USC vs Washington Predictions, Picks, and Odds: Trojans Ride Past Huskies

The best time of the year has arrived! Tournament basketball graces our televisions day and night for the casual and hardcore observer alike as March Madness odds round into shape.

The last iteration of the Pac-12 Tournament bracket tips off this afternoon with a first-round matchup between the No. 8-seed USC Trojans and the No. 9-seed Washington Huskies.

This opener is not devoid of intrigue as the Trojans caught fire to end the regular season while the Huskies possess plenty of talent and will be a curious case study as Mike Hopkins coaches out the remainder of the season despite being relieved of his duties. 

Looking at college basketball odds, the Trojans are listed at -2 while the total resides at 153.5. Neither team is considered a powerhouse in the conference tournament odds.

What’s our best bet for Saturday’s opening game in the last-ever Pac-12 Tournament? Check out our college basketball picks and predictions for USC vs. Washington on Wednesday, March 13. 

USC vs Washington best odds

USC vs Washington picks and predictions

The Washington Huskies have decided that seven years has been enough of the Mike Hopkins era. The head coach, who has a 118-105 record in the Pacific Northwest, will remain on the sidelines for the remainder of the regular season before the Huskies move in a different direction as they transition to life in the Big Ten beginning next year. 

The move wasn’t necessarily made due to a letdown year — his team’s 17 wins are tied for the most in a season since 2018-19. Rather, the administration decided it needed new leadership to flip over a new leaf and contend in their new conference. With four of five starters out of eligibility, next year is set up for a rebuild. 

This year’s roster has a nice blend of talent and experience. Senior Keion Brooks led the conference with 21.3 ppg, shooting an efficient 49.6% from the field and 39.5% behind the arc. Fellow senior Sahvir Wheeler was an impact transfer, scoring 14.1 ppg while dishing out six assists. Sophomore Koren Johnson looks to be a building block for the future after ending the year strong and winning the Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year Award. 

This should be a fun matchup against the USC Trojans. Andy Enfield’s squad had high expectations as a pre-season Top-25 team but fell flat for much of the year until everything turned around in mid-February. 

Five-star freshman Isaiah Collier returned to full health after missing three weeks with a hand injury and bonafide bucket-getter Boogie Ellis overcame a hamstring injury to average 18.2 points across the final six games of the regular season. 

The Trojans have capitalized on the return to health of their star backcourt duo — arguably the best in the conference — to win five of their final six games. According to Bart Torvik, they rank 17th in the country during that stretch, 44 spots higher than Washington (61st). 

Enfield’s squad won three straight games to end the year, including a statement 82-75 win in Seattle on March 2. I pointed out in my write-up for that game that Collier is a virtuoso attacking the rim off the bounce, and that turned out to be true as he put on a masterclass performance by embarrassing the Huskies with 31 points on 14-for-20 shooting. 

Washington’s defense isn’t good — it ranks 97th in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency. Hopkins’ squad will try to put duct tape over this deficiency by playing at a fast tempo, but they won’t be able to stop Collier, Ellis, & Co. On the flip side, the Huskies thrive offensively when they can run teams out of the gym, but USC possesses the requisite athleticism to keep pace and thrive in that game environment. 

The Huskies flamed out of this tournament in the first round as a No. 8 seed a year ago and I’ll bet on that happening yet again. Washington is playing with a lame-duck head coach and hasn’t experienced any sort of tournament success under Hopkins anyway, so I’m not sure why that’d change now. 

This game was just played and the improved Trojans showed out in Seattle, grabbing a 15-point lead with six minutes remaining in the second half before the Huskies made things more interesting. Give me USC against the spread as Enfield’s team stays hot. 

My best bet: USC -2 (-110 at DraftKings)

USC vs Washington same-game parlay

USC -2

Over 153.5

+260 at DraftKings

When these teams played just over a week ago, I wrote up and recommended the Over as the best bet and it came home in an 82-75 USC win, I’ll go back to the well and take the Trojans combined with the Over in a game where both teams should be able to score. 

Washington ranks just 290th in field-goal percentage allowed at the rim. That’s an ineffable issue against a phenom like Collier, who seemingly gets to the rack at will regardless of opponent. 

You might remark that it’s only one player and he can’t change the outlook of a game much. I’d argue that you haven’t watched the Trojans lately, otherwise, you’d see how utterly he’s dominated many of their recent games. There’s a reason he was a five-star recruit that he’ll be selected in the lottery of the NBA Draft. 

The Huskies like to play with pace, ranking 30th in KenPom’s adjusted tempo metric. They average 80.8 ppg and should be able to exploit a Trojans defense that has surrendered 73 or more points in six of its last nine games. 

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 -1 before quickly getting bet up to -2 or -2.5 depending on the book. That move makes a lot of sense and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Trojans become a bigger favorite before tip-off considering their strong recent form, their somewhat comfortable win in Seattle just over a week ago, and the fact that Hopkins is a lame-duck head coach. 

Be sure to track any changes in the line using our college basketball line movement tool. 

USC has been slightly in the red this season at 15-16 against the spread. The Trojans have been much more profitable lately, going 5-2 ATS across their last seven games. It makes sense that they were overrated in the market early in the season when the talent failed to come through, but then have been a good buy-low team lately as Collier and Ellis have taken off. 

The Trojans also have two good wings in Kobe Johnson and DJ Rodman. The former is one of the best defenders in the conference and has played great lately on the offensive end as well, scoring double-digits in five of his last six while shooting 51.9% from the floor. Rodman has been seeing big minutes and is also playing well, averaging 15.7 ppg across his last three. 

They also have two good rim protectors in Joshua Morgan (one of the best defenders in the Pac-12 and averaging 2.2 blocks per game) and Vince “the Prince” Iwuchukwu. 

The total is listed at 153.5 at most books, although 152.5 was also available at the time of writing. These teams have hit the Over in three straight meetings and the T-Mobile Center can be offense-friendly, so I lean toward the Over. 

USC vs Washington betting trend to know

USC is 5-2 ATS across its last seven 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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