Minnesota vs USC Prediction 1/9/26 College Basketball Picks Today

The USC Trojans and the Minnesota Golden Gophers meet Friday in college basketball action from Williams Arena in Minneapolis. Here’s a Minnesota vs USC prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Minnesota vs USC pick.

USC Trojans Betting Preview

USC got off to a great start this year, recording wins in each of their first eight games. After a loss to Washington, the Trojans took out San Diego, Washington State, UTSA and UC Santa Cruz in the next four. Since then it’s been a pair of consecutive losses to Michigan and Michigan State for the Trojans, however. That gives USC a 12-3 overall record across the first 15 games of the year.

The Trojans played Michigan State in their latest outing on Monday, At halftime in that one, USC was down 33-17. After a 47-34 deficit from there, the Trojans ended up limping to an 80-51 blowout loss on the road. Ezra Ausar led the team with 16 points and seven rebounds. The only other Trojans player in double-digits was Jerry Easter with 12 points and one assist in 31 minutes of work.

Minnesota Golden Gophers Betting Preview

Over on the Minnesota side, they were able to win four of their first five games. A 1-4 run came next though, with a lone win over Indiana among losses to San Francisco, Stanford, Santa Clara and Purdue. The Gophers would win their next four games over Texas Southern, Campbell, Fairleigh Dickinson and Northwestern though, giving the team a 9-5 run across the first 14 games of the year.

Matched up against Iowa on Tuesday, the Gophers posted a 31-24 edge going into the second half. Minnesota was outscored 43-39 the rest of the way but held on for the upset win at home 70-67 in the end. Langston Reynolds topped the team on 22 points with five rebounds and four assists while Cade Tyson put up 16 points with five rebounds and three assists. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson added 10 points with six boards and four assists in the winning effort for Minnesota as well.

Why the Minnesota Golden Gophers will win

• Minnesota has won each of its last nine games at Williams Arena.
• USC has lost four of its last five games against Conference opponents.
• The home team has won the first half in each of USC’s last five games.

Why the USC Trojans will win

• USC has won 12 of its last 13 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• USC has won the first half in four of its last five games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Minnesota vs USC Prediction

I’ll stay with Minnesota, but you could call this one either way. The Gophers are riding high after taking a Williams Arena win over a great Iowa team this week, but they’ll need to avoid the proverbial “big-win hangover” here. In the win over the Hawkeyes, Minnesota shot 46.8 percent from the field with 25 percent (5-of-20) from 3-point range and 21-of-28 (75 percent) from the line. The Gophers were out-rebounded 34-25, but also held Iowa to just 39.7 percent shooting. That gives Minnesota five straight wins, and they’ve hit 70 points or more in four of those (the outlier being a 60-43 win over Fairleigh Dickinson).

As for USC, they lost to a very good Spartans team at Breslin Center in their latest outing. The Trojans shot just 32.7 percent from the field in that one, with a dismal 3-of-17 (17.6 percent) from 3-point range and a 38-29 deficit on the boards. The 17 turnovers didn’t help matters either. USC has been outscored 176-117 over their last two games, but to be fair, they’ve taken on a pair of top-shelf ranked opponents in Michigan and Michigan State during that time. Minnesota should be much closer to the Trojans’ wheelhouse.