The Arizona State Sun Devils have struggled to gain their footing in the Pac-12 after an excellent non-conference season. There is still time to turn it around, and a good place to start would be this week in a matchup against the USC Trojans.
Both teams are battling to make the NCAA Tournament, and an upset win on the road would be a big-time boost for the Trojans. Arizona State has shown its ability to play with some of the top teams in the country but has been beaten by inferior competition of late.
Bettors than can peg which ASU team shows up could cash out nicely in this one. Arizona State should be favored as it hopes to right the ship.
At 11 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN2 for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Thursday, February 8, 2018, at the Wells Fargo Arena.
We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Thursday schedule.
Odds Analysis
USC is 17-7 straight up and 15-9 against the spread. The Trojans have covered in four of seven attempts on the road this season. They have gone 2-2 against the spread as the underdog.
Arizona State is 17-6 straight up and 11-9-3 against the spread. The Sun Devils have gone 6-5-1 against the spread at home. They are 8-9-2 against the spread as the favorite.
Key Stat
Three. That was Arizona State’s highest national ranking this year, but now the Sun Devils have fallen out of the Top 25 completely. The team entered conference play undefeated at 11-0, but have hit quite a few speed bumps against their Pac 12 foes.
Rival Arizona handed the Sun Devils their first loss of the season on December 30, with Arizona State losing 84-78 on the road. They were unable to bounce back from that first loss and fell to unranked Colorado in overtime in their following contest.
Additional losses to Oregon, Stanford, Utah and Washington sent the Sun Devils tumbling out of the national rankings and put them in a position where every win matters now. Arizona State will likely still make the NCAA Tournament, but must play well down the stretch to guarantee a berth.
Key Stat
Eight. That’s how many wins USC has since beginning conference play in late December. The Trojans are 8-3 against Pac 12 opponents this season and, unlike Arizona State, have played well against conference competition thus far.
USC enters this game against Arizona State after falling to UCLA by a point on Saturday. The loss disrupted the Trojans’ six-game winning streak, its longest of the season.
All of the Trojans’ losses against Pac 12 opponents have come in close games. They fell 77-76 to Stanford on January 7th and were defeated 88-81 by Washington on December 29th. These teams have headed in opposite directions.
Arizona State played well in non-conference before falling off against Pac-12 foes, while USC has done the opposite.
Free NCAA Men’s Basketball ATS Picks
Arizona State is still a pretty good team and now has the majority of its games at home the rest of the way. The Sun Devils need to start compiling a winning streak, and knocking off USC would be a nice win.
The Trojans are a solid foe, but look for everything to come together for Arizona State in this one. When the Sun Devils are hitting their outside shots, they are tough to beat. USC’s best shot at winning this game will be by dominating on the boards, but look for ASU to tread water there and connect from long range to both win this game and cover the spread.
It could be a shootout, so consider the “over” on the scoring total.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Odds: Arizona State 84, USC 78
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
