In the\u00a0upcoming NCAA\u00a0Men’s Basketball matchup between the Ohio State Buckeyes (15-13, 7-10 Big\u00a0Ten) and USC Trojans (14-13, 6-10 Big Ten), both teams enter Wednesday night\u2019s contest at the Galen Center in\u00a0Los Angeles mired in three-game losing streaks.<\/p>\n
Date:<\/strong> Wednesday, February 26, 2025<\/p>\n Time:<\/strong> 10:30 PM ET<\/p>\n Arena:<\/strong> Galen Center Los Angeles, CA<\/p>\n With the over\/under set at 151.5 points, this analysis evaluates the likelihood of the game exceeding or falling short of this total, alongside a final score prediction and betting strategy.<\/p>\n The Buckeyes have faltered offensively in their\u00a0recent outings, posting their two\u00a0worst shooting\u00a0performances of\u00a0the season. In a\u00a070-49 loss to Northwestern on\u00a0February 20, Ohio State shot a season-low 32.7% from\u00a0the field, followed by a 31.7% showing in a 69-61 loss at UCLA.<\/span>\u00a0Star\u00a0guard Bruce Thornton (17.3 PPG) remains the focal point, but his scoring has\u00a0dipped recently, with\u00a0just one 20-point game in his last five\u00a0appearances.<\/span>\u00a0The potential return of\u00a0center Aaron Bradshaw (6.6 PPG), who missed the last two\u00a0games due to illness, could bolster interior play, but his impact may\u00a0be limited given his modest averages.<\/span><\/p>\n USC\u2019s defense ranks 259th nationally, allowing\u00a074.3 points per game, while their offense averages 76.7 PPG.<\/span>\u00a0Despite\u00a0Desmond Claude\u2019s standout performances (16.2 PPG, 4.2 APG), the\u00a0Trojans have lost\u00a0five of their\u00a0last six games, including a 95-85 defeat at Rutgers where Claude dropped 30 points.<\/span>\u00a0Head\u00a0coach Eric Musselman has emphasized resilience, but\u00a0USC\u2019s perimeter defense (31.7% opponent three-point shooting) and rebounding deficiencies (28.6 RPG, 334th\u00a0nationally) persist.<\/span><\/p>\n Combined Averages<\/strong>: Ohio State (78.2 PPG) and USC\u00a0(76.7 PPG) collectively\u00a0average\u00a0154.9 points<\/strong>, which exceeds the 151.5 over\/under line.<\/span>\u00a0However, their opponents\u2019 combined scoring (146.2 PPG) suggests\u00a0tighter defensive battles.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n USC\u2019s Home Trends<\/strong>: The Trojans\u2019 home games have seen\u00a0the total go\u00a0OVER in 11 of their last 17 contests<\/strong>, including\u00a04 of their past\u00a05.<\/span>\u00a0This\u00a0trend contrasts with\u00a0Ohio State\u2019s road struggles (5-15 SU in last 20 away games), which often result in lower-scoring affairs.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Recent Offensive Slumps<\/strong>: Both teams are mired in offensive ruts. Ohio State\u2019s shooting woes and USC\u2019s inconsistent scoring (1-4 SU in the last 5 games) create uncertainty about their ability to sustain high efficiency.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Pace of Play<\/strong>: USC\u2019s games average 72.8 possessions per contest, slightly above the\u00a0national median, while Ohio\u00a0State operates at\u00a0a moderate tempo.<\/span>\u00a0A faster-paced game could inflate scoring, but both\u00a0teams\u2019 recent slumps suggest a\u00a0grind.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Defensive Efficiency<\/strong>: Ohio\u00a0State allows 92.2 points\u00a0per 100 possessions (154th nationally), while USC surrenders 96.9 (281st).<\/span>\u00a0These metrics indicate\u00a0exploitable defenses, but the Buckeyes\u2019 recent shooting struggles\u00a0(29.3% three-point defense) may counteract this.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Aaron\u00a0Bradshaw\u2019s Status<\/strong>: The potential\u00a0return of Ohio State\u2019s center could improve rebounding and\u00a0interior defense, indirectly suppressing USC\u2019s second-chance opportunities.