USC vs Washington Odds, Picks and Predictions: Trojans Fight New Battles

After nearly a full season of misery, the USC Trojans have found a bit of a groove in the final portion of the schedule. 

Bronny James may dominate the headlines, but the product on the court has been worthy of note lately. Andy Enfield’s squad nearly made it three wins in their last four games but ultimately fell just short in a three-point loss at Washington State on Thursday night. 

Next up in the two-game Pacific Northwest trip is a matchup with the Washington Huskies. Mike Hopkins’ team is playing well, with four wins in its last six games including a convincing 94-77 win over UCLA on Thursday. 

Looking at college basketball odds, the Huskies are 4.5-point favorites while the total resides at 153.5.

Washington looks to get out and run, playing at a fast tempo while putting up some impressive point totals at home lately. Will that continue against a surging USC team? Check out our college basketball picks and predictions for USC vs. Washington on Saturday, March 2, to find out. 

USC vs Washington best odds

USC vs Washington picks and predictions

It turns out that having both members of a star-studded backcourt healthy and performing to the best of their ability can do wonders for a team. That’s the case with the USC Trojans, who have Boogie Ellis (16.5 ppg) and Isaiah Collier (16.3 ppg) back at 100% and thriving after recovering from hamstring and hand injuries, respectively. 

The Trojans have played their best basketball of the season as a result — although that admittedly isn’t a very high bar considering the massive disappointment that this season has been. USC has wins over Utah and UCLA in the last two weeks as well as an overtime loss to Colorado and a narrow road defeat against Washington State. Troy held a significant second-half lead in both of the eventual losses. 

Next up is a matchup with the Washington Huskies, who are on a bit of a roll with four wins in their last six games. That’s moved the PNW representatives up to 54th overall in KenPom — 34th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 101st in adjusted defensive efficiency. 

Hopkins’ side operates an up-tempo scheme led by point guard Sahvir Wheeler’s 6.1 assists per game to go with ample scoring output (14.3 ppg). Forward Keion Brooks remains one of the league’s most dangerous scoring threats with 21.3 ppg.

The Trojans have a few weaknesses defensively that can be exploited. Mainly, they allow far too many open looks from long range, ranking 339th in 3-point defense (36.6%) and 318th in 3-pointers allowed per game (8.6). It’s really come to bit them on the road as they’ve surrendered eight or more threes in 8 of 11 away games. They’ve surrendered an average of 11 3-pointers per game in their last four games away from home. 

USC has had its deficits overall on the road, surrendering 75 or more points in eight of those 11 games and 82 or more in seven of them. Washington averages 81.2 ppg as a team and shoots 47.1% from the floor. The Huskies have been lethal offensively at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, averaging 87.5 ppg across their last six home games. 

On the flip side, USC’s offensive outlook is vastly improved with Collier and Ellis at full strength. Collier is one of the best players in the country — he’s scored 15 or more points in five of his last six games and can get to the rim at will. It’s no wonder why he’ll be a high NBA Draft pick. 

Ellis is having a down year overall, but averaged 17.7 ppg last year and was visibly slowed by a hamstring injury for six games before returning to form with 54 combined points against Colorado and UCLA. He fell back down to Earth with a 2-for-10 shooting night at Wazzu on Thursday but looks like a much better version of himself. 

Washington’s defense simply hasn’t been impressive for much of the year. The Huskies rank 281st in field-goal percentage allowed at the rim (60.3% per Hoop-Math), which is an issue against Collier’s mastery. 

I like both teams to contribute to the total in a game that should see plenty of possessions. Washington ranks 27th in KenPom’s adjusted tempo metric, and USC has the elite guard play to try to go toe-to-toe with the Huskies. 

My best bet: Over 153.5 (-110 at bet365) 

USC vs Washington same-game parlay

Over 153.5

USC +4.5

+264 at bet365

I can’t help but notice that USC has looked like a different team over the last four games. Explain it as you will, but the Trojans have passed the eye test and are impressing the computers as well, ranking 26th in Barttorvik across the last four games. 

It’s possible the newfound life will die out, but I’ll look to avoid a game of “catch the falling knife”. I’ll pair the Trojans with the Over for this two-leg SGP.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

USC vs Washington spread and Over/Under analysis

This line opened at USC +5.5 but has already dropped a full point to +4.5 across most books as of writing. Be sure to track any further fluctuations using our college basketball line movement tool. 

Washington has been hot lately, going 4-2-1 ATS across its last seven games. This makes for a game between two profitable teams as of late — USC is 3-1 ATS in its last four. 

These teams have not yet played this season, so there is no recent data to rely on. As for past years, Washington is 3-1 ATS since the start of 2022. 

The Trojans’ lineup has clicked with guards Collier and Ellis dominating the ball, Joshua Morgan and Vincent Iwuchukwu protecting the paint, and wings Kobe Johnson and DJ Rodman providing complementary output. We may never see the true potential of this team unlocked, but at least they’ve come in somewhat close proximity to end February. 

They’re at their best offensively when they get in the paint, ranking 26th in Haslametrics’ near-proximity shooting metric. The Huskies haven’t proven that they can stop those looks consistently this season and have given up a boatload of points routinely this season. 

On the flip side of things, I think it’s evident that Morgan and Iwuchukwu are playing their best defense of the season, and that makes the Trojans more difficult to score on as they have a building block. The perimeter defenders simply must start putting a hand in someone’s face, however, as they’ve been dreadful at giving up the three-ball. 

USC vs Washington betting trend to know

Washington has gone Over the total in eight of its last 11 games. Find more college basketball betting trends for USC vs. Washington.

USC vs Washington game info

USC vs Washington key injuries

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