The UCLA Bruins take on the USC Trojans in Los Angeles, CA. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET on FS1.
UCLA is favored by 5.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -218. The total is set at 151.5 points.
Here’s my UCLA vs. USC prediction and college basketball picks for March 7, 2026.
UCLA vs USC Prediction
My Pick: UCLA -5.5 (Play to -6.5)
My UCLA vs USC best bet is on the Bruins to cover the spread. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
UCLA vs. USC Odds
| UCLA Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-5.5 -105 | 151.5 -105 / -115 | -218 |
| USC Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+5.5 -115 | 151.5 -105 / -115 | +180 |
- UCLA vs USC spread: UCLA -5.5
- UCLA vs USC over/under: 151.5 points
- UCLA vs USC moneyline: UCLA -218, USC +180
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UCLA vs USC College Basketball Betting Preview
UCLA Basketball
UCLA hasn’t lived up to its lofty preseason expectations thus far, but it’s still been a solid season for Mick Cronin. He's gotten a lot of attention from some press conference and sideline moments this season, and I think it’s gone a bit under the radar how good this team actually is.
The Bruins sit at 20-10 on the season, with a 12-7 mark in Big Ten play.
Unlike typical Cronin teams, this Bruins squad is much better offensively than defensively. Riding elite playmaker Donovan Dent and skilled big man Tyler Bilodeau, this is a strong offensive attack. UCLA is 13th nationally in turnover rate and ranks 24th nationally in 3-point shooting (37.8%).
Dent and Bilodeau are flanked by underrated perimeter scoring guards Skyy Clark and Trent Perry. Both are shooting above 42% from deep.
Defensively, this group checks in at seventh in adjusted efficiency in the Big Ten. The strength of this group on that end of the floor is its ability to force turnovers, which it does at a top three rate in the league.
This group isn’t great on the glass and is a bit soft on the interior with Bilodeau and Xavier Booker playing the five. The lineup Cronin rolls with makes UCLA tough to guard, but it doesn’t leave much room for error on the other side of the floor.
USC Basketball
The wheels have fallen off for the Trojans down the stretch, as they're losers of their last six games, including three in a row by double digits. USC is 18-12 overall in year two under Eric Musselman, and 7-12 in the Big Ten.
The story of the season for USC has been player availability. Musselman didn’t have his three best players all available for one single game this season, and now he’s down to just one of them.
Rodney Rice was playing at an all-league level before going down with a season-ending injury, and now Chad Baker-Mazara has been dismissed from the team after months of antics.
The Trojans do still have some talented players available in freshman Alijah Arenas and veteran Ezra Ausar. Arenas has struggled with inefficiency, but he has lot on his shoulders right now.
Him and Ausar are both elite at getting to the free-throw line, and the Trojans have the seventh-highest free-throw attempt rate nationally.
Still, this offense has really struggled, as USC is last in the Big Ten in effective field goal percentage during league play.
Defensively, the Trojans are better, checking in at eighth-best in adjusted deficiency in the league.
UCLA vs USC Pick, Betting Analysis
UCLA has really struggled on the road in league play, with only one away win outside of Pacific Time.
Luckily, a road game at USC doesn’t require much travel.
USC is basically dead to me at this point of the season. The injuries and drama are just too much to overcome, and there's only so much that Ausar and Arenas can do with the supporting cast around them.
Baker-Mazara also scored 25 of USC’s 62 points when UCLA beat the Trojans by 19 at Pauley Pavilion two weeks ago.
Without him, I don’t see how USC finds a way to get this done.
UCLA is a much more well oiled machine, and it's playing for much more. I’m sprinting to lay the 3.5 here with the Bruins.
My Pick: UCLA -5.5 (Play to -6.5)
