The UCLA Bruins take on the USC Trojans in Pac 12 College Basketball action tonight. The game is scheduled for a 9:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPN2. Currently the odds for the game have the Bruins favored to pick up the win on the road.
UCLA has been a bit streaky this season, but at the current time they've won two straight in Pac 12 play. The Bruins are just 10-7 on the season but have beaten both Stanford and California their last two games overall, albeit both games coming at home. Prior to that UCLA lost five straight games to very tough competition — Gonzaga, Kentucky and three straight road losses to Alabama, Colorado and Utah. That's a tough stretch.
Tonight they take on the rival Trojans, who are not a good basketball team. USC did beat California just a couple of days ago, but the Trojans have not been able to consistently put a good effort on the floor this season.
Here are some of USC's losses this season: Portland State, Akron, Penn State, Army. The Trojans will be playing at home, where they have gone 6-3 this year, but taking on the Bruins makes this a tough contest.
UCLA has been led in scoring this season by Bryce Alford, but they need Norman Powell and Kevon Looney to play well in order to win games. All three average better than 13 points a game and Looney has been a very impressive freshman this season, hitting the boards.
A win by UCLA sets them up nicely to piece together a winning streak, but their next two games are also on the road before hosting No. 8 Utah at the end of January.
The Bruins will crash the boards, run in transition and find a way to pick up a win on the road. USC has just been too inconsistent this season and although they have played pretty good the last two games, we like UCLA.
Free Pick: UCLA 68, USC 60
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