South Florida vs Wichita State Prediction 1/18/26 College Basketball Picks Today

The Wichita State Shockers and the South Florida Bulls meet Sunday in college basketball action from USF Sun Dome in Tampa. Here’s a USF vs Wichita State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best South Florida vs Wichita State pick.

Wichita State Shockers Betting Preview

Wichita State got off to a rocky 4-4 start this year, despite winning four of their first five games. The Shockers would then beat Mount Marty, Northern Iowa, Wofford, Eastern Kentucky and UAB in the next six before two more losses to Charlotte and Rice after that. Following a win over North Texas last weekend, Wichita State was sitting on a 10-7 record across their first 17 games of the year.

In the Thursday matchup with Florida Atlantic, the Shockers were in trouble at halftime looking up at a 37-25 deficit. Wichita State didn’t end up getting any closer than that on a 48-42 second half and took the road loss in the end 85-67. Tops in scoring during the defeat was Will Berg with 14 points and eight boards. Dre Kindell added 12 points with four rebounds and four assists and Karon Boyd put up 10 points with two rebounds and two assists.

South Florida Bulls Betting Preview

Over on the South Florida side, they managed to go 6-4 over their first 10 games of the year. The losses in that time were versus George Washington, Oklahoma State, VCU and Colorado State. The Bulls are 5-2 since then, taking victories over UMBC, Georgia College, North Texas, Tulsa and East Carolina. So far over the first 17 outings of the season the Bulls have an 11-6 record in the books.

Back on Wednesday versus East Carolina, the Bulls entered the second half with a 44-31 advantage. South Florida added a 40-38 deficit from there but held on for the win pretty easily 82-71 at home. Topping the team in scoring during the victory was Josh Omojafo with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. Both Wes Enis (five assists) and Isaiyah Nelson (seven rebounds) chipped in with 14 points apiece during the winning effort for the Bulls as well.

Wichita State Shockers @ South Florida Bulls Betting Trends: January 18, 2026

Why the South Florida Bulls will win

• South Florida has won seven of its last eight games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Wichita State has lost three of its last four games.
• South Florida has won the first half in each of its last eight games at Yuengling Center.

Why the Wichita State Shockers will win

• South Florida has lost eight of its last nine day games against Conference opponents.
• Wichita State has won 10 of its last 12 games against South Florida.
• Wichita State has won the first half in three of its last four day games against South Florida.

USF vs Wichita State Prediction

I’ll lean toward the Bulls here. South Florida didn’t have too many issues versus a struggling East Carolina team in their home win this week, despite shooting just 38.5 percent from the field with a 30-24 deficit in the paint. The Bulls were pretty good from the line (20-of-26 for 76.9 percent) however, and had a 39-34 rebounding edge with 19 team assists and just six turnovers. South Florida has won five of the last six games now, with the lone outlier being a double-overtime 109-106 finish at home versus UAB on January 4.

As for Wichita State, they didn’t get very close in a road loss to a decent Florida Atlantic team this week, shooting just 39.7 percent from the field with 10 turnovers and a pretty rough 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from the line. The Shockers have lost three of the last four games now, scoring fewer than 68 points in two of the last three (both defeats). Their offense really needs a kick in the proverbial pants this weekend.