Check out our free Long Beach State vs USC pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Los Angeles. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.
Long Beach State vs USC Pick & Preview: Wednesday, December 14th Betting Odds
Beach vs Trojans Matchup at a Glance
- Sport: NCAAB
- Teams: Long Beach State Beach at USC Trojans
- Where: Los Angeles at Galen Center
- Date: Wednesday, December 14th
- Betting Odds: Long Beach State +11.5, LBST +506 | USC -720 O/U 145.0
Beach Preview:
The Long Beach State Beach head into today’s game in what will be their 10th game of the season, posting a record of 4-5. On the road, the Beach will be playing their 4th game of the season, having gone 1-3. So far, the Beach have been the underdog 4 times, going 1-3 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +11.5 underdogs on the spread.
Long Beach State’s leading scorer this season is Joel Murray who is averaging 14.44 points per contest. So far, Murray has accounted for 20.19% of the team’s scoring. In addition, he is contributing 3.56 rebounds per game and 4.44 assists. Marcus Tsohonis is the second leading scorer for the Beach, averaging 12.38 points per game. Between him and Tsohonis, they are accounting for 35.6% of the team’s scoring.
On offense, Long Beach State is scoring a rate similar to the NCAA average at 73.9 points per game. This figure has come despite struggling to knock down shots from outside. Through 9 games, they have only hit 35.4% of their 3-point field goal attempts. For the season, 31.73% of their shots have come from beyond the arc.
Trojans Preview:
USC will take the floor against the Beach with an overall record of 7-3. So far this season, USC has played 8 games at home, sitting with a record of 5-3. At the time of this article, the oddsmakers have the Trojans as the -11.5 point favorites. The Trojans have been favored 7 times, going 6-1 straight up.
USC will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer Boogie Ellis who is averaging 14.4 points per game for the Trojans. Ellis is also important to the team’s ability to score on the perimeter. So far, he leads the team in 3-point shots made. Also key to the Trojans’ offensive gameplan is the play of Drew Peterson who has hit 45.3% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 13.8 points per game.
Coming into today’s game, USC will be looking from some improved play from their offense. Currently, the Trojans are ranked 159th at 72.6 points per game. A major reason for their low scoring mumbers is the fact that they tend to work the clock on offense. This year, they are the 389th ranked team in terms of pace. When looking at their 3-point shooting numbers, USC is close to the NCAA average at 36.0%.
Free Spread Prediction: Long Beach State Beach +11.5
Our analysis for this game between USC Trojans and the Long Beach State Beach points to Long Beach State covering the spread as +11.5 point underdogs. We the line for this matchup being set too high, leaving an opportunity for Long Beach State to cover. Even if they are trailing throughout the game, the Beach are an excellent candidate to keep the final score closer than oddsmakers are expecting. In these situations, the better team’s pace of play can play a large role in them being able to cover such a large spread. However, given that both sides are near the NCAA average in possessions per game, Long Beach State won’t be forced to play an unfamiliar style of basketball. Heading into the game, our model recommends locking in a bet on the Long Beach State Beach at +11.5.
