UCLA vs USC prediction, college basketball game preview, how to watch: Saturday, February 12
UCLA vs USC How To Watch
Date: Saturday, February 12
Game Time: 10:00 ET
Venue: Galen Center, Los Angeles, CA
How To Watch: ESPN
Record: UCLA (17-4), USC (20-4)
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UCLA vs USC Game Preview
Why UCLA Will Win
The Bruins got past a two-game losing run in Arizona with a terrific shooting game against Stanford in a bounce back win. This might be a fourth-straight road game, but it’s obviously it’s just down the highway.
They continue to be fantastic when it comes to not turning the ball over – they haven’t given it up more than nine times since mid-January – and they started to get their three-point shooting back against the Cardinal.
On the flip side, USC doesn’t force a whole lot of mistakes and isn’t going to come up with more than around eight takeaways. However …
Why USC Will Win
USC doesn’t turn the ball over, either.
It’s not making enough mistakes to let UCLA generate a whole lot of easy points, and if everything is going right, this gets bogged down a bit into a half-court battle.
UCLA can score inside and out, and it can rebound, but the Trojans continue to be dominant on the boards – they lead the Pac-12 in total boards and average 41 per game – and should force a whole slew of one-and-dones.
Arizona – an even better rebounding team than USC – is the only team to come up with double-digit offensive boards the last nine games.
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What’s Going To Happen
The Bruins are playing better overall and are far more consistent from the field, but the defense is also struggling. USC has to keep this in the 60s, pound away on the inside, and don’t make this about threes. There’s one massive problem, though …
UCLA makes its free throws, and USC – for the most part – struggles on the line. In a low scoring battle like this, hitting the shots on the line will mean everything.
UCLA vs USC Prediction, Lines
UCLA 69, USC 66
Line: COMING, o/u: COMING
ATS Confidence out of 5: COMING
Must See Rating: 4.5
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1: Super Bowl – everything else
