USC vs Oregon Odds, Pick for Thursday

Below, we have USC vs Oregon odds and a pick for Thursday.

Allow me to the join the thousands of college sports fans befuddled by conference realignment. Thursday sees the tip-off of Pac-12 play for many teams, as the Oregon Ducks will welcome the USC Trojans into Eugene for the final time as schools of this league.

Fear not, sports fans: this matchup will stay on the calendar, as both of these teams will inexplicably be in the Big Ten next season. In between trips to Purdue, Rutgers and Minnesota, these stalwarts of West Coast college hoops will find time to meet up.

Let's treasure this final season of Pac-12 play, especially since the conference is hovering near a high watermark. Arizona is among the best teams in the nation, with a host of tourney hopefuls nipping at its heels, including the Ducks and Trojans.

Let's breakdown this Oregon-USC game, with a particular eye on some key injury updates.

USC has been a weird watch this season, with results not matching up with the talent level or the eye-test.

Andy Enfield's roster features some big-time names, starting with freshman Isaiah Collier. Many scouts slot him as the favorite to be the first pick in next June's NBA draft. He's looked the part, averaging 16 points and four assists per game.

He's joined in the freshman class by Bronny James, LeBron's oldest son, who just returned to the court after a heart issue sidelined him. His production is expected to grow as he settles into the collegiate level.

On the court, the Trojans are led by senior guard Boogie Ellis, who was averaging 21 points per game prior to USC's last outing. In that game, he left with an injury midway through the first half.

The combo of Collier and Ellis should be lethal.

At times, on a play-to-play basis, they've looked like an elite team. In reality, USC has been less impressive. Losses to UC Irvine and Long Beach State jump off the page.

Losses to Gonzaga, Auburn and Oklahoma are all fine individually, but to see the Trojans as a Pac-12 challenger, you'd expect them to steal one of those games (or at least keep more than one of them to a single-digit margin).

Does this team have an NCAA tournament future with its best wins in the non-conference being neutral-court victories over Kansas State and Seton Hall? Those are bubble teams, at best.

This is a roster full of talented freshmen, so maybe they need time to grow into their roles.

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Dana Altman steering his Ducks to an 8-3 record so far has been a minor miracle. Oregon has 10 different players averaging between eight and 16 points per game. The math on that sounds crazy, since the Ducks are only scoring 79 total points per game.

The issue has been the injury bug, which bit the Ducks early and often.

N'Faly Dante has played just one game, posting a 16-point, 21-rebound double-double before needing to be sidelined for knee surgery. Nate Bittle averaged 13 points and six rebounds in three games before a hand injury sent him to the sidelines. Altman's two best bigs haven't seen the court since November.

Freshman guard Jackson Shelstad missed the Ducks' first four games, but has settled into the rotation, adding double figures scoring in each of Oregon's last six outings.

Five-star recruit Mookie Cook had ankle surgery in the preseason and won't suit up until the new year.

Keyshawn Barthelemy started six games for the Ducks, adding nine points per game, but he's missed the last two with an ankle injury.

Of those five players, all among Altman's ideal rotation, Oregon has yet to play a game with more than three available.

For this game against USC, the Ducks can expect to have Shelstad ready, but they'll be without Bittle, Dante and Cook. Also, Barthelemy is a toss-up pending any updates.

Give credit to six-year senior Jermaine Couisnard, who's been holding down the fort and leading the team in scoring to steady the ship. He dropped 27 points against Kent State in Oregon's last game.

Analytics and sportsbooks have a hard time nailing down this Oregon team, considering how in flux the lineup has been. For that reason, I like the Ducks as a flier in the futures market right now, especially if you do some price shopping.

The Ducks are +1200 to win the Pac-12 regular season at some books, but as high as +1500 at ESPNBet. Final Four odds fluctuate ever more, ranging from +1500 up to +2800 (FanDuel).

It's hard to see Oregon challenging Arizona atop the Pac-12, yet there's value at that price if we get a healthy Ducks team down the stretch.

The unpredictability of March Madness makes the Final Four number even more appealing.

This one is hard to handicap given the amount of players with some doubt in their availability due to injury concerns.

The biggest name to watch is Ellis. He left USC's last game with a hip contusion after a hard fall. That was on December 19, and the Trojans already led Alabama State by 20+ points when he exited. His absence may have been more precautionary, with now over a week to recover.

Even if he's playing, I lean towards the Ducks here, who are playing at home in Eugene. USC has more talent, but Oregon has been more impressive, even with makeshift lineups due to its injury concerns. I trust Altman, one of the sport's best tacticians, to draw up a game plan to exploit USC's defensive weaknesses.

If Ellis doesn't end up playing or he's less than 100% with the hip injury, this price is a steal.

Pick: Oregon -3 or Better

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