Overview
No. 10 Miami Hurricanes look to upset the No. 7 USC Trojans to kick off the March Madness tournament on Friday.
Last games records
Miami is coming off of a solid effort against Duke. Although they were defeated 80-76, they certainly made the Blue Devils work for the victory.
USC dropped a matchup with rival UCLA last week by a final score of 69-59. However, they have had six days to recover from the loss and should be prepared for a strong bounce-back performance against Miami in this contest.
Matchup Information
Let’s take a look at the March Madness betting odds for this game.
Miami at USC Betting Analysis
Miami Hurricanes Betting Analysis
Hurricanes finished their season with a strong 23-10 record. Their reward? A date with a talented USC Trojan squad in the first round of March Madness.
Nonetheless, this is a Hurricane team with the talent to potentially upset the odds. Miami will have no problem keeping up in terms of pure scoring. They feature three prominent scorers in Kameron McGusty (17.5 PPG), Isaiah Wong (15.5 PPG), and Charlie Moore (12.5 PPG).
But the Hurricanes will not be able to win this game if they let USC dominate with their greatest strength: rebounding.
USC finished the season with a mark of 40.2 rebounds per game which was good for 10th in the nation. Meanwhile, Miami posted 30.5 rebounds per game which was 346th in the nation. That is the kind of discrepancy that has plenty of bettors placing their March Madness bets on USC.
But if Miami can find a way to contain the Trojans on the boards, especially on the offensive glass, then they will find themselves with an opportunity to win.
USC Trojans Betting Analysis
If USC dominates on the offensive glass, they will win on Thursday. As aforementioned, they were the 10th ranked team in the nation in rebounds per game.
However, the Trojans don’t have a true elite offensive weapon. Isaiah Mobley is the team leader in points per game with 14.6. But USC features a balanced attack as they have three other players averaging over 11 points per contest.
In the end, is the rebounding prowess of Mobley and Drew Peterson that I have my eyes on. Mobley has been fantastic on the boards with his 8.5 rebound per game average, while Peterson has been solid as well with 6.4 rebounds per contest. This strong rebounding duo could end up making the difference on Friday.
USC are the favorites and will look to get the job done on Friday against a talented Miami team.
Miami at USC Betting Trends
- USC is 15-18 ATS this season.
- Miami is 18-15 ATS this year.
- The Trojans are 2-3 ATS at neutral sites.
- Miami is 2-4 ATS when playing at a neutral site.
Miami at USC Betting Preview
Okay, we already discussed rebounding enough. But are there any other factors that could lead to a Miami upset?
They have some high-powered scorers who are capable of leading them to a win in any given contest. Miami also shoots at a more efficient rate from the field with a mark of 47.8 percent, which is good for 22nd in the nation. Meanwhile, USC shoots 45.4 percent from the field, which is 97th overall.
But the Trojans are a more skilled and experienced team. They do the little things well and are always willing to out-hustle and outwork their opponents. A lot of betting on March Madness comes down to luck, but hustle and effort can always be relied upon.
Trojans should be able to take care of business and advance on Friday.
Miami at USC Betting Prediction
Take the USC Trojans.
How to Bet on Miami at USC
Majority of betting guides favor USC by an extremely narrow margin. Go ahead and place any spread and moneyline bets on the Trojans for this Friday matchup. As long as USC wins the game, they should be in line to cover as well, given the nature of the close-listed spreads.
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