USC Trojans at UCLA Bruins Betting Preview/Prop Pick

One of the last games of the day will feature a pair of Pac-12 rivals that could both use a win in the regular-season finale. The UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans are set to meet up, and there doesn’t appear to be much separation between the rivals. 

USC is coming into this game off of a blowout loss to the Arizona Wildcats, and they will be looking to make amends for that loss. The Trojans are still an impressive 25-5 on the year, and they will be a tough team to deal with in March.

UCLA has won two straight games to improve their record to 22-6 on the year. The Bruins were expected to run away with the Pac-12 title this season, but they have not lived up to the lofty preseason expectations.

The UCLA Bruins are 7.5-point betting favorites in this matchup.

Trojans Have Plenty of Size

The Trojans are a team that is loaded with size, and USC will be trying to win this game in the paint. USC is a team that is shooting just 45 percent from the floor, but they are able to rack up the points on the inside.

Isaiah Mobley leads the way for USC with 14.4 points per game, and the Trojans will be looking to give him the ball. Guard Drew Peterson hardly ever leads the floor for USC, and he will be looking to lead the offense. 

USC is not a team that can play at a fast pace with UCLA, but they have been able to slow games down all season long. The Trojans won’t be intimidated by playing on the road, especially if they start to dominate inside. 

Bruins Winning Games With “D”

This UCLA team has plenty of offensive weapons, but they have been terrific on the defensive end of the floor this season. UCLA is allowing just 64 points per game, and they are also averaging 7.1 steals per game. 

On the offensive end of the floor, Johnny Juzang and Tyger Campbell are leading the way. Juzang is scoring more than 17 points per game, and Campbell has dished out 4.3 assists to pace the offense. 

UCLA wants to speed up the tempo in this game to see if the Trojans can keep pace for 40 minutes. The Bruins will need to shoot the ball well, but they have what it takes to overwhelm USC with their offense. 

Trojans Topple the Bruins

Both of these teams are capable of going on a big run in March, but this game will have plenty of juice behind it as well. Don’t expect much separation on Saturday night, as these rivals have been known to play tough against each other. 

Playing at home should give UCLA an advantage, but that doesn’t always matter in rivalry games. The Trojans have a bad taste in their mouth from getting blown out by Arizona, and they will be fired up for this one.

This game is going to be played at a slower pace, and that will allow USC to pull off the upset. Take the USC Trojans moneyline in this game against the UCLA Bruins.

Prop Pick

UCLA (-120) UNDER 72.5 Points

USC is allowing 65.7 points per game on defense, which ranks No. 77 in the nation. That average decreases to 63.7 points per game on the road. Scores have gone UNDER in 11 of the Trojans’ last 18 road games.

With Dunkel predicting a USC victory by the score of 67-66, take the Bruins (-120) to finish UNDER their Vegas team total of 72.5 points against the Trojans.

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