PREMIUM
Rogers' 10* Top Underdog TICKET >> 14-7 (67%) Last 5 Days!
(NCAAB) USC vs. Baylor,
Point Spread: 6.50 | -107.00 USC (Away)
Result: Win
Point Spread: 6.50 | -107.00 USC (Away)
Result: Win
The set-up: No one expected either USC or Baylor to be meeting in a March game with the winner going to the Sweet 16, when the season opened. Neither school was in the AP's preseason top-25 and what's more, neither was among the 25 others listed in "others receiving votes," either! However, both own 26 wins on the season (Baylor has seven losses and USC, nine) as the two get set to play Sunday night in Tulsa at the BOK Center, with the winner advancing to the Sweet 16.
USC; The Trojans had to win a "play-in" game Wednesday, edging Providence to advance as an 11-seed. They then edged sixth-seeded SMU 66-65 on Friday, ending the Mustangs' 16-game winning streak (SMU had been 26-1 since a 4-3 start in Nov!). The Trojans trailed most of the game against SMU until hitting a three-pointer to put them in the lead with 2:10 left. After SMU answered, another three put the Trojans ahead 66-65 with 36 seconds left, which was the final. USC owns excellent size with its top-two scorers, the 6-10 Boatwright (15.1 & 4.5) and the 6-11 Metu (14.5 & 7.9). The perimeter features five players averaging between 7.2 and 13.0 PPG, lead by McLaughlin (13.0-3.6-5.5) and Stewart (12.3 & 4.0).
SMU: The Bears opened the season 15-0 and earned the school's first-ever No. 1 ranking in the AP poll on Jan. 9th. However, on Jan. 10th, Baylor lost 89-68 at West Va. and entered the tourney just 10-7 over its final 17 games. A 91-73 win over New Mexico St. has hardly quieted the doubters, especially considering Baylor led just 40-38 at halftime. That said, Baylor is a talented team. The 6-10 Motley, a Naismith Award semifinalist and the 16th All-American in school history. He had his 14th double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) of the season against New Mexico State despite sitting out a large chunk of the first half because of foul problems. He leads the team in scoring (17.3) and the Big 12 in rebounding (9.9) and is considered a potential NBA lottery pick. Junior PG Manu Lecomte, the Big 12's Newcomer of the Year, is second in scoring (12.3) while also shooting a team best 41.7 percent from three-point range while junior guard Al Freeman (10.2) came off the bench to score a season-high 21 points in Friday's win.
The pick: USC's head coach Larry Enfield first came to our attention when he led his "Dunk City" Florida Gulf Coast team to a Sweet 16 appearance back in 2013. Now, he has a chance to take USC there in 2017. He's already led USC to 26 wins, which is a school record, surpassing the previous mark of 25 set in 2007. Baylor's win over New Mexico State got the Bears out of a first-round slump,as Baylor had lost to 12th-seeded Yale a year ago and 14th-seeded Georgia State in 2015. This year, the second round does them in. Make USC a 10* play.
USC; The Trojans had to win a "play-in" game Wednesday, edging Providence to advance as an 11-seed. They then edged sixth-seeded SMU 66-65 on Friday, ending the Mustangs' 16-game winning streak (SMU had been 26-1 since a 4-3 start in Nov!). The Trojans trailed most of the game against SMU until hitting a three-pointer to put them in the lead with 2:10 left. After SMU answered, another three put the Trojans ahead 66-65 with 36 seconds left, which was the final. USC owns excellent size with its top-two scorers, the 6-10 Boatwright (15.1 & 4.5) and the 6-11 Metu (14.5 & 7.9). The perimeter features five players averaging between 7.2 and 13.0 PPG, lead by McLaughlin (13.0-3.6-5.5) and Stewart (12.3 & 4.0).
SMU: The Bears opened the season 15-0 and earned the school's first-ever No. 1 ranking in the AP poll on Jan. 9th. However, on Jan. 10th, Baylor lost 89-68 at West Va. and entered the tourney just 10-7 over its final 17 games. A 91-73 win over New Mexico St. has hardly quieted the doubters, especially considering Baylor led just 40-38 at halftime. That said, Baylor is a talented team. The 6-10 Motley, a Naismith Award semifinalist and the 16th All-American in school history. He had his 14th double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) of the season against New Mexico State despite sitting out a large chunk of the first half because of foul problems. He leads the team in scoring (17.3) and the Big 12 in rebounding (9.9) and is considered a potential NBA lottery pick. Junior PG Manu Lecomte, the Big 12's Newcomer of the Year, is second in scoring (12.3) while also shooting a team best 41.7 percent from three-point range while junior guard Al Freeman (10.2) came off the bench to score a season-high 21 points in Friday's win.
The pick: USC's head coach Larry Enfield first came to our attention when he led his "Dunk City" Florida Gulf Coast team to a Sweet 16 appearance back in 2013. Now, he has a chance to take USC there in 2017. He's already led USC to 26 wins, which is a school record, surpassing the previous mark of 25 set in 2007. Baylor's win over New Mexico State got the Bears out of a first-round slump,as Baylor had lost to 12th-seeded Yale a year ago and 14th-seeded Georgia State in 2015. This year, the second round does them in. Make USC a 10* play.