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n Home-Court Advantage<\/strong>: USC\u2019s Galen Center has been a high-scoring environment, with\u00a011 of 17 home\u00a0games exceeding the\u00a0total.<\/span>\u00a0This\u00a0trend aligns with\u00a0the Trojans\u2019 defensive lapses but\u00a0contradicts their recent offensive inconsistency.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Here are the predicted scores from five successful NCAA basketball prediction models:<\/p>\n These predictions generally suggest a close game with neither team scoring excessively, supporting the under 151.5 pick.<\/p>\n Given the\u00a0clash of USC\u2019s home scoring trends and Ohio State\u2019s road offensive struggles, this game hinges on\u00a0whether either team\u00a0can break out\u00a0of its slump. USC\u2019s defensive vulnerabilities (74.3 PPG allowed) could allow Thornton\u00a0to exploit mismatches, while Claude\u2019s playmaking may keep the\u00a0Trojans competitive. However, both teams\u2019 recent performances suggest a\u00a0lower-scoring contest than their seasonal averages.<\/p>\n Predicted Final Score<\/strong>: USC 72, Ohio State 68 (Total:\u00a0140 points)<\/p>\n Under\u00a0151.5 Points<\/strong>: Lean\u00a0on the\u00a0UNDER<\/strong>\u00a0due to Ohio State\u2019s shooting woes, USC\u2019s inconsistent offense, and the potential for\u00a0a slower-paced game.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Alternate Lines<\/strong>: Consider\u00a0USC -1.5<\/strong>\u00a0given their home-court\u00a0edge and Ohio\u00a0State\u2019s road struggles, but prioritize the under as the stronger play.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n While USC\u2019s home games have\u00a0trended toward\u00a0high scores, the\u00a0compounding offensive struggles of\u00a0both teams\u2014particularly Ohio\u00a0State\u2019s road inefficiency\u2014create a\u00a0favorable environment for the\u00a0UNDER 151.5<\/strong>. Bettors should monitor Bradshaw\u2019s availability, as his presence could further suppress scoring by bolstering Ohio State\u2019s interior defense.<\/p>\n PICK: under 151.5 total points LOSE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the\u00a0upcoming NCAA\u00a0Men’s Basketball matchup between the Ohio State Buckeyes (15-13, 7-10 Big\u00a0Ten) and USC Trojans (14-13, 6-10 Big Ten), both teams enter Wednesday night\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":24560,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[102],"tags":[592,1451,3623,3029,175,3243,1363,3788,3620,1354],"class_list":["post-24552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-basketball","tag-ai-picks","tag-ai-sports-prediction","tag-ats-sports-picks","tag-big-ten-basketball","tag-college-basketball","tag-ncaa-mens-basketball","tag-ohio-state-buckeyes","tag-ohio-state-buckeyes-vs-usc-trojans","tag-usc-trojans","tag-various-predictive-models","two-columns"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/B.-Thornton.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24552"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24552\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24572,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24552\/revisions\/24572"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atswins.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Key Team Trends and\u00a0Recent Performance<\/h2>\n
Ohio State\u2019s Offensive Struggles<\/h3>\n
USC\u2019s Defensive Vulnerabilities<\/h3>\n
Scoring Trends and\u00a0Over\/Under Analysis<\/h2>\n
Historical and Seasonal Context<\/h3>\n
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Pace\u00a0and Defensive Metrics<\/h3>\n
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Prediction Models and External\u00a0Factors<\/h2>\n
Injury and Intangibles<\/h3>\n
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Predicted Scores from Top NCAA Basketball Models<\/h3>\n
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Score Projection<\/h3>\n
Betting Recommendations<\/h2>\n
\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n