Arizona Wildcats vs USC Trojans Prediction, 2/20/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Arizona Wildcats vs USC Trojans

Date: Saturday, February 20, 2021

Location: Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Arizona (+7.5)

Galen Center is the venue where and the USC Trojans (18-3) will play the Arizona Wildcats (14-8) on Saturday. USC opens this matchup as 7.5-point favorites. The total opens at 139.

Arizona enters this game with a win-loss mark of 14-8 for the season. The Wildcats are hitting 37.5% on shots from downtown (146 of 389) and 71.9% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 75.8 points per contest (82nd in the nation) while hitting 45.0% from the floor. They turn it over 12.2 times per game and as a team they are committing 18.0 fouls per game. As a unit, Arizona is collecting 38.4 boards per game and has accumulated 338 dimes on the campaign, which ranks 22nd in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. On the defensive end, the Wildcats are able to force 12.7 turnovers per game while drawing 20.5 personal fouls. The Wildcats defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 43.2% (535 of 1,239) and they surrender 30.8 boards per game as a group. They are 203rd in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 247 surrendered on the year. They give up 34.0% on three-point shots and they rank 123rd in college basketball in points per game allowed (68.4).

The Arizona Wildcats took the court against the UCLA Bruins and ended up losing by a score of 74-60 in their last game. Arizona walked away from the game having earned a 42.0% field goal percentage (21 out of 50) and buried 4 of 16 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Wildcats buried 14 of their 20 tries for a percentage of 70.0%. When discussing pulling down boards, they earned 32 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 9 assists for the matchup while getting 2 steals and 4 rejections. When talking about the defense, Arizona allowed their opponent to shoot 42.0% from the floor on 21 of 50 shooting. UCLA distributed 9 assists and had 9 steals in this contest. In addition, the Bruins had 31 boards (5 offensive, 26 defensive) and added 4 blocks. UCLA finished the game shooting 66.7% from the charity stripe by knocking down 6 of their 9 attempts. They made 4 of their 15 shots from beyond the perimeter.

James Akinjo is one guy who came through in this contest. He left the arena with 21 points on 6 out of 14 shooting. He played for 37 minutes and snagged 4 boards. Akinjo finished shooting 42.9% from the field and also totaled 3 dimes. Another guy that was a factor in this contest for the Wildcats was Azuolas Tubelis. He had 8 rebounds and also collected 2 dimes. He shot 66.7% from the floor in the matchup by going 8-of-12 (18 points). When all was said and done, Tubelis was on the hardwood for 33 min.

USC has a record of 18-3 this year. The Trojans are responsible for committing 15.8 fouls per game and they shoot 65.2% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 14.2 times per contest (111th in Division 1) and they turn it over 12.5 times per contest. USC has totaled 1,597 points for the campaign (76.0 per game) and they grab 40.5 rebounds per contest. As an offensive unit, the Trojans are hitting on 47.1% from the field, which ranks them 57th in the country. The Trojans defensively are ranked 40th in D-1 in points allowed per game with 63.6. The USC defense surrenders 31.1% on 3-point attempts (144 of 463) and opponents are making 70.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 12.0 dimes and 32.1 boards per contest, which is ranked 110th and 59th in those categories. They are forcing 12.0 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 38.3% from the field (6th in D-1).

The last time they took the court, the USC Trojans walked away with a victory by a final of 89-71 when they faced the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Trojans snagged 24 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds totaling 35 in this contest. They stuffed 4 tries while getting 5 steals for the game. The Sun Devils were called for 17 fouls in this game which took the Trojans to the free throw line for a total of 10 tries. They were able to bury 6 of them for a rate of 60.0%. Concerning shots from downtown, USC buried 11 out of their 20 attempts (55.0%). When the final whistle was blown, the Trojans ended up shooting 36 out of 66 from the floor which gave them a rate of 54.5%. The Trojans permitted the Sun Devils to knock down 27 out of 60 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 45.0% in the game. They finished 53.3% from distance by shooting 8 of 15 and ended up going 9 out of 9 from the free throw line (100.0%). When discussing rebounding, USC permitted Arizona State to grab 25 in total (7 on the offensive side).

Evan Mobley was important for the Trojans for this contest. He converted 9 out of 11 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 81.8%, which had him sitting at 22 points. Mobley collected 9 boards in his 31 minutes and accounted for 7 dimes for this contest. An additional guy that ended up playing a role for USC was Isaiah Mobley. He scored 20 points in his 33 minutes played by way of 9 out of 15 from the floor in the game. Mobley ended up shooting 60.0% from the floor while also contributing 2 assists and 12 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Arizona (+7.5)

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