USC vs. Arizona odds: Win probability, final score prediction in Pac 12 Tournament
The USC Trojans will face off against the No.1 Seed in the Pac-12 tournament, the Arizona Wildcats, after overcoming the Washington Huskies in their second round matchup. Despite the Trojans’ No. 9 Seed position, they do possess some serious talent on their roster, which is why this 1 vs. 9 matchup has the potential to be arguably one of the more exciting games in this tournament.
In terms of head-to-head record, USC and Arizona split their two meetings this season, with each program winning on their home court. The Trojans picked up the more recent win, closing out the season with a 78-65 victory over the Wildcats. Arizona has performed significantly better than USC this season as they finished the regular season as Pac-12 champions with a 24-7 overall record and were 15-5 in conference. Whereas USC ended the regular season 14-17 and 8-12 in the Pac-12.
As far as what is on the line for each program, Arizona has already punched its ticket into this year’s field of 68 for the NCAA men’s championship tournament. The same cannot be said for USC, which needs to win the Pac-12 tournament to earn the conference’s automatic bid.
Odds for USC vs. Arizona
According to FanDuel, the Wildcats are 8.5-point favorites to advance to the conference semifinals entering Thursday afternoon’s contest. As far as the money line for each team, USC sits at +320, while Arizona is at -420.
The current point total for this Pac-12 tournament quarterfinal matchup has been placed at 157.5. In their two previous matchups this season, the two schools came short of the current point total, scoring a combined 149 in Tucson, AZ, and 143 in Los Angeles, CA.
Finals are predictions for Trojans vs. Wildcats
BPI Predicted winner: Arizona
BPI Predicted point differential: 15.7
BPI Win probability (for Arizona): 90.7%
BPI Matchup Quality: 76.9
ESPN’s BPI is a model designed to provide a statistical comparison between two teams and predict future success. It agrees with Vegas about what to expect from this game. As far as this matchup is concerned, the sports power’s BPI projects a point differential of 15.7 points in favor of Arizona while also calculating an overwhelming 90.7 percent chance of victory for the Wildcats.
BPI also gives this quarterfinal match up a quality score of 76.9, which is right around the middle of the pack of quality scores for the slate of action on Thursday.
KenPom Predicted final score: Arizona 85, USC 73
KenPom Win probability (for Arizona): 87 percent
KenPom is another predictive system for college basketball. It’s designed to show how strong a team is at a given time without taking factors like injuries into account. In this quarterfinal contest between the Pac-12 powers, KenPom agrees with BPI and Vegas, projecting the Wildcats to advance to the semi-final round of the Pac-12 tournament.
How to watch USC vs. Arizona
Time: 2:00 p.m. CT
Channel: Pac-12 Network, FuboTV (streaming)
Location: Las Vegas (Nev.)
USC and Arizona will tip off at 2:00 PM CT. The game will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where the Pac-12 tournament is being held.
For all the fans who cannot make the trip to the entertainment capital of the world can catch all the action live on the Pac-12 network streaming through FuboTV. First time viewers of the streaming service do have the option of enjoying a free trial of the service.