California vs USC Prediction College Basketball Picks 11/17/24

The California Golden Bears and the USC Trojans meet Sunday in college basketball action from Galen Center. Here’s a California vs USC prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best California vs USC pick. We will examine:

The California Golden Bears’ recent form and player performance

The USC Trojans’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the California Golden Bears

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the USC Trojans

Recent betting trends in games played between California and USC

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the California vs USC game

California Golden Bears Betting Preview

California kicked off their 2024-25 season with a couple of solid wins but ended up falling in their most recent outing. The opener ended up with an 86-73 victory over CSU Bakersfield. Game two was another win 91-73 over Cal Poly.

The Bears’ first loss of the season came Wednesday versus Vanderbilt. California trailed 49-31 after the first half and eventually limped to an 85-69 loss despite a second-half improvement. Andrej Stojakovic topped the team with 17 points and six boards. California will meet the Air Force, Sacramento State, Mercyhurst, Missouri, and Stanford after this one.

USC Trojans Betting Preview

Over on the USC side, they’ve got three wins in the books so far—with a couple of close calls along the way. The Trojans took care of Chattanooga easily enough in their opener 77-51 but only beat Idaho State 75-69 in game two.

On Wednesday versus TX-Arlington, the Trojans played their closest game of the year. USC had a 51-42 edge at the break then got outscored from there 53-47 in a 98-95 win. Desmond Claude was the high man with 26 points, eight assists, and five rebounds.

Why the USC Trojans will win

• California has lost each of its last nine Sunday road games against non-conference opponents.
• USC has won each of its last six home games against California.
• USC has won the first half in each of its last six games against California at Galen Center.

California vs USC Prediction

I’ll probably just stick with USC. Also probably not touching it. The Trojans had a rough second half in their win over TX-Arlington on Wednesday despite shooting a nice 55.6 percent from the field and 81.5 percent (22-of-27) from the line. USC allowed 56.6 percent shooting on the other side and a whopping 66.7 percent (16-of-24) from outside, as well as a 27-23 rebounding deficit.

As for Cal, they didn’t shoot too badly (43.6 percent) or rebound too badly (a 38-33 advantage) against Vanderbilt, but really got buried by 20 turnovers and just six team assists. The Bears should have some good looks against USC, so we’ll likely be in for a higher-scoring finish here. In the end, I like USC to eke out a cover, though.