USC vs. Washington State Prediction, Odds and Key Players for Thursday, Feb. 29 (Fade Cougars?)

Washington State's pursuit of a PAC-12 title continues back at home against USC on Thursday night.

The Cougars split its road trip in Arizona, upsetting the Wildcats but failing to follow it up against the Sun Devils, but now need to reset its mindset as an in-form USC team comes to Pullman. The Trojans are as healthy as its been in months and are winners of two of the last three games.

Can Wazzu hold off a talented group and cover a modest spread? We got you covered with our full betting preview below:

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USC vs. Washington State Odds, Spread and Total

Washington State vs. USC Betting Trends

• USC is 12-15 agianst the spread (ATS) this season
• Washington State is 15-12-1 ATS this season
• USC is 3-8 ATS as an underdog this season
• USC has gone OVER in 17 of 27 games this season

USC vs. Washington State How to Watch

• Date: Thursday, February 29th
• Game Time: 10:30 PM EST
• Venue: Beasley Coliseum
• How to Watch (TV): PAC-12 Network
• USC Record: 11-16
• Washington State Record: 21-7

USC vs. Washington State Key Players to Watch

USC

Boogie Ellis: The Trojans are finally healthy and we are seeing some of the talent on display, especially as defenses can't key in on Ellis, the senior guard, who is fresh off a 24-point outing against UCLA last weekend. However, he'll have a stiff test against an elite Washington State defense on the road.

Washington State

Isaac Jones: Jones dropped 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the first meeting in Southern California against the Trojans. The Wazzu big man is a ferocious rebounder and adept at scoring inside the arc. Overall, the senior is averaging nearly 16 and eight on 58% shooting as he looks to overwhelm USC's frontcourt.

USC vs. Washington State Prediction and Pick

It seems that the Trojans are on their way up from their rock bottom a few weeks back. The Trojans have wins over middling PAC-12 teams like Utah and UCLA over the past two weeks and a near win at home against Colorado in double overtime.

USC's at full strength and is likely going to outperform its metrics moving forward after a month-long stretch that saw the team eight of nine games from January 10th to February 10th.

Washington State has emerged as a worthy PAC-12 contender, one game behind Arizona for the regular season crown, but can the Trojans keep this competitive? The Cougars are an offense that is reliant on scoring from in close, but USC has plenty of size to shut off the rim for opponents.

The Trojans are bottom 40 in shots at the rim frequency and are 55th in points allowed per 100 possessions. Teams don't get in close against USC's length, nor do opponents finish with efficiency.

USC will have its hands full with Wazzu's elite defense, but the team doesn't pressure ball handlers all too much and may let the likes of Ellis operate with relative ease.

The Cougars play at an incredibly slow pace, 319th in adjusted tempo per KenPom, so this game can have limited possessions, making me side with the road underdogs who may finish the season on a high note.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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