USC Trojans vs UCLA Bruins Prediction, 2/24/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: USC Trojans vs UCLA Bruins

Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Location: Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA

TV: ESPN+

Pauley Pavilion is the location where the UCLA Bruins (18-9) will go up against the USC Trojans (18-9) on Tuesday.

The USC Trojans took the court against Oregon and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 71-70 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Trojans ended up finishing with 17 and Oregon accounted for 16 fouls. They also converted 4 of their 16 tries from 3-point land. Oregon finished the game shooting 77.8% from the charity stripe by converting 21 of their 27 tries. Additionally, Oregon snagged 32 rebounds (8 offensive, 24 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Oregon doled out 11 assists and had 10 steals for the contest. With regard to defense, USC let their opponent shoot 45.1% from the floor on 23 out of 51 shooting. They also dished out 13 assists for this contest as well as forcing 15 turnovers and having 11 steals. In regard to pulling down boards, they earned 34 with 13 of them being of the offensive sort. From the free throw line, the Trojans buried 18 of their 24 shots for a percentage of 75.0%. USC wrapped up the contest with a 38.3% FG percentage (23 of 60) and knocked down 6 out of their 19 3-pointers.

Chad Baker-Mazara is a guy who came through in the matchup. He accounted for 21 points on 6 of 11 shooting. He saw the court for 23 minutes and also pulled down 4 rebounds. He finished the game at 54.5% from the field but finished the game without an assist.

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USC heads into this game with a mark of 18-9 on the season. They have an average of 80.3 points per outing (91st in D-1) while going 46.2% from the field. The Trojans are hitting 32.3% on 3-point shots (169 of 523) and 71.7% from the charity stripe. As a team, USC is grabbing 36.9 rebounds per game and has accumulated 411 assists for the campaign, which ranks 128th in college in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 12.6 times per contest and as a unit they commit 19.0 fouls per game.

Defensively, the Trojans are forcing 12.5 turnovers per contest and they draw 21.3 personal fouls. They are conceding 30.9% on 3-point attempts and they rank 251st in D-1 in points per game allowed (76.6). The Trojans defense is giving up a FG percentage of 42.5% (704 of 1,655) and they surrender 33.5 boards per contest as a team. They rank 213th in the country in allowing assists to the opposition with 382 surrendered this year.

When they last stepped on the court, the UCLA Bruins walked away with a victory by a final of 95-94 against Illinois. In regard to how they rebounded, UCLA allowed Illinois to grab 40 overall (20 on the offensive glass). They shot 31.0% from 3-point land by going 13 out of 42 and walked away from this one shooting 25 out of 31 from the free throw line (80.6%). The Bruins permitted Illinois to make 28 out of 69 attempts from the field which left them shooting 40.6% for this contest. When this game wrapped up, the Bruins shot 34 for 67 from the field which had them sitting at 50.7%. When it comes to shooting from beyond the arc, UCLA knocked down 11 out of 28 attempts (39.3%). They were able to bury 16 of them for a rate of 84.2%. Illinois earned 18 fouls in this game which took the Bruins to the free throw line for a total of 19 attempts. They also coughed it up 5 times, while recording 5 steals for the matchup. The Bruins snagged 16 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 23 in the matchup.

Eric Dailey Jr. was important for the Bruins in this contest. He converted 8 out of 13 in this matchup giving him a rate of 61.5%, and had 6 rebounds. He scored 20 points in his 29 mins on the court and had 2 dimes for the contest.

UCLA has a record of 18-9 for the season. The Bruins are responsible for committing 17.5 personal fouls every game and they connect on 76.6% from the free throw line. Their rate of earning assists is at 15.5 times per game (92nd in college hoops) and they turn it over 9.4 times per game. UCLA has earned 2,102 points for the campaign (77.9 per contest) and they pull in 32.3 boards per game. As an offensive unit, the Bruins are connecting on 46.6% from the floor, which has them ranked 107th in the nation.

The Bruins on the defensive end are ranked 122nd in Division 1 in points allowed per game with 71.8. They are forcing their opponents into 12.5 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 43.4% from the floor (137th in Division 1). The UCLA defense surrenders 30.9% on shots from distance (211 of 682) and opponents are knocking down 75.6% of their shots from the free throw line. They have surrendered 14.6 assists and 33.1 rebounds per contest, which is 273rd and 100th in the country.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take USC

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