Halftime Report
Only one more half stands between USC and the win they were favored to collect coming into this evening. They have jumped out to a quick 43-42 lead against California.
USC entered the match having won three straight and they’re just one half away from another. Will they make it four, or will California step up and spoil it? We’ll know soon.
Who’s Playing
California Golden Bears @ USC Trojans
Current Records: California 2-1, USC 3-0
How To Watch
What to Know
California is 1-9 against USC since January of 2019 but they’ll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Sunday. The California Golden Bears will head out to face off against the USC Trojans at 9:30 p.m. ET at Galen Center. The Golden Bears might want some stickum for this one as the team gave up 20 turnovers on Wednesday.
Last Wednesday, California lost to Vanderbilt on the road by a decisive 85-69 margin. The loss was the Golden Bears’ first of the season.
California’s defeat shouldn’t obscure the performances of BJ Omot, who went 7 for 13 en route to 15 points plus six rebounds and two steals, and Andrej Stojakovic, who had 17 points in addition to six rebounds. Omot had some trouble finding his footing against Cal Poly last Thursday, so this was a nice turnaround.
California struggled to work together and finished the game with only six assists. They were smoked by their opponents in that department as Vanderbilt racked up 19.
Meanwhile, USC waltzed into their match on Wednesday with two straight wins… but they left with three. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 98-95 victory over the Mavericks. The overall outcome was as expected, but the Mavericks made it much more of a matchup than the oddsmakers had predicted.
Among those leading the charge was Desmond Claude, who went 9 for 12 en route to 26 points plus eight assists and five rebounds. He had some trouble finding his footing against Idaho State last Thursday, so this was a step in the right direction. Another player making a difference was Josh Cohen, who went 8 for 10 en route to 19 points.
Having lost for the first time this season, California fell to 2-1. As for USC, their win was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 3-0.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as both are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. California hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 82 points per game. However, it’s not like USC struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 83.3. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
California is hoping to beat the odds on Sunday, as the experts think they’re headed for a loss. For those looking to play the spread, watch out: California is playing as the underdog, but their 0-1 record against the spread as such isn’t exactly encouraging.
Odds
USC is a big 9.5-point favorite against California, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Trojans as a 10.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 153.5 points.
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Series History
USC has won 9 out of their last 10 games against California.
- Feb 07, 2024 – California 83 vs. USC 77
- Jan 03, 2024 – USC 82 vs. California 74
- Feb 16, 2023 – USC 97 vs. California 60
- Nov 30, 2022 – USC 66 vs. California 51
- Jan 29, 2022 – USC 79 vs. California 72
- Jan 06, 2022 – USC 77 vs. California 63
- Jan 23, 2021 – USC 76 vs. California 68
- Jan 16, 2020 – USC 88 vs. California 56
- Feb 16, 2019 – USC 89 vs. California 66
- Jan 03, 2019 – USC 82 vs. California 73
