Stanford vs USC Picks and Odds

• Evan Mobley and the USC Trojans (4-1) host the Stanford Cardinal (2-2) in the Pac-12 opener for both teams
• The Trojans are coming off a 91-56 blowout of UC Irvine, while Stanford rebounded from consecutive losses to beat North Carolina A&T Sunday
• Read below for odds, analysis, and our best bet for this matchup

An intriguing showdown between a pair of five-star recruits highlights the Pac-12 opener for Stanford and USC Sunday at 9:30pm ET in Los Angeles.

USC has won four straight against Stanford at the Galen Center, including the team’ lone meeting last year — a 82-78 win in overtime. The Trojans are 4-1 so far in the 2020-21 campaign and are led by true freshman Evan Mobley. The standout underclassman is averaging nearly 18 points and nine rebounds per game.

Meantime, fellow highly-touted freshman Ziaire Williams is putting up nearly 10 points and seven rebounds per game for the Cardinal. Senior Oscar de Silva is the team’s leading scorer, going for over 17 points a night.

Stanford vs USC Odds

Odds taken Dec. 12 at FanDuel

We still aren’t quite sure what to make of these teams. USC was picked to finish sixth in the conference, while Stanford was tabbed to wind up in fourth. Each squad has shown flashes early on — the Trojans’ only loss was a three-point defeat to Connecticut, while the Cardinal beat Alabama by 18 then almost knocked off a pair of blue bloods in the Tar Heels and Hoosiers.

Now, the Trojans are slight favorites over the Cardinal Sunday.

Blue-Chip Battle

Through the first handful of games of their respective college careers, Mobley has definitely been the more impactful player compared to Williams. The Class of 2020’s No. 4 overall player according to Rivals had 22 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks in the Men of Troy’s win over the Anteaters.

Meantime, 2020’s No. 6 overall player is still finding his way on The Farm. It’s been de Silva, not Williams, who has led the way for Jerod Haase’s team so far. But perhaps a return to Southern California will spark Williams to snap that four-game skid for Stanford in the Southland.

Williams starred at Sierra Canyon High School, alongside LeBron James’ and Dwyane Wade’s sons, and had a penchant for big shots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5U7ryvjwjw

It’s not often a pair of freshman — who were probable first-round selections in last month’s NBA Draft — go head-to-head this early in the season on the West Coast. But this battle of the blue chips will be fun to watch.

Early Statement

Whichever team prevails Sunday will make an early statement from a conference perspective. The Pac-12 appears to feature a lot of good-but-not-quite great squads right now. Only Arizona State is ranked, but at No. 23, Sparky will probably drop out of the poll after losing to the same San Diego State squad that beat UCLA in the season opener.

Might just be a #SCTop10 moment… @DaejonDavis with the 🔥#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/5wjZt5ZhMO

— Stanford Men's Basketball (@StanfordMBB) December 5, 2020

Stanford is 2-2, but is the third-best conference team according to KenPom. The Cardinal come in at No. 31, while the Trojans are close behind at No. 42. And if Haase’s club can pull off some magic like Daejon Davis did when winning a bit against his head coach, the Trojans are in for a dogfight.

Look for the Cardinal to try and put the clamps down on a Trojan team currently averaging just 80 points per game.

The Next Step

Not only does the game carry conference implications for the victor Sunday for this season, it will be a huge morale boost for a pair of programs trying to get back the NCAA Tournament after minor absenses.

SC has only gone dancing twice in Andy Enfield’s previous seven seasons, getting bounced in either the first or second round both times. Meantime, Stanford has only made noise in March Madness once (2014) in the last 12 seasons.

As for where these teams are coming in, USC defended the three-point shot well (UCI was just 4-of-19 from beyond the arc) and turned the ball over just 10 times against Irvine. And Stanford is glad to be back on the West Coast after playing its first four outings in the Tar Heel State.

With a renewed focus and quadruple-revenge on its mind, I love Stanford in this spot.

The pick: Stanford +2.5 (-118)