USC Trojans vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, 2/4/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: USC Trojans vs Northwestern Wildcats

Date: Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, IL

TV: BTN

Welsh-Ryan Arena is the site where the Northwestern Wildcats (12-10) will play the USC Trojans (13-8) on Tuesday.

The USC Trojans took the court against Michigan State and earned the victory with a final of 70-64 in their last game. USC walked away from the contest with a 42.1% field goal percentage (24 out of 57) and converted 7 out of their 22 3-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Trojans buried 15 of their 19 tries for a percentage of 78.9%. When talking about rebounding, they compiled 29 with 10 of them being offensive. They also distributed 9 dimes for this contest in addition to forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and earning 2 steals. In reference to defense, USC allowed their opponent to shoot 42.1% from the floor on 24 out of 57 shooting. Michigan State recorded 16 dimes and had 5 steals in this matchup. Moreover, Michigan State snagged 31 rebounds (9 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Michigan State went 57.9% from the free throw line by converting 11 of their 19 attempts. They also buried 5 of their 15 tries from beyond the perimeter. With respect to personal fouls, the Trojans ended up with 20 while Michigan State totaled 17 personal fouls.

Desmond Claude is one player who had an impact in this contest. He finished shooting 46.2% from the field and also recorded 3 dimes. He saw the court for 34 mins played and totaled 6 boards. He recorded 19 points on 6 out of 13 shooting.

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USC will enter this game with a win-loss record of 13-8 on the year. They have an average of 76.7 points per game (116th in college) while hitting 47.9% from the field. The Trojans are shooting 34.7% from downtown (139 of 401) and 73.9% from the charity stripe. As a unit, USC is grabbing 32.1 boards per contest and is sitting with 329 dimes on the year, which is 114th in the nation in terms of passing. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.6 times per game and as a team are committing 17.7 fouls per contest.

On the defensive end, the Trojans are forcing 12.9 turnovers per game while drawing 18.5 personal fouls. They currently rank 247th in the nation in allowing assists to their opponents with 308 relinquished this year. The Trojans defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 44.8% (531 of 1,185) and they concede 31.7 boards per contest as a group. They are giving up 31.7% from 3-point land and they rank 215th in college hoops in opponents points per game (72.4).

In their last game, the Northwestern Wildcats took a loss by a final score of 75-69 when they played Wisconsin. The Wildcats were able to snag 22 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive boards totaling 28 in this contest. They also coughed it up 5 times, while earning 5 steals for the contest. Wisconsin had 14 personal fouls for this contest which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for 9 attempts. They were able to convert 8 of the free throws for a rate of 88.9%. In relation to three-point shots, Northwestern made 11 out of 28 tries (39.3%). When the final whistle was blown, the Wildcats ended up going 25 for 59 from the field which gave them a percentage of 42.4%. The Wildcats allowed Wisconsin to bury 22 of 53 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.5% in the game. They shot 40.6% from 3-point land by going 13 of 32 and finished the game at 18 out of 21 at the free throw line (85.7%). In reference to rebounding, Northwestern allowed Wisconsin to collect 31 overall (6 offensive).

Jalen Leach ended up being a factor for the Wildcats in this contest. He made 8 of 14 for this game giving him a rate of 57.1%, and had 7 rebounds. He earned 23 points in his 37 minutes on the court and tallied 7 dimes for this contest.

Northwestern has a win-loss record of 12-10 on the season. As an offensive team, the Wildcats are hitting on 44.2% from the floor, which is 213th in the nation. Northwestern has tallied 1,625 points on the campaign (73.9 per contest) and they pull down 34.1 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 14.8 times per game (108th in D-1) and they are turning it over 9.8 times per game. The Wildcats are committing 17.8 fouls every game and they hit 72.8% from the free throw line.

The Wildcats are ranked 122nd in the country in points per game surrendered with 69.6. They are forcing their opponents into 13.8 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 43.4% from the floor (172nd in D-1). The Northwestern defense surrenders 34.0% on shots from distance (161 of 474) and their opponents are making 73.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They concede 14.9 dimes and 34.5 rebounds per contest, which has them ranked 312th and 189th in Division 1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take USC

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