Ohio State vs. USC Expert Pick and Prediction – February 26, 2025

OHIO STATE VS. USC EXPERT PICK AND PREDICTION – February 26, 2025 — All of this reads “schedule loss” for USC, and Eric Musselman knows it. And if this were the NBA, that’s probably exactly how he would treat this game.

But USC does not have that luxury.

The Trojans have little chance of winning an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. They’ve got a much bigger concern to worry about: winning a bid to the Big Ten tournament.

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Three teams in the Big Ten Plus Eight will get left home, and USC has no margin for error. Minnesota is currently sitting 16th with a 6-11 mark, meaning the Trojans are ahead of missing the tournament by just a half game. And with the Trojans having already lost to Minnesota, there’s a good chance they’d lose a tiebreaker.

Ohio State is more worried about making the NCAA tournament. The Buckeyes haven’t played all that well as of late, but when you never take a bad loss, you’re always going to have opportunities. And Ohio State hasn’t taken any bad losses by virtue of playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation.

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But at some point, you have to win these games, and Ohio State has a golden opportunity here. The schedule means that Ohio State has been resting since facing UCLA in Los Angeles, while USC went cross-country from Rutgers to home. And that gives the advantage to the Buckeyes, even if the schedule calls it a Quad 1 opportunity.

The Odds

Tipoff

When: Wednesday, February 26 at 10:30 p.m.

Where: Galen Center, Los Angeles 

TV: Big Ten Network

Public Bets: Unavailable

Public Money: Unavailable

Ohio State vs. USC In-Season Trends

Ohio State does what it’s expected to do time and time again. When the Buckeyes aren’t expected to cover, they don’t and they end up losing. When they are expected to cover, they do and they get the win. Ten straight times, Ohio State has matched game result to spread result.

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USC has gone just 1-5 in its past six games, and the covers weren’t happening there either. The Trojans are 2-4 ATS in their past six games, and the offenses have had the better of the play. The over is 5-1 in USC’s past six.

The Difference-Makers

Desmond Claude needs some more consistency. Claude scored 30 points in the loss to Rutgers, but he was held to just seven against Maryland. Getting him going would give USC a much better chance to win.

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Bruce Thornton’s offense has been rock solid for Ohio State, but his defense might play a role here. USC is not good with the basketball and might get forced into plenty of mistakes, especially dealing with mental fatigue after coming 3,000+ miles. Thornton might have some easy baskets.

The Pick

The Big Ten did not think this through. Ohio State getting a travel advantage to this magnitude is unconscionable, and it’s something the league did to the Trojans. Nobody’s going to feel sorry for USC, but it really sets up poorly for its chances in this one.

Even though it’s on the road, Ohio State has the edge here.