The USC Trojans welcome the Cal Poly Mustangs to Galen Center. Action begins at 10:00 pm ET on Thursday, Dec. 17 and can be seen on PAC.
The Trojans enter this game hoping for similar success after topping Yale 68-56 on Sunday. Jordan McLaughlin played a pivotal role with 14 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. The Mustangs, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their demoralizing 93-63 loss against Saint Mary’s on Monday. Luke Meikle had a team-high 18 points.
This one isn’t expected to be close when USC, a big 10-point favorite, takes on Cal Poly. According to the oddsmakers, the Over/Under (O/U) is currently 151 points. The Trojans come into this game 8-2 Straight Up (SU) and 7-3 Against The Spread (ATS). The rebounding edge goes to the Trojans in this matchup, who are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation with an average of 41.8 boards per game. The Trojans have really locked down opponents on the defensive end, ranking 45th in the country with a .388 opponent field-goal percentage.
Over on the other bench, the Mustangs have 5-4 SU and 3-4 ATS records. The Mustangs are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 33rd in Division I at 1.44.
Predictions: SU Winner – USC, ATS Winner – USC, O/U – Over
Notes
USC is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of USC’s last 7 games.
USC is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home.
Cal Poly scores 74.0 points per away game (ranked 78th). USC ranks a poor 198th in points allowed at home, allowing 68.1 points.
Ranked 83rd, the USC Trojans have an offensive rating of 111.5. The Cal Poly Mustangs rank 244th with a defensive rating of just 105.2.
The USC Trojans average 72.6 possessions and 1.115 points per possession in games this season. The Cal Poly Mustangs average fewer possessions with 68.1, as well as fewer points per possession with 1.101.
USC averages an effective field goal percentage of 52.1%. Cal Poly has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage (0-3).
The USC Trojans average 22.0 three point attempts per game, and the Cal Poly Mustangs attempt 22.0 per game. When going for at least 20 three pointers in a game this season, both teams have winning records; USC is 7-2 and Cal Poly is 5-2.
Cal Poly ranks 33rd in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.44. USC is ranked lower at 135th with an A/TO of 1.15.
USC, the 36th-ranked team in rebounding, register an average of 41.8 rebounds per game. Cal Poly does worse, ranked 180th with 37.2.
Cal Poly ranks 210th in offensive rebounds, while USC ranks at 58th in defensive rebounds.
Opponents have had an average turnover percentage of 19.3% when playing USC this season. Cal Poly is undefeated (1-0) when its TO% is 19.3% or higher.
