Seton Hall vs. USC odds, picks and predictions
The Seton Hall Pirates (4-0) and USC Trojans (3-1) meet Thursday in the 1st round of the Rady Children's Invitational at LionTree Arena in San Diego. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET (FS1). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook's lines around the Seton Hall vs. USC odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
The Pirates have opened with 4 straight wins, while covering the past 3 outings. While the unbeaten record is great, Seton Hall has topped St. Peter's, Fairleigh Dickinson, Albany and Wagner, not exactly a murderer's row of opponents. Facing a recently-ranked USC team will be a giant measuring stick for Shaheen Holloway's squad.
The Trojans suffered a stunning 70-60 loss to UC Irvine on Nov. 14, but USC bounced back with an 81-70 win over Brown. It failed to cover against the Bears, while cashing the Over for the 3rd time in 4 outings.
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Seton Hall vs. USC odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access Paste BN Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:17 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Seton Hall +158 (bet $100 to win $158) | USC -192 (bet $192 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Seton Hall +4.5 (-110) | USC -4.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 141.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Seton Hall vs. USC picks and predictions
Prediction
USC 71, Seton Hall 63
Moneyline
USC (-198) is a strong, but pricey, play straight up if you don't want to fiddle around with the points. It's understandable if you're a little nervous about the Trojans after their loss to UC Irvine, but playing a team recently ranked straight up is worth a look.
Against the spread
USC -4.5 (-110) are a strong play to win by 3 buckets or more.
Seton Hall +4.5 (-110) looks threatening, with big-time offensive numbers, and tremendous defensive stats. However, the Pirates have played 4 tomato cans to date. If Seton Hall racks up a win in California against USC, then we can talk about this team being for real.
The Trojans have racked up 81 or more points in 3 of 4 games to date, including a neutral-site test against Kansas State to open the season, covering a 3-point number.
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Over/Under
UNDER 141.5 (-110) is the lean.
Seton Hall has posted some big-time numbers, holding teams to 59.0 PPG, 35.5% defensive field-goal percentage and 24.8% defensive 3-pointer percentage. Again, though, the Pirates have played nobody.
USC has posted mediocre offensive numbers to date, while allowing 67.0 PPG and just 37.8% defensive field-goal percentage. I expect the Pirates to struggle against the Trojans, and this game to be a rather defensive slog.
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