USC vs. Washington Prediction: Can Sahvir Wheeler, Huskies Upset Trojans in Pac-12 Tournament?
The Washington Huskies will take on the red-hot USC Trojans on Wednesday afternoon to kick off the final Pac-12 Tournament. Can Sahvir Wheeler and the Huskies end the Trojans' hot streak? Ben Rajavuori thinks so, and explains why in his USC vs. Washington prediction.
Ben Rajavuori - March 13, 2024, 12:55 PM EDT
5 minUSC vs. Washington Prediction: Can Sahvir Wheeler, Huskies Upset Trojans in Pac-12 Tournament?
The Washington Huskies and USC Trojans meet in the first round of the 2024 Pac-12 men’s basketball tournament. The Washington Huskies enter as the eighth seed in the tournament, while the USC Trojans are the ninth seed. The winner has to face no. 1 seed Arizona tomorrow. Neither team is on pace to get an at-large bid right now, so both need a miracle run if they want to make the big dance this year. The Huskies are getting a bucket here, as they are +3 underdogs against the Trojans today. Who should we take?
USC vs. Washington DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: March 13, 2024
- Game Time: 3:00 pm ET
- Where to Watch: Pac-12 Network
USC vs. Washington ODDS
- Spread: USC -3 (-110), Washington +3 (-110)
- Total Odds: O/U 152.5 (-110)
- Moneyline Odds: USC (-160), Washington (+140)
USC vs. Washington Prediction
The Huskies are entering this game with a 17–14 record this season and a 9–11 record in conference play. They had some big wins this year, including non-conference wins over Gonzaga and Xavier. While they dropped a lot of games in conference play, they had some marquee wins and are a very experienced group. The Huskies rank second overall in division I experience with an average of 3.58 years per player. This experience will be crucial in the tournament, as tournament basketball typically favors the more experienced teams. Keion Brooks, Sahvir Wheeler, Moses Wood, and Paul Mulcahy are all in their fifth years of college basketball. The only starter who is not a fifth-year senior is Koren Johnson, a sophomore. This is a talented Huskies group that had to play in a vicious Pac-12 conference this year, but they have the experience and coaching needed for a potential run in the tournament.
USC enters this game with a 14–17 record and an 8–12 record in conference play. The Trojans were able to turn it around a little bit down the stretch of the season, as they started 2–8 in Pac-12 play and finished on a 6–4 run to end at 8–12. That included winning their last three games against Washington, Arizona State, and Arizona. The Trojans have not been healthy for the entire season, as star player Isaiah Collier missed six games and Boogie Ellis missed four. However, they are healthy for the tournament, which is all that is important. The Trojans best weapon is their size. The Trojans rank as the seventh tallest team by average player height, and use that length tremendously on defense, as they have forced the highest turnover rate on defense in Pac-12 play.
The Trojans went on the road to face Washington two Saturdays ago and beat them 82–75. The Trojans were +4.5 underdogs in that game and came away with a seven-point win. However, I think that performance is playing too much into this line today, as the Huskies now find themselves as the underdogs in this game at +3. This line feels like an overreaction to USC beating Washington and USC coming into this game off three consecutive wins. In that game, shot 47% from three and 57% from two. Those are not sustainable numbers for USC, and I expect them to regress in the second meeting between these two teams in the tournament. Washington is the more experienced team and had the better overall season with better nonconference play as well. I love getting points with Washington in this spot today to avenge their loss from March 2nd.
USC vs. Washington Pick
Pick: Washington Huskies +3 (-110) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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