Michigan State vs USC Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 3/17/23

The USC Trojans and Michigan State Spartans meet Friday in the college basketball NCAA Tournament First Round at the Nationwide Arena. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.

The USC Trojans are averaging 72.8 points on 45.8 percent shooting and allowing 66.9 points on 39 percent shooting. Boogie Ellis is averaging 18 points and 3 assists, while Drew Peterson is averaging 14 points and 4.4 assists. Reese Dixon-Waters is dishing 1.1 assists and Tre White is grabbing 5.1 rebounds. The USC Trojans are shooting 34.4 percent from beyond the arc and 74.3 percent from the free throw line. The USC Trojans are allowing 32.9 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 32.1 rebounds per game.

The Michigan State Spartans are averaging 70.6 points on 45.2 percent shooting and allowing 67.4 points on 42 percent shooting. Joey Hauser is averaging 13.9 points and 1.9 assists, while Tyson Walker is averaging 13.7 points and 2.4 rebounds. AJ Hoggard is the third double-digit scorer and Malik Hall is grabbing 4.4 rebounds. The Michigan State Spartans are shooting 40.1 percent from beyond the arc and 76.4 percent from the free throw line. The Michigan State Spartans are allowing 30.9 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 32.2 rebounds per game.

The Trojans are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Friday games and 7-2 ATS in their last 9 NCAA Tournament games. The Spartans are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games. The over is 5-2 in Trojans last 7 overall. The over is 5-1 in Spartans last 6 overall.

The USC Trojans have a lot of talented players who could get hot and lead to a victory or so in this tournament. However, the lack of battle tested opponents scares me, especially against a bully team like Michigan State that has scars and doesn’t back down. You know you’re getting a tough-minded team in Sparty and the Tom Izzo effect has to play a role as well. I’ll lay the bucket with Michigan State.