USC (15-5) vs. Iowa (14-5)
January 28, 2026 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Iowa -9.5; Over/Under: 141
(Get latest betting odds)
The USC Trojans and the Iowa Hawkeyes meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Here’s an Iowa vs USC prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Iowa vs USC pick.
USC Trojans Betting Preview
The Trojans opened up the season with a nice set of eight straight wins. Following their first loss of the year versus Washington on December 6, USC won four more over San Diego, Washington State, UTSA and UC Santa Cruz. A 2-4 stretch came next with losses to Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue and Northwestern however, leaving USC with a 14-5 overall record in the books across their first 19 games of the season.
In their matchup with Wisconsin on Sunday, USC took a 41-39 deficit into the second half. The Trojans surged from there on a 34-30 run and took the comeback win on the road 73-71 by game’s end. Chad Baker-Mazara was the star of the show on 29 points with four rebounds and three assists. Ezra Ausar added 17 points with seven rebounds and Jacob Cofie had nine points, five assists and a team-high 11 boards.
Iowa Hawkeyes Betting Preview
Over on the Iowa side, they got off to a nice start this year as well, taking wins in each of their first seven games. The Hawkeyes lost two of the next three versus Michigan State and Iowa State, but then hit a four-game win streak in December/January. After losses to Minnesota, Illinois and Purdue followed by wins over Indiana and Rutgers, Iowa owns a 14-5 record through the first 19 games this year.
Matched up against Rutgers way back on January 20, the Hawkeyes were in the locker room looking up at a 31-24 advantage on the scoreboard. Iowa managed to score another 37 points in the second half, helping to preserve a 68-62 win at home in the end. Bennett Stirtz was the team’s leading scorer with his 20 points, four rebounds and five assists, while Tate Sage added 17 points and two assists in the winning effort for the Hawkeyes.
Why the Iowa Hawkeyes will win
- Iowa has won each of its last 11 games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Iowa has won the first half in each of its last 10 games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Why the USC Trojans will win
- USC has won 15 of its last 17 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Iowa has lost eight of its last 10 night games against Conference opponents.
- The road team has won the first half in three of Iowa’s last four games.
Iowa vs USC Prediction
I’ll stick with USC. The Trojans posted a really nice road win at Kohl Center in Madison over the weekend, holding Wisconsin to just 34.3 percent shooting from the field. USC themselves shot a tepid 41 percent with just 25 percent (6-of-24) from outside. That said, the Trojans had a 34-26 advantage on points in the paint and committed just five turnovers along the way. USC is still just 1-2 in their last three games, but they’ve won three of the last five versus some tough Big Ten competition.
As for Iowa, they’ve been off the court for a while but took a win in their last game over Rutgers thanks to 47.1 percent shooting from the field and 81.3 percent (13-of-16) from the line. Iowa got out-rebounded 29-19 in that one though, and posted 12 turnovers along the way. The Hawkeyes have lost three of the last five but two of those were against ranked teams and three were on the road. This matchup should be a pretty good one if both teams play to their capabilities, and you could call it either way.
