NCAA tournament-bound rivals UCLA and USC hook up for their regular-season finale Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion. The winner of this game secures second place in the PAC-12 while the loser will show third, which means these two teams could very well meet again in next week’s PAC-12 tournament.
The Bruins are favored by a touchdown for this one. Which way are we going with our free college basketball betting pick?
College Basketball Betting Odds
CBB betting lines opened UCLA at -7.5 over USC, with an over/under of right around 136.5. Both figures were holding steady in the early betting action. According to Sagarin’s ratings at sagarin.com, the Bruins should be favored by seven points for this match-up.
USC Betting Preview
The Trojans just had a six-game winning streak snapped by a 91-71 home loss to Arizona Tuesday night. USC fell down by double-digits seven minutes into the game, trailed 51-27 at the half, and later by 30, totally whiffing ATS as a five-point home dog. The Trojans shot just under 40 percent from the field Tuesday while allowing the Wildcats to shoot a hot 56 percent from the floor. Prior to that, though, USC had won six straight and eight of its previous nine. However, a lot of those games were close. In fact, the Trojans’ last three wins came by a total of six points. At 25-5 overall and 14-5 in PAC-12 play, USC is playing for a good seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament.
UCLA Betting Preview
The Bruins, meanwhile, are 5-1 both SU and ATS over their last six games after winning at Washington Monday 77-66. UCLA, playing as an 8.5-point favorite, started slowly and trailed the Huskies 29-25 at the half. But the Bruins used a 26-8 run to begin the second half to take control, on their way toward victory and the money. UCLA shot 46 percent from the floor, held Washington to 43 percent shooting, and out-rebounded the Huskies 40-28. The Bruins have out-rebounded six of their last seven opponents. At 22-6 overall and 14-5 in PAC-12 play, UCLA is also playing for a good seat at the table at the upcoming Big Dance.
On the injury front, Bruins G Johnny Juzang (17 ppg) missed the last two games with a bad ankle and is questionable for Saturday night.
- Get more details: USC/UCLA 3/5/22 Betting Stats
USC-UCLA Recent History
The Trojans own a five-game winning streak on the Bruins, going 3-2 ATS along the way, including a 67-64 victory at the Galen Center three weeks ago. Neither team ever led that game by more than eight points, and UCLA led by one with nine minutes to go. But USC used an 18-9 spurt to take the lead and held on from there. The Trojans shot 44 percent from the floor that night while holding the Bruins to just 30 percent shooting. Also, that game played under a total of 136.
Totals Report
- The Under is 15-14 in Trojans games this season, which are averaging 139
- The Under is 15-13 in Bruins games this season, which are averaging 141 points.
- The Under is 7-1 over the last eight meetings between these two teams.
