USC (15-15) vs. UCLA (21-9)
March 8, 2025 8:00 pm EDT
The Line: UCLA -8.5; Over/Under:
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The USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins meet Saturday in college basketball action from Pauley Pavilion. Here’s a UCLA vs USC prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best UCLA vs USC pick.
USC Trojans Betting Preview
USC has been a mixed bag this year, with some very nice winning runs early on mixed with some unsteady stretches more recently. The Trojans opened up on a 9-4 record across their first 13 outings, losing to Cal, Saint Mary’s, New Mexico and Oregon along the way. USC hit a 4-4 run from there featuring losses to Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and UCLA among wins versus Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Michigan State. Since then the Trojans have won just two games versus Penn State and Washington. Otherwise it’s been losses to Northwestern, Purdue, Minnesota, Maryland, Rutgers, Ohio State and Oregon. In total across 30 games this year that gives USC an even 15-15 record overall.
In their home matchup against Washington on Wednesday, the Trojans entered the second half with a 47-35 advantage. USC cruised from there on a 45-26 run and took the blowout victory in the end 92-61. Topping the scorers during the winning effort was Chibuzo Agbo with 26 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Desmond Claude was right behind on a double-double with 25 points, 11 assists and four rebounds. Rashaun Agee also reached double-digits with his 18 points, five rebounds and two steals in 30 minutes during the victory.
UCLA Bruins Betting Preview
Over on the Bruins’ side, they’ve had a couple of spotty runs this year but otherwise they’re doing pretty well record-wise. UCLA kicked things off with a nice 10-1 run featuring a lone loss to New Mexico. The Bruins would beat only Gonzaga in their next six games, falling otherwise versus North Carolina, Nebraska, Michigan, Maryland and Rutgers in that time. Wins came in the next seven games versus Iowa, Wisconsin, Washington, USC, Oregon, Michigan State and Penn State. Since then it’s been a 3-3 run with losses to Illinois, Minnesota and Purdue among wins versus Indiana, Ohio State and Northwestern. In total that gives the Bruins a 21-9 record across their first 30 games of the 2024-25 campaign.
Matched up against Northwestern on Monday, the Bruins were trailing by a point at halftime. UCLA woke up on a 39-34 run from there however, eventually pulling off the comeback win 73-69 on the road. Tops in scoring during the victory was Tyler Bilodeau with 19 points, three rebounds and two assists. Eric Dailey added 12 points with six rebounds and one assist, while Aday Mara came off the bench for a double-double on 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in 16 minutes of action on the court during the victory.
Why the UCLA Bruins will win
- UCLA has won 12 of its last 13 games at Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescon against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- USC has lost each of its last five road games.
- UCLA has won the first half in each of its last 12 games at Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescon against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Why the USC Trojans will win
- The road team has won each of the last three games between USC and UCLA.
- The road team has won the first half in three of the last four games between USC and UCLA.
UCLA vs USC Prediction
I’m going to take a stab on USC, but you could make a case either way. I’m not so high on the Trojans as I was earlier in 2025; they’re still a potentially dangerous team, though. USC poured in 56.4 percent shooting from the field with a 30-24 rebounding edge in their latest win over a middling Washington team. The only real blemish was the 10 turnovers, but that hardly mattered in the end. USC had given up 82 or more points in four straight games prior to that, so it was nice to see them play a little defense.
The Trojans lost 82-76 at home the last time these teams met up back on January 27. UCLA has been on the road for four of the last six games and will be relieved to get back to Pauley for this one. USC is going to have an uphill climb in order to stay competitive here, but if they can get the offense moving quickly I think the Trojans can hang around.
