The USC Trojans and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights meet Wednesday in Big Ten Tournament college basketball action from Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Here’s a Rutgers vs USC prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Rutgers vs USC pick.
USC Trojans Betting Preview
Although they’ve powered out some big wins over some tough teams, it’s been a bumpy year for the Trojans so far. USC kicked things off with a 5-4 run featuring losses to Cal, Saint Mary’s, New Mexico and Oregon, then took out Washington, Montana State, CSU Northridge and Southern. A 5-6 stretch came next with wins over Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan State and Penn State among losses to Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, UCLA, Northwestern and Purdue. Since then it’s been a lone win over Washington amid losses to Minnesota, Maryland, Rutgers, Ohio State, Oregon and UCLA. That gives the Trojans a 15-16 overall run in their 31 games.
Over the weekend in the UCLA matchup, the Trojans faced a 39-27 deficit by halftime. USC couldn’t get it together on a 51-36 run from there and took the loss 90-63. Wesley Yates led the team on 21 points with six rebounds and five assists, while Desmond Claude put up 15 points with three rebounds and one steal. Leading the team off the bench was Clark Slajchert with nine points, one rebound, one steal and one block in 13 minutes of work on the court.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights Betting Preview
Over on the Knights’ side, they’ve had a pretty sketchy year in the win column themselves and are sitting just below the .500 mark overall. Rutgers lost to only Kennesaw State in their first five outings, then fell to Alabama, Texas A&M and Ohio State in the next three. A 3-1 run with wins over Penn State, Seton Hall and Columbia came next, then losses to Indiana, Wisconsin and Purdue. Rutgers would go 4-3 in their next seven with wins over UCLA, Nebraska, Northwestern and Illinois among losses to Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan. It’s been a 3-5 run since then with wins over Washington, UCLA and Minnesota among losses to Maryland, Iowa, Oregon, Michigan and Purdue. That gives the Knights a 15-16 overall run across 31 games so far this year.
In their matchup with Minnesota on Sunday, the Scarlet Knights were up 38-29 after the first half but gave the lead away in the second. After overtime however, Rutgers ended up with a 75-67 home win. Leading the team was Dylan Harper with 22 points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks. Dylan Grant added 12 points with six rebounds and one steal. Leading the bench scoring for the Scarlet Knights in the victory were Lathan Sommerville (three rebounds; 14 minutes) and Jordan Derkack (four rebounds; 22 minutes), each with eight points.
Why the Rutgers Scarlet Knights will win
- USC has lost six of its last seven games.
- Rutgers has won each of its last three games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- USC has lost the first half in each of its last six Conference Tournament games.
Why the USC Trojans will win
- USC has won each of its last eight Wednesday games played at neutral venues.
- Rutgers has lost eight of its last nine games played at neutral venues.
- Rutgers has lost the first half in each of its last six games against the Big Ten Conference at neutral venues.
Total Points Facts
- Fourteen of USC’s last 15 Conference Tournament games have produced a total of 154 or fewer points.
- Each of Rutgers’ last six night games against the Big Ten Conference have produced a total of 155+ points.
Matchup/League Facts
- Rutgers ranks 33rd among Division 1 teams for opponent free throw percentage this season (69.0%).
- Rutgers ranks T44th among Division 1 teams for opponent steals per game this season (5.7).
- USC ranks 28th among Division 1 teams for field goal percentage this season (48.2%).
- USC ranks 44th among Division 1 teams for true shooting percentage this season (58.7%).
Rutgers vs USC Prediction
I’ll lean toward Rutgers. I was initially tempted to take USC, but I’ve been burned by the Trojans too many times lately. In any case, the Knights didn’t play great in their win over Minnesota this past weekend, hitting just 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) from 3-point range and 15-of-23 (65.2 percent) from the line alongside a 45-38 rebounding deficit and 10 turnovers. Rutgers has been scoring well during this 3-2 run though, with 71 or more points in all five of those games.
These teams last met up fairly recently, with Rutgers pulling off a 95-85 home win on February 23. The Knights shot very well in that one with 55.6 percent from the field and 26-of-28 (92.9 percent) from the line. Rutgers did get outmuscled on the boards 34-27 though, and coughed up 13 turnovers for 20 Trojans points. This one could go a lot of different ways, but if Rutgers can clean up some of their mistakes while keeping that shooting percentage high, I think the Knights will be okay.