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We have a first-round NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon inside Nationwide Arena in the East region between the 10th-seeded USC Trojans and the seventh-seeded Michigan State Spartans. The Trojans are 22-10 this season and are coming off a 77-72 loss back on March 9 against the Arizona State Sun Devils in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament. The Spartans are sitting at 19-12 so far and are coming off a 68-58 loss last Friday against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Conference.
These are two extremely talented teams that failed in their respective conference tournaments so this should be a great battle.
Trojans Trying to Get Going in the NCAA Tournament
The USC Trojans are averaging 72.8 points while shooting 45.7 percent from the field. They have been passing the ball at a good level this season with 13.4 assists per game so far. Senior guard Boogie Ellis has led the way for USC, averaging 18 points, 3.7 rebounds, three assists, 0.2 blocks, 1.4 steals, and 1.8 turnovers in 33.1 minutes per game.
The Big Dance starts tomorrow, but @BoogieEllis got a head start 😉 pic.twitter.com/f6zTMDT3Vb
— USC Men’s Basketball (@USC_Hoops) March 17, 2023
Defensively, the Trojans are allowing 67.2 points per game this season. They have also done well at forcing mistakes, averaging 5.2 blocks and seven steals per game right now. Teams are shooting 42% from the field against USC and just 30.9% (33rd) from beyond the arc.
Spartans Trying to Dominate in March Madness
The Michigan State Spartans are scoring 70.2 points while shooting 45 percent from the floor. They average 14.8 assists per game on the season. Senior guard Tyson Walker has led the way, averaging 14.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.3 blocks. Walker also averages 1.3 turnovers in 33.7 minutes per game. Under Tom Izzo, the Spartans have a championship-caliber head coach, but a squad that needs to win at a slow pace.
The Spartans’ defense is giving up 67.4 points per game on the season. In addition, Michigan State is recording 4.6 blocks and 2.9 steals per game on the year. The Trojans’ opponents are shooting 39% from the field to rank seventh in the nation and 32.9% from beyond the arc.
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Full-Game Side Bet
Rating:
These offenses have been neck-and-neck throughout the last three games as USC is averaging 73.7 points per game while Michigan State is scoring 74 points per game in that same stretch. The ability to force misses throughout the year is critical as the Spartans are 69th in college basketball with a 42 opposing field goal percentage while the Trojans are sixth in the entire country with a 39 field goal percentage against. Michigan State is 1-4 ATS in their last five neutral site games so go with the USC Trojans as a slight underdog in this game featuring two Power Five conferences.
Take USC.
Prediction: USC Trojans +1.5
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Full-Game Total Pick
Rating:
Both programs have been shooting the three at a great level as Michigan State is fourth in the sport with a 39.5 three-point percentage while USC is 152nd with a 34.5 percentage from beyond the arc, so they should both do well here. These defenses have been struggling lately with the Trojans giving up 76.3 points in their last three games while the Spartans are allowing 81.3 points in their previous four games.
The over has hit in five of the last seven Trojans games as well as in seven of the previous 10 neutral site games so go with OVER 137.5 POINTS in this game.
Prediction: Over 137.5
