Southern California (USC) vs. Oklahoma Prediction, Preview, and Odds
The USC Trojans will square off with the Oklahoma Sooners in the finals of the Raby Children's Invitational on Friday afternoon. The Trojans improved to 4-1 on the season with a win over Seton Hall on Thanksgiving Day while the Sooners advanced after upending Iowa in the opening round. The opening tap is scheduled for 3:30 PM EST.
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Welcome Home
The USC Trojans picked up a convincing win over previously unbeaten Seton Hall on Thanksgiving Day, 71-63, to improve to 4-1 on the season. The Raby Children's Invitational, taking place in San Diego, is a homecoming for Trojans' guard Boogie Ellis and he didn't disappoint his fan base. Ellis scored 22 points in helping the Trojans build a 20-p0int lead before settling for the ten-point win. Joshua Morgan had a big night defensively for USC. Morgan blocked a school-record 10 shots to keep the Pirates at bay.
“It's just cool to be back home,” said Ellis, a fifth-year senior who played at Mission Bay High before starting his college career at Memphis. “It was a great experience. I'm glad I got to play in front of my family on Thanksgiving.”
The win by the Trojans was signifcant not only for reaching the tournament final but for stopping a two-game stretch of sloppy play. The Trojans shot 44% overall in the game including nearly 44% from 3-point range in the win. USC was aggressive in the game as well. They got the line 27 times, making 21, compared to just 12 free throw attempts for Seton Hall. They will have to clean up the turnovers to win the finals after committing 19 turnovers on Thanksgiving Day.
NCAAB Predictions and find your match.
Sooners Still Rolling
The Oklahoma Sooners continue to play quality basketball to start the 2023-24 season. Determined to erase last season's sub-.500 finish, the Sooners are now 5-0 on the season after upending the Big 10's Iowa Hawkeyes 79-67 to reach the tournament final. Jalon Moore led the way on Thursday with 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting to lead the Sooners to the victory. Javian McCollum added 14 points and Otega Oweh chipped in 13. Oklahoma led by 12 after one and cruised to victory in the second half.
The Sooners shot 48% from the floor overall in the opening round victory. The team did struggle from long range, hitting on just 20% of its 3-point shots. The Sooners lost the rebounding battle as well, 44-35. They will have to shore up the interior after giving up 18 offensive rebounds to the Hawkeyes. Oklahoma did distribute the ball well, finishing with 15 assists compared with 10 for the Sooners.
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The loss to UC Irvine last week at home may be exactly what the Trojans needed to kick-start their season. They had a sloppy win over Brown to go along with the loss to UC-Irvine and looked lethargic in the two losses. The trip to San Diego seemed to revitalize the Trojans as they shot the ball well and controlled the tempo against Seton Hall. The Trojans now square off against undefeated Oklahoma and I like their chances of controlling the boards in this game after watching Oklahoma cough up 18 offensive rebounds to Iowa on Thanksgiving Day. Ellis will cause problems on the perimeter for Oklahoma and USC looked like the more balanced team on both ends of the court at this point. I like the Trojans to dominate the interior and make the Sooners become a more one-dimensional, outside shooting team.
Take USC.
Prediction: USC
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USC, even with just a marginal schedule thus far, is only ranked 112th in the country in points per game. They rely heavily on Ellis' ability to control things on the offensive end and their interior defense to shut down the opposition. USC had 13 blocks in the win over Seton Hall compared with just three for the Pirates. Oklahoma's defense has been stout as well, including against the Hawkeyes' usually potent offense. The Sooners held Iowa to just 35% shooting from the field and under 70 points. Neither team plays at a particularly fast pace, both are ranked over 200th in the country. This will be more of a slow-paced grinder decided by which team can knock down open shots.
Take the under.
Prediction: Under
Mark has been a sports fanatic since childhood. He is also an avid follower of sports analytics and has used it in his own betting analysis for over two decades. Now we have Mark on our team here at Stat Salt. He holds degrees in marketing, broadcasting, and English and uses this vast array of assets to dissect and analyze game matchups. Mark will provide you with a wide variety of statistics to consider and a strong opinion in each matchup that he covers. Please follow him daily for an up-to-the-minute analysis of all the important games.
