The USC Trojans (12-3) can extend a five-game home winning streak when they meet the Arizona State Sun Devils (10-4). The game begins at 10:30 pm ET on Thursday, Jan. 7 and will air on PAC.
The Trojans lost a tough one against Washington 87-85 on Sunday. Nikola Jovanovic had a good game in defeat for USC, recording 14 points and 10 rebounds to earn his sixth double-double of the season. The Sun Devils are coming off a 94-82 loss against Arizona on Sunday. Tra Holder had a game-high 24 points.
Holder has been hot over the last five games for the Sun Devils, averaging 20.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.0 three-pointers.
USC is a six-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 153 points. The Trojans enter the game with records of 12-3 Straight Up (SU) and 10-5 Against The Spread (ATS). The Trojans come into the game with the 25th-ranked scoring offense in the nation, averaging 83.7 points per game. The Trojans are one of the best in Division I in terms of field-goal percentage, shooting a stellar .410 from beyond the arc. The Trojans have really locked down opponents on the defensive end, ranking 18th in the country with a .379 opponent field-goal percentage. Opponents have consistently had their shots rejected by the Trojans, ranking fifth in the country in blocks per game with 6.4.
Across the court, Arizona State has a SU record of 10-4 and an ATS record of 7-6. Arizona State is one of the better offensive rebounding teams in Division I. The Sun Devils average 13.4 offensive rebounds per game, making them the 42nd-best team in the country for that category.
This is the first meeting of the season for these conference foes. The last time they played, USC came out on top, but the win was not enough to overtake Arizona State in their recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 4-6 SU over the last few meetings. Furthermore, Arizona State holds the advantage ATS with a record of 5-4-1. Neither USC nor Arizona State has led in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers) over their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – USC, ATS Winner – USC, O/U – Over
Notes
USC is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of USC’s last 5 games.
USC is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
USC is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing Arizona State.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of USC’s last 6 games when playing Arizona State.
USC is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Arizona State.
USC is one of the top-scoring teams in the nation, averaging 83.7 points per game (ranked 25th). Arizona State, on the other hand, allows 69.9 points per game (ranked 152nd).
Ranked 52nd, the USC Trojans have an offensive rating of 112.8. The Arizona State Sun Devils rank 152nd with a defensive rating of just 100.3.
The USC Trojans average 74.2 possessions and 1.128 points per possession in games this season. The Arizona State Sun Devils average fewer possessions with 69.4, as well as fewer points per possession with 1.096.
USC has an average effective field goal percentage of 53.7%. Arizona State is a winning 2-1 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
USC ranks 64th in assists, registering 15.8 per game. Arizona State performs worse at 240th with 12.6 assists per game.
The USC Trojans average 6.4 blocks per game, the fifth-ranked team in the country. The Arizona State Sun Devils rank a lowly 201st in blocking with just 3.2 per game.
USC ranks 64th in offensive rebounding. Arizona State ranks 163rd in defensive rebounding.
USC makes 7.0 steals per game. In games where it gives up 7 or more steals, Arizona State is undefeated at 3-0.
