Pac-12 Battle Will See Offenses Capitalize On Advantages

USC vs. Washington State, 8:30 ET

Close but no cigar is the phrase. Going 1-1 on a night isn't anything special, certainly better than 0-2, but it still makes for a losing night unfortunately. Yesterday, I took two plays and one cashed with ease while the other ended up slipping through my grasp a bit late in the game as I had under 143.5 in Seton Hall vs. Creighton and they combined to score 149. That gives us back-to-back 1-1 nights, which isn't great, but again, not the worst result we could have. I'm going to keep pushing college hoops as we only have a week or so left for the regular season. Let's take a look at tonight's matchup between USC and Washington State. 

Remember at the beginning of the season when everyone thought USC would be a really strong team and Bronny James would be a one-and-done guy? I feel a bit bad for James because he had a very scary health concern at the beginning of the year that threw everything off, but I also am sick of hearing about how he will be playing with his dad. The new story now is that he isn't on mock drafts anymore. Let me make this very clear: if he declares, he will be drafted. Still, he doesn't seem overly comfortable on the floor right now. The team collectively doesn't seem overly comfortable actually. Since the start of 2024, they are 5-9. It is even more bleak since the beginning of December. It started with a demolishing at the hands of Gonzaga and USC went 6-14 over those 20 games. Of those 14 losses, they've fallen three times in overtime. Outside of that, all losses have been by eight or more points. The team does have some talent on it that can at least keep them competitive, even if they don't result in wins or what I'd consider a close contest. Boogie Ellis is a solid scoring guard that is shooting 43% from the floor and 41.3% from deep. They have another two guards that are scoring in double figures as well. The biggest issue is that the team shoots 35% from deep and 68% from the free throw line. They also turn the ball over about 13 times a game. Ellis is the one true talent on the roster in my opinion. Everyone else could be good, but he's the one I'm most intrigued by for his future.

Washington State has been one of the more impressive teams in the nation this season. They currently sit with the 19th rank in the country and a 21-7 record. They are 2nd in the Pac-12 and 12-5 overall in the conference games. Their losses this season came at the hands of Mississippi State, and Santa Clara on neutral courts. Once the Pac-12 games started they lost to Utah, Colorado, and Oregon in three out of four games. The Oregon loss was a home loss. After that, they dropped an overtime game at California. They then reeled off eight straight wins before falling at Arizona State on Saturday. They lost that game by 12, so it wasn't even particularly close. Still, the team plays really well together and finds ways to win. They've only had the same leading scorer in back-to-back games once in the past 11 games. The team has a solid balance of front court and back court players. They have four players averaging double figures with three forwards getting 10 or more points per game. Their one guard, Myles Rice, is not a very good shooter from deep, but an efficient scorer and finds ways to get to the line where he shoots well. Washington State doesn't turn the ball over as much as USC, but they shoot fairly similarly. The bigger thing is that they will attack down low. 

I wouldn't be surprised if Washington State takes care of business at home. We aren't at the tournament yet, but I don't expect them to be very good in it. I think they are winning matchups right now. USC is actually a bad matchup in terms of the guards for Washington State. However, the Trojans will struggle to stop the big men. I think we see this game go over the 138 total. 

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