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College Hoops Preview: USC vs. UCLA (Feb. 4)

UCLA is currently ranked #12 in the nation and have begun to solidify themselves as the top team on the west coast…

Battle of South California – USC vs. (12) UCLA

UCLA is currently ranked #12 in the nation and have begun to solidify themselves as the top team on the west coast. They looked fantastic against a good Stanford team last week. Their straight-up record if 17 and 4. Against the BetUS spread, the Bruins are only 10 and 10 which makes them an iffy wagering proposition for online betting fans.The advantage doesn’t get any better for them at home where they are 6 and 6 against the spread.

USC hasn’t built upon the fact that their coach, Tim Floyd, is a master recruiter. If they had found a way to keep O.J. Mayo for another season, this team would probably be in the to ten right now in the polls. But Mayo is gone. So, basketball betting fans shouldn’t be surprised that the Trojans are only 15 and 6 straight-up and 10 and 9 against the spread. On the road, USC is 4 and 1 against the spread.

Here are the sportsbook betting odds for this game.

USC Trojans +8 ½ -110
UCLA Bruins -8 ½ -110

Here are a few online wagering trends that might help us find a good online bet in this game.

The USC Trojans are 18 and 6 in their last 24 games as the underdog on the road.
The USC Trojans are 6 and 2 in the last 8 meetings between these two teams at UCLA.
The UCLA Bruins are 4 and 11 in their last 15 games following an against the spread win.
The Underdog is 11 and 4 against the spread in the last 15 meetings between these two teams.

The UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans are bitter rivals and in bitter rivalry games the underdog usually does very well.

Even though UCLA is the better team, USC isn’t all that bad. Taj Gibson and Daniel Hackett are still formidable on that front line and Dwight Lewis is a serious scorer. UCLA could win this game but giving up -8 ½ to those three guys isn’t a good thing.

I’m going with the Trojans to beat the spread in this one. I just don’t see UCLA winning this game by more than four or five points.

USC vs. UCLA Prediction:

I’ll be making an online bet on the USC Trojans to beat the 8 ½ point online betting spread.