Washington vs USC Picks and Predictions: Trojans Rolls Against Visiting Huskies

USC is fresh off a win against rivals UCLA and is now hosting the Washington Huskies as 10-point home favorites. Our college basketball picks break down why the Trojans should take care of business against a Huskies offense that won't be able to keep up.

Jason Radowitz - Contributor at Covers.com
Feb 17, 2022 • 10:40 ET • 4 min read
Boogie Ellis USC Trojans college basketball
Photo By - USA TODAY Sports

The USC Trojans are currently 21-4 on the season and just knocked off UCLA, at home, to go 10-4 in conference play. Now USC will welcome the Washington Huskies to the Galen Center, looking for its 11th win in conference play. 

Meanwhile, Washington is just 13-10 on the season and has lost two of their last three games. However, the Huskies are 8-5 in conference play and aren’t an easy opponent to keep down.

Will USC take care of business as large favorites? Here are our NCAAB picks and predictions for the Pac-12 matchup between the Washington Huskies and the USC Trojans.

Washington vs USC odds

This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.

USC opened as a 12-point favorite. However, some books have dropped to as low as -10 since. The total increased slightly from 138.5 at open to 139.5 at most outlets. 

Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until tip-off and be sure to check out the full college basketball odds before placing your bets.

Washington vs USC predictions

Predictions made on 2/17/2022 at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.

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Washington vs USC game info

Location: Galen Center, Los Angeles, CA
Date: Thursday, February 17, 2022
Tip-off: 11:30 p.m. ET
TV: PAC12

Washington at USC betting preview

Injuries

Washington: Daejon Davis G (Questionable), Samuel Ariyibi F (Out).
USC: Isaiah Mobley F (Questionable).
Find our latest NCAA basketball injury reports.

Betting trend to know

The Over is 5-0 in Washington's last five games overall. Find more NCAA betting trends for Washington vs. USC.

Washington vs USC picks and predictions

Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.

Spread analysis

The Washington Huskies haven’t been a great offense this year. The Huskies are shooting an effective field goal percentage of 45.8% while only hitting 31.3% of threes and 45.3% of twos on the season. 

Ultimately, the Huskies limit turnovers to 16.8% and get to the line at a high rate. However, Washington only hits 68.4% of foul shots, which is also below average. 

With that said, Washington has been able to stay in many games because of their defense. On that end, the Huskies have earned 23.1% turnovers and hold teams to average numbers from the field. 

Opponents have shot 33.3% from deep and 50.5% from inside the arc. However, the Huskies have been terrible on the defensive glass which could be costly against a Trojans team earning 34% offensive rebounds per game. 

That’s going to be a problem knowing USC is earning 34% offensive rebounds per game. The Trojans are also shooting a 51.2% effective field goal percentage while hitting 34.7% from deep and 51% from inside the arc. 

On top of that, USC limits turnovers to 16.6% on the season. If the Trojans can take care of the basketball, Washington won’t have much going for them on the defensive end. 

Meanwhile, USC has held opponents to a Top-10 effective field goal percentage. At 43.4%, USC is ranked seventh in the nation in effective field goal percentage and has held opponents to 31.9% from long range and 40.9% from inside the arc. 

USC won’t earn a whole bunch of turnovers, but the Trojans are very good on the glass and should continue to do that against a Washington team that will throw up a bunch of clunkers. 

I'm laying the points with USC here.

Prediction: USC -10 (-110)

Over/Under analysis

The last five games for Washington have gone Over the total. This is due to poor defensive rebounding and just ultimately average defense across the board. 

Washington has a below-average offense but likes to get up and down the floor fast. They should know that the only way to score against USC consistently will be in transition.

Washington is using 16.5 seconds per possession, which is a top-50 number in college basketball. So look for the pace of this game to speed up, especially when Washington is trailing. 

Prediction: Over 139.5 (-110)

Best bet

USC should dominate the offensive glass against Washington and should ultimately be able to get plenty of stops against a sub-par Washington offense that continues to shoot a bunch of bad shots. 

The only thing Washington does well on the defensive end is force turnovers, but USC is limiting turnovers at a high rate and should keep Washington away from getting many. 

Take USC -10.

Pick: USC -10 (-110)

College basketball parlays

Did you know that if you parlayed our Washington vs. USC picks, you could win $26.45 on a $10 bet?

Use our college basketball parlay calculator to create your own parlays and see their potential payouts.

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