Purdue Boilermakers vs USC Trojans Prediction, 1/17/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Purdue Boilermakers vs USC Trojans

Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026

Location: Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: ESPN+

The USC Trojans (14-3) will take on the Purdue Boilermakers (16-1) at Galen Center on Saturday.

The Purdue Boilermakers played Iowa and went home with a win by a final score of 79-72 in their last contest. Purdue walked away from the game with a 52.9% field goal percentage (27 of 51) and made 6 of 14 shots from downtown. At the free throw line, the Boilermakers made 19 of their 22 attempts for a rate of 86.4%. When discussing grabbing rebounds, they earned 24 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 20 assists in this contest in addition to creating 13 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In terms of defending, Purdue allowed their opponent to shoot 52.9% from the field on 27 of 51 shooting. Iowa earned 14 assists and had 6 steals in the matchup. Moreover, Iowa snagged 20 boards (4 offensive, 16 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Iowa ended up shooting 60.0% at the charity stripe by knocking down 6 of their 10 attempts. They converted 12 of 25 shots from 3-point land. With respect to personal fouls, the Boilermakers ended up finishing with 15 and Iowa finished the game with 20 personal fouls.

Braden Smith is a player who was a contributor in this contest. He ended up walking away with 26 points on 11 out of 18 shooting. He played for 39 minutes and snagged 1 board. He finished the game at 61.1% from the field and earned 14 assists.

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Purdue will enter this game with a mark of 16-1 so far this season. They average 86.0 pts per game (35th in college hoops) while hitting 51.8% from the field. The Boilermakers are shooting 39.5% on three-point shots (159 of 403) and 74.7% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Purdue is grabbing 38.1 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 356 assists this season, which ranks 6th in the country in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 9.8 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 14.2 fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Boilermakers are able to force 11.0 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.1 fouls. They are giving up 31.3% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 61st in college hoops in PPG allowed (68.3). The Boilermakers are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 41.7% (427 of 1,024) and they relinquish 28.6 boards per contest as a squad. They currently rank 200th in the country in allowing assists to their opponents with 232 conceded this year.

In their last game, the USC Trojans went home victorious with a score of 88-71 against Maryland. Regarding attacking the glass, USC permitted Maryland to snag 21 in all (2 offensive). They finished 36.4% from beyond the arc by connecting on 8 out of 22 and ended up shooting 21 of 27 at the free throw line (77.8%). The Trojans permitted Maryland to knock down 21 out of 48 tries from the floor which had them at 43.8% in the matchup. At the conclusion of this game, the Trojans finished 34 out of 66 from the floor which had them shooting 51.5%. With regard to shots from beyond the arc, USC buried 8 of their 25 tries (32.0%). They were able to bury 12 of them for a percentage of 75.0%. Maryland had 20 personal fouls in the game which got the Trojans to the free throw line for 16 shots. They also gave up possession of the ball 6 times, while getting 6 steals for the contest. The Trojans snagged 21 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards for a total of 32 in this matchup.

Jordan Marsh was important for the Trojans in this contest. He converted 7 of 14 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and added 4 rebounds. He recorded 20 points in his 24 minutes on the court and totaled 4 assists for the contest.

USC has a record of 14-3 this year. As an offense, the Trojans are connecting on 47.5% from the field, which ranks them 78th in the nation. USC has accounted for 1,437 pts for the campaign (84.5 per game) and they collect 37.5 rebounds per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 16.5 times per contest (70th in the country) and they turn it over 12.9 times per game. The Trojans are committing 19.5 personal fouls every game while shooting 73.3% from the free throw line.

The USC defense gives up 30.9% on shots from 3-point land (138 of 447) and their opponents are converting on 75.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 13.5 assists and 33.5 total boards per game, which is ranked 199th and 118th in D-1. The Trojans on defense are ranked 252nd in college hoops in points allowed per game with 76.2. They are forcing 13.6 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 41.7% from the field (81st in college hoops).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Purdue

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