Maryland (20-6) vs USC (14-11)
February 20, 2025 at 08:30 PM EST
The Line: Betting Odds: Maryland -10.5 — Over/Under: 152.5
The USC Trojans and the Maryland Terrapins meet Thursday in college basketball action from Xfinity Center College Park. Here’s a USC vs Maryland prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best USC vs Maryland pick. We will examine:
The USC Trojans’ recent form and player performance
The Maryland Terrapins’ recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the USC Trojans
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Maryland Terrapins
Recent betting trends in games played between USC and Maryland
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the USC vs Maryland game
USC Trojans Betting Preview
The Trojans have had quite the choppy season so far, but they’ve managed to stay above the .500 mark overall. USC hit a 9-4 opening run with losses to Cal, Saint Mary’s, New Mexico, and Oregon in that time. A 4-4 run came next with wins over Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, and Michigan State among losses otherwise versus Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and UCLA. Since then it’s been a 1-3 stretch for the Trojans, though. The lone win in that time came courtesy of Penn State. Otherwise, it was losses to Northwestern, Purdue, and Minnesota. Overall through 25 games so far that gives USC a 14-11 record in the books.
In their Saturday matchup versus Minnesota, USC came out of the locker room with a 38-29 advantage. The Trojans were blitzed 40-28 in the second half however, resulting in a 69-66 loss in the end. Tops in scoring were Chibuzo Agbo (four rebounds; two steals) and Wesley Yates (three rebounds; one assist; one steal; one block), each with 18 points. Also in double-figures was Desmond Claude with 12 points, five assists, and one rebound in 32 minutes of work.
Maryland Terrapins Betting Preview
Over on the Maryland side, they’ve quietly racked up an impressive season against some tough opponents so far. The Terrapins won 11 of their first 13 outings this year, falling to only Marquette and Purdue during that stretch. Consecutive losses to Washington and Oregon came next, then consecutive wins over UCLA and Minnesota before another loss to Northwestern in OT. Since then Maryland has been a solid 7-1 with a lone loss to Ohio State during that time. The wins otherwise came versus Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Rutgers, Nebraska, and Iowa. In total that gives Maryland a 20-6 overall run through the first 26 games.
Matched up against Iowa on Sunday, the Terrapins came out of the first half with a 51-47 deficit. Maryland got down to business from there, taking a 54-24 run toward a 101-74 blowout win. All five starters finished in double-figures, including Ja’Kobi Gillespie with 26 points, five boards, and seven assists. Both Derik Queen (18 points; 13 rebounds) and Julian Reese (16 points; 12 rebounds) notched double-doubles during the victory as well.
Why the Maryland Terrapins will win
- Maryland has won each of its last 12 games at XFINITY Center.
- USC has lost 26 of its last 34 games against AP-ranked opponents.
- USC has lost the first half in each of its last four road games against Conference opponents.
Why the USC Trojans will win
- USC has won three of its last four road games following a home loss.
USC vs Maryland Prediction
I’m going to take a stab at USC here. You could argue this one either way, though. The Trojans have some nice wins in the books so far, but they’ve been a mixed bag overall. They’re coming off a disappointing outing versus a middling Minnesota team, getting out-rebounded 36-27 and coughing up 14 turnovers for 15 Gophers points. USC has lost three of their last five games, but one of those wins was over a very good Michigan State team. The Trojans are competitive with most squads when they’re on their game.
As for Maryland, they had a bad start in their last game versus Iowa but everything worked out in the end. The Terrapins shot a nice 58.2 percent from the field in that one but did have 15 turnovers for 27 Hawkeyes points. It’s anyone’s guess what USC will look like against Maryland in this road matchup, but if all goes well I think the Trojans can get in there.