaiah Collier ended up being a major contributor for the Trojans for the matchup. He buried 4 of 8 in this contest for a field goal rate of 50.0%, and had 4 rebounds. He totaled 18 points in his 30 mins of playing time and had 3 dimes for this game.

USC has a mark of 9-15 on the season. The Trojans are responsible for committing 16.7 fouls per game and they hit 68.9% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 15.7 times per game (47th in college basketball) and they are turning it over 13.0 times per game. USC has totaled 1,785 points for the year (74.4 per contest) and they pull down 35.7 boards per contest. As an offensive unit, the Trojans are connecting on 44.7% from the field, which has them ranked 183rd in the nation.

The Trojans defensively are ranked 280th in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 75.3. They are able to force 13.0 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.0% from the field (151st in college hoops). The USC defense concedes 37.0% on shots from beyond the arc (213 of 576) and opponents are connecting on 73.4% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have allowed 15.8 assists and 36.6 boards per game, which has them ranked 349th and 274th in those categories.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take USC

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