Newsletter College Basketball Prediction From Jason Sharpe
Take #586 Oregon (-9.5) over USC (11 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 22)
The Oregon Ducks are off to a rough 2-3 start in Pac-12 play so far, but a lot of that has had to do with some bad luck. The best team in the conference beat the Ducks soundly a few weeks ago, losing 80-62 to Arizona. They went into Washington last week and were swept in what can be a tough travel spot for Pac-12 teams. Oregon had some unfortunate things happen to them in their last two games as WSU and Washington shot a combined 56 percent from three-point range in the defeats. Not a whole lot a team can do when their opponent is on fire from beyond the arc, and that looked to be the biggest factor in both of those games. Keep in mind that the Beavers were ranked 2nd in the Pac-12 last year in three-point defensive field goal percentage for the year and held teams to almost 20 percent lower than their current percentage so far. USC is just 1-4 in conference play to start their year. They have played 4 of their first 6 conference tilts at home, yet despite that have struggled. In their two road defeats they were soundly beaten by an average of 23 points per loss. The Trojans finished dead last in the Pac-12 last year at just 2-16 overall for the season. They pulled out one road win last year, and that was against the other bad Pac-12 team at Washington State. The USC average loss in conference road games last year was by more than 15 points per defeat, and they lost to this Oregon team by 12 points also. Look for a fired-up Ducks team here looking to take out some frustrations on the Trojans. Play Oregon minus the points here.
Take #586 Oregon (-9.5) over USC (11 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 22)
The Oregon Ducks are off to a rough 2-3 start in Pac-12 play so far, but a lot of that has had to do with some bad luck. The best team in the conference beat the Ducks soundly a few weeks ago, losing 80-62 to Arizona. They went into Washington last week and were swept in what can be a tough travel spot for Pac-12 teams. Oregon had some unfortunate things happen to them in their last two games as WSU and Washington shot a combined 56 percent from three-point range in the defeats. Not a whole lot a team can do when their opponent is on fire from beyond the arc, and that looked to be the biggest factor in both of those games. Keep in mind that the Beavers were ranked 2nd in the Pac-12 last year in three-point defensive field goal percentage for the year and held teams to almost 20 percent lower than their current percentage so far. USC is just 1-4 in conference play to start their year. They have played 4 of their first 6 conference tilts at home, yet despite that have struggled. In their two road defeats they were soundly beaten by an average of 23 points per loss. The Trojans finished dead last in the Pac-12 last year at just 2-16 overall for the season. They pulled out one road win last year, and that was against the other bad Pac-12 team at Washington State. The USC average loss in conference road games last year was by more than 15 points per defeat, and they lost to this Oregon team by 12 points also. Look for a fired-up Ducks team here looking to take out some frustrations on the Trojans. Play Oregon minus the points here.
