Another fantastic day of college basketball will come to a close on Wednesday with the #10 Illinois Fighting Illini vs. the USC Trojans at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.
USC basketball (18-7, 7-7 conference) is coming off a tough loss on the road vs. an up-and-coming Ohio State, but the Trojans are 9-3 at home, where they play tonight. Illinois (21-5, 12-3 conference) rebounded nicely in its last outing following back-to-back overtime losses, beating a quality Indiana Hoosiers team by 20.
Illinois vs. USC tips off at 10:00 p.m. ET in a Wednesday Big 10 college basketball matchup from Los Angeles, live on ESPN.
Below, we’ll break down our Illinois vs. USC prediction and picks for Wednesday’s game. Make your college basketball picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks and earn real money if you’re right on game winners, spreads, and totals, including Illinois vs. USC.
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Illinois vs. USC Prediction, Spread, Over/Under
The story of this USC basketball season has been centered around injuries.
First, star freshman guard Alijah Arenas missed the first four months of the season with a torn meniscus. Following that, their coveted transfer, turned leading scorer G Rodney Rice, played only six games before being ruled out for the rest of the season due to shoulder surgery.
Lastly, another key transfer and current leading scorer, G Chad Baker-Mazara, missed the last game against Ohio State with a knee injury and is day-to-day.
The Trojans still sit at a competitive 18-7 overall and 9-3 at home, but are just 7-7 in conference play in a competitive Big 10. This had the potential to be a very exciting season in Los Angeles, but unfortunately, we won’t see the Trojans compete at their full potential this year.
The Fighting Illini are in the midst of a fantastic season. They sit at 21-5 overall, 12-3 in conference play, and an impressive 6-1 on the road. Currently ranked second in the Big Ten, Illinois will need to stave off three teams behind them — all 11-4 in the conference — making each game they play of massive importance for tournament seeding.
This is Illinois' first road trip out west for Big 10 play — the Illini will play USC on Wednesday, followed by another west-coast foe in UCLA on Saturday.
Illinois is led by sharpshooting freshman guard Keaton Wagler, who has impressive point totals of 46, 34, and 28 in three of his last seven outings.
Illinois is absolutely in the mix to make a deep postseason run this year in March Madness, currently ranked fifth overall on KenPom. “Yes” on the Illinois Fighting Illini to win the National Championship is currently returning a 11.11x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks.
Illinois vs. USC Spread, Over/Under for NCAA Basketball Today
The Fighting Illini enter Wednesday’s game as 9.5-point road favorites, returning a 1.19x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks if they win outright.
The Trojans are home underdogs with a 4.34x payout if they win, via PrizePicks Team Picks.
- Spread: Illinois Fighting Illini -9.5 (1.92x payout)
- Over/Under: 150.5 (1.85x payout on over)
- Game Winner Payout: Fighting Illini 1.19x | Trojans 4.34x
Team Picks payouts are live as of publishing and are subject to change.
Illinois vs. USC Prediction on Over/Under
Here are some stats and trends to know to help you make your Illinois vs. USC prediction on the over/under for college basketball on Wednesday, February 18.
- Illinois vs. USC could be an offensive show tonight, with both teams seemingly getting healthier.
- G Kylan Boswell played 33 minutes in his return to the court last game, while G Andrej Stojakovic and USC’s Chad Baker-Mazara are both game-time decisions, improvements from their previous injury designations.
- Illinois has the best adjusted offensive efficiency (132.1) and the best offensive rating in the country (131.1) according to Bart Torvik and KenPom, respectively.
- Both teams have been profitable to the over this year. In USC home games, the over has gone 7-4 (63.6%), the third-best covering percentage in the Big Ten.
- In Fighting Illini road games, the over has gone 4-3-0 (57.1%), the fourth-best mark in the Big Ten.
- USC plays at a blistering pace (35th in tempo) which should speed up the fairly methodical-yet-explosive Illini offense (285th).
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Illinois vs. USC Picks for PrizePicks Today: Wednesday, February 18
Here are two of the top Illinois vs. USC picks to target for Wednesday, February 18, on PrizePicks CBB. Player picks for PrizePicks are headlined by Keaton Wagler and Alijah Arenas.
Illinois G Keaton Wagler vs. USC Projection: 30.5 Pts+Rebs+Asts
- Wagler is averaging 21 points per game on the road as opposed to just 17.1 at home.
- This increase is largely due to his superior shooting from 3-point range on the road, where he is shooting a remarkable 47.7% as opposed to a still-impressive 40% at home.
- USC’s defense is allowing a 3-pointer on 41.6% of its defensive possessions, 2% higher than the national average and 250th nationally.
- The electric freshman is starting to grow into his own later in the season; he has put up more than this PRA projection in four of his last seven games.
USC G Alijah Arenas vs. Illinois Projection: 17.5 Pts
- Speaking of freshmen who are coming into their own, Alijah Arenas is balling right now. He has scored 25, 24, and 29 points in his last three games.
- Those three games are the only three games in which Arenas has played 30+ minutes.
- The Illini defense has been their weak point this season; they are ranked 29th nationally in defensive rating on KenPom, the lowest ranking of any of the top-15 teams overall.
- Across his first four games back from his knee injury, Arenas was averaging 10.5 shots per game.
- Over his last three games, that number has ballooned to 19.33 shots per game due to increased playing time.
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Make Illinois vs. USC Picks on PrizePicks
Illinois vs. USC should be a fun game in Los Angeles to wrap up what is shaping up to be an electric Wednesday college basketball slate. These Illinois vs. USC picks for Big Ten college basketball ball are just one of many ways hoops fans can get in on the college basketball action.
You can make your picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks and earn real money on any game, every day. Just pick players, predict More or Less on their projected stats, and cash in if you’re correct. Or, with Team Picks, make predictions on winners, spreads, and over/unders, now available in 34 states.
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