Penn State vs USC Prediction 2/11/25 College Basketball Picks

The Penn State Nittany Lions and the USC Trojans meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Galen Center. Here’s a Penn State vs USC prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Penn State vs USC pick. We will examine: 

The Penn State Nittany Lions’ recent form and player performance

The USC Trojans’ recent form and player performance 

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Penn State Nittany Lions

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the USC Trojans

Recent betting trends in games played between Penn State and USC

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

Penn State Nittany Lions Betting Preview

The Nittany Lions got off to a pretty good start this year but they’ve struggled amid the tough Big Ten schedule. Penn State won 12 of their first 14 games, taking out Binghamton, UMBC, St. Francis PA, Virginia Tech, Fort Wayne, Fordham, Buffalo, Purdue, Coppin State, Drexel, Penn, and Northwestern in that time. Since then, however, it’s been a rough 1-9 run over the last 10 games. Penn State beat only Rutgers in that time. Otherwise, it was losses to Indiana, Illinois, Oregon, Michigan State, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, Minnesota, and UCLA, giving the Nittany Lions a spotty 13-11 overall record through 24 games so far this year. 

In the UCLA matchup on Saturday, the Lions came out of the gate with a 44-31 run in the first half. Penn State was outscored 34-23 the rest of the way, ultimately not getting any closer in a 78-54 defeat. The Lions’ top scorer (and only double-digit scorer) was Zach Hicks with 14 points and eight rebounds. Nick Kern (five rebounds) and Ace Baldwin (three rebounds) each got close with nine points apiece, though. 

USC Trojans Betting Preview

Over on the USC side, they’ve had some good runs mixed with some spotty play this year. The Trojans beat Chattanooga, Idaho State, TX Arlington, San Jose State, and Grambling in their first six games, then fell to Saint Mary’s, New Mexico, and Oregon. After wins over Washington, Montana State, Cal State Northridge, and Southern, USC hit a 4-4 run with wins over Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Michigan State. The losses in that time were versus Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and UCLA. Since then it’s been a pair of losses to Northwestern and Purdue, giving the Trojans a 13-10 record in their first 24 outings of the season. 

Matched up against Purdue back on Friday, the Trojans hit a 48-36 deficit in the first half. USC didn’t end up getting any closer than that on a 42-36 second-half run and lost the game 90-72. The only starter to finish in double-figures was Wesley Yates with 30 points, four boards, two steals, and two assists. Isaiah Elohim added 11 points with two rebounds off the bench, and Jalen Shelley chipped in 10 bench points with four blocks and six rebounds.

Why the USC Trojans will win

• Penn State has lost nine of its last 10 games against the Big Ten Conference.
• USC has won 23 of its last 29 night games at Galen Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Penn State Nittany Lions will win

• USC has lost each of its last three night games against the Big Ten Conference.

Penn State vs USC Prediction 

I’ll lean toward USC. The Trojans haven’t been playing great lately, though. That was on full display in their latest loss to a good Purdue team on Friday. USC gave up 50 percent shooting from the field with a 48-31 rebounding deficit. The Trojans shot just 4-of-26 (15.4 percent) from 3-point range and 16-of-29 (55.2 percent) from the line in a pretty miserable shooting outing overall themselves. The good news is that USC is still scoring well. They’ve hit 70 or more points in five straight games. The bad news is that the Trojans are giving up a lot of points on the other side. 

As for Penn State, they’ve been mired in a slump themselves with fewer than 65 points in three straight games amid this five-game losing streak. The Nittany Lions shouldn’t have a ton of issues scoring here, however, so I like a fairly high total with USC eking it out in the end.