One of the great rivalries in college sports on the West coast will write another chapter on Friday night, as USC and UCLA square off in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals. Both of these teams won their first game in this tournament against a Washington-based team on Thursday night. In our college basketball predictions for Friday night, we look at USC vs UCLA and predict which California school will play for the Pac-12 title.
USC vs UCLA DraftKings Sportsbook Promo Code
New bettors at DraftKings Sportsbook can get a 40/1 odds on this USC vs UCLA game! Bet $5 to win $200 on either team!
New bettors at DraftKings Sportsbook can get a huge 40/1 odds boost on either team to win this USC vs UCLA game. Bettors can put $5 on either team to win this matchup on the moneyline. If that team wins, DraftKings will pay out $200 in free bets, which is a massive boost over the moneyline price for either team in this battle of ranked teams.
USC vs UCLA Betting Pick
This game will be played at T-Mobile Arena at 11:30 PM ET on Friday, March 11, 2022.
Why Bet On USC:
✅ USC and UCLA split their two meetings this season, with the home team taking each encounter so far this year. At a neutral site, the focus will be on the actual players on the court rather than home court advantage, and that could very well benefit the Trojans in a game where they should be able to take things down to the wire against UCLA.
✅ Rebounding is a huge edge for the Trojans going into this matchup against the UCLA Bruins. USC is a top-25 rebounding team in the country, breaking 40 rebounds per game on the season. UCLA is behind them by over three boards per contest, and USC’s rebounding led by Isaiah Mobley will help give them the edge that they need to cover the spread.
Gambling Problem? Call or TEXT 1-800-Gambler 21+
✅ Johnny Juzang is still not operating at 100% on the offensive end of the floor, which will help USC in this game. Juzang took just eight shots last night for UCLA, and scored just six points, as he works his way back from injury. While UCLA still has plenty of weapons, a player like Juzang falling below his usual standard can only help the Trojans.
USC Trojans
USC held on late to beat the Washington Huskies in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament, though things were not easy down the stretch. USC committed turnovers and fouls that helped Washington stick around until the very end, when the Trojans could have just hit their free throws and won by a wider margin. Against UCLA, they will need to iron out some of those mistakes to reach the Pac-12 title game.
Fortunately for USC, they have a real advantage in this game in the form of Isaiah Mobley. Mobley had nine points, nine rebounds, and six assists for the Trojans on Thursday night, despite the fact that he went 0/3 from three-point range. He can impact the game without scoring, which makes him incredibly valuable to the success of USC in this contest.
UCLA Bruins
UCLA made it through the quarterfinals by beating Washington State by 10 points on Thursday night. Now, the Bruins face the USC Trojans in a game between two ranked teams that could decide not just who will play in the Pac-12 championship game, but decide where both of these teams end up in the NCAA Tournament bracket.
If UCLA is going to win this game, they are going to need to get more out of Johnny Juzang. Juzang has struggled since returning from injury, not putting up the scoring numbers he is used to putting up for his team. The focus for Juzang is obviously the NCAA Tournament rather than the conference tournament, but he will look to ramp things up in the scoring department ahead of the big dance.