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Drake vs USC Odds, Lines and Spread

Jack Magruder

by Jack Magruder in College Basketball

Updated Mar 18, 2021 · 8:30 PM PDT

Joseph Yesufu dunks over opponent
Drake's Joseph Yesufu (1) dunks on Wichita State's Clarence Jackson during the first half of a First Four game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Thursday, March 18, 2021, at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. (AP Photo/Robert Franklin)
  • Drake edged Wichita State in the First Four and will meet USC in a West Region game at 4:30pm ET on Saturday
  • USC features one of the top NBA prospects in 7-foot center Evan Mobley
  • Check the odds, analysis, and betting prediction below

Drake (27-4) overcame 12-point deficits in the first and second halves to beat Wichita State 53-52 in the First Four to advance to a West Region game against USC at 4:30pm ET on Saturday. The Bulldogs broke an 11-game losing streak to Wichita State.

No. 6 seed USC (22-7) has won three of its last four games as it prepares for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016. The Trojans lost to Colorado 72-70 in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals, their third loss to the Buffaloes this season.

Drake vs USC odds

Team Moneyline Spread at DraftKings Total
Drake Bulldogs +235 +6.5 (-110) Ov 138 (-110)
USC Trojans -286 -6.5 (-110) Un 138 (-110)

Odds from March 18.

Drake has won seven of its last nine games. The Bulldogs’ victory over Wichita State was their first in the NCAA Tournament since a 79-72 overtime win over Austin Carr’s Notre Dame group exactly 50 years ago Thursday.

USC had control of the Pac-12 race until it lost three of its final six regular-season games. The Trojans have lost four of their last eight straight up while going 2-6 ATS.

New Go-To? Yesufu

Attacking Drake sophomore guard Joseph Yesufu has helped the Bulldogs push through the loss of starting forward ShanQuan Hemphill and point guard Roman Penn, as both suffered foot injuries in a 12-day span in mid-February.

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Yesufu, a 6-foot sophomore, scored 21 points in the victory over Wichita State, and his two free throws with 22 seconds remaining gave the Bulldogs a 53-49 lead. Yesufu had seven points and an assist in the final seven minutes.

After being asked to take some of Hemphill’s scoring load, Yesufu responded. He is averaging 22.9 points per game in the last eight, hitting 24-of-45 three-pointers (53.3%). He scored 32 points off the bench against Evansville on Feb. 21 and had 36 the next night, entering the starting lineup for Penn. Yesufu has played every minute but one in his six starts.

Hemphill was averaging a team-high 14.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and the Bulldogs were 19-1 when he went out Feb. 10. He returned in a limited role against Wichita State, getting three points and four rebounds while coming off the bench.

Penn was averaging 14.1 points and a Missouri Valley-high 5.5 assists before suffering a season-ending broken left foot on Feb. 21.

Mobley in Select Company

USC 7-footer Evan Mobley recently joined Los Angeles Lakers’ star center Anthony Davis in an exclusive club.

Mobley pulled a three-peat last week when he was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the year and Freshman of the Year in a vote of league coaches. Davis is the only other player in NCAA Division I history to complete that sweep when he did it at Kentucky in 2011-12.

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The 6-foot-10 was the No. 1 choice in the 2012 NBA draft after averaging 14.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.7 blocked shots per game for Kentucky’s 38-2 national championship team.

Mobley is averaging 16.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and ranks fifth in Division I with 3.0 blocked shots per game. Most draft analysts project Mobley will be among the first five players taken in the 2021 draft if he leaves school.

USC’s Spotty NCAA Record

USC is making its third NCAA Tournament appearance in coach Andy Enfield’s seven seasons, and the results have been mixed.

The Trojans won two games in 2017 after making the tournament as one of the last four at-large teams, but lost in the first round in 2016, blowing a late lead in a loss to Providence.

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The Trojans also lost in the First Four in 2011. The last time they were seeded as high as sixth, in 2008, they lost in the first round to 11th-seed Kansas State.

USC’s Andy Enfield was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year this season. His best coaching move may have come at this time three years ago, when he hired Eric Mobley — the father of Evan and Isaiah Mobley — as an assistant coach.

By the Numbers

USC brings some gaudy defensive numbers into the game. They Trojans rank 13th in opponents’ field goal percentage at 39.4% and are 18th in rebound margin at plus-7.2. They are 19th in adjusted deficiency in the KenPom rankings.

Drake is 19th in KenPom in adjusted offense, and they entered the tournament having scored 1.23 points per possession in transition, fourth in Division I and the most efficient in the NCCA field.

USC is seldom a value play this time of the year. The Trojans are 4-4 straight up and 2-6 ATS since ending a seven-game winning streak with a home loss to Arizona on Feb. 27. They needed overtime to beat Utah in the first found of the Pac-12 tournament before losing to Colorado for the third time this season in the semis.

The pick: Drake +6.5 (-110)

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