Posted on
2/27/2008 6:02:21 PM
College Basketball Betting - Oregon at Southern Cal
By Charles Jay
BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds: USC -4.5
The Oregon Ducks (15-10 SU, 12-11 ATS), who are seeing their NCAA tournament hopes flickering away, travel to Los Angeles on Thursday night when they face off against the USC Trojans (15-9 SU, 13-8-1 ATS), who are in much the same boat, in a Pac 10 game that is scheduled to tip off at 11 PM ET at the Galen Center.
In the BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds, USC is listed as a 4.5-point favorite.
Here are some of the NCAA basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* ORE has covered two of its last seven games
* ORE has lost six of its last nine games SU
* ORE has played four of its last five games UNDER the total
* ORE has lost six of its last eight road games SU
* ORE has played four of its last six road games UNDER the total
* USC has won and covered six of its last nine games
* USC has covered two of its last six home games
* USC has won 17 of its last 23 home games SU
* USC has won four of the last six meetings SU
* USC is 3-2-1 ATS in the last six meetings
* Five of the last seven meetings have gone OVER the total
* ORE is 4-0-1 ATS in the last five meetings as the road team
* ORE has won four of the last five meetings SU as the road team
* Four of the last six meetings in L.A. have gone OVER the total
* USC has had the shooting edge in four of the last six meetings
* ORE has had the rebounding edge in four of the last five meetings
* ORE has made more three-pointers in eight of the last ten meetings
Oregon is currently 50th in the real-time RPI, while USC is 35th. Both have played rather competitive non-conference schedules, with the Trojans having a little more success against their own slate. Oregon is coming off a loss against Washington State, and two weeks ago hardly even showed up against Stanford, shooting just 29% on the way to a 72-43 defeat.
But USC is a rather tenuous favorite here. The Trojans did not possess a lot of depth as it was; then Daniel Hackett went down to injury and that loss was felt in the 10-point home defeat suffered against UCLA. OJ Mayo is currently being bothered by a groin injury, and made just two baskets against the Bruins, going the entire 40 minutes. Since the rotation is dominated by freshmen and sophomores, USC figures to be a little fatigued toward the end of the year if they can barely get a blow during games.
Meanwhile, Oregon coach Ernie Kent is committed to his matchup zone, something which might hamper Mayo as well, if there isn't enough support. When USC went to Oregon and won the previous meeting (95-86 in overtime on January 26), Mayo had 25 points but the aforementioned Hackett had 26.
We like Oregon's chances this time, especially if they can get USC into a rather fast-paced game, something previous Trojan opponents UCLA and Washington State don't like to play. We'll take the points with the Ducks, the 4.5-point underdog in the BetUS NCAAB betting odds.
JAY'S PLAY: OREGON
Go to the BetUS.com online sportsbook today to bet on NCAA basketball. We have the most current NCAA basketball odds and lines, as well as player and game props. Join BetUS.com to experience the best in online sports betting action!
(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com gives it the old college try as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)