All-American JuJu Watkins and No. 4 USC host Minnesota tonight at 10 PM ET in what promises to be a thrilling encounter.
The Trojans have been on fire all season. They are 18-1 and 8-0 in Big Ten play, tied for first with crosstown rival and top-ranked UCLA. Coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s team has won 14 straight and has gone 9-1 at home. The team’s only loss this season was to current No. 3 Notre Dame.
USC has made two straight NCAA Tournament appearances and reached its first Elite Eight in 30 years last season. With Watkins and fellow standout Kiki Iriafen, the team is poised to take the next step.
Minnesota is experiencing a revival under second-year coach Dawn Plitzuweit. The Golden Gophers have not made the NCAA Tournament since 2018 but are in a strong position to do so this season. The team is 18-3 overall and 6-3 in the Big Ten, which is tied for fifth in the ultra-competitive conference.
See below for our experts’ predictions for this Big Ten matchup in Los Angeles this evening.
This should be a taut matchup between top-tier Big Ten squads. The Trojans have been unstoppable for the last two months. During this 14-game win streak, only three of USC’s victories have been by less than double digits, and two of them, UConn and Maryland, came on the road against Top 10 foes.
USC is 3-0 at home in Big Ten play, winning those three contests by an average of nearly 21 points a game. Watkins continues to display superstar form on the court. She is averaging 24.8 points this season, ranking third in the nation. Watkins also leads the Trojans with 3.7 assists and 2.4 steals a game to go with 6.6 rebounds. She’s led the team in scoring in all but two games this season, and both of those contests were 40-plus point blowouts. Watkins has tallied 20 points or more in 18-of-19 games this season.
Iriafen is second on the squad with 17.8 points and 8.3 rebounds, followed by Kennedy Smith with 10.1 points a game and Rayah Marshall with eight points and a team-leading 9.1 rebounds per. USC hammered Purdue the last time out, 79-37. Avery Howell led the team with 18 points, followed by Watkins with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Minnesota counters with a deep squad, as eight players are currently averaging eight points or more. Grace Grocholski, who scored 17 to lead the Golden Gophers to a 71-50 over Wisconsin in their last game, paces the squad with 12.1 points a contest. Amaya Battle (12.1 ppg, team-high 4.2 apg), Annika Stewart (10.5 ppg), and Tori McKinney (10.3 ppg) are all averaging double figures, while Mallory Heyer is going for 8.5 points and a team-high seven rebounds per game.
Plitzuweit’s squad has already surpassed last season’s 5-win Big Ten total, and Grocholski and co. are well-positioned for postseason play. They started the season 10-0 and have still won eight of their last 11 games. Outside of a 19-point defeat at Nebraska in early December, the Golden Gophers have been competitive in every contest, losing by seven in a high-scoring affair at Maryland and by five at home to Michigan last week.
This is a good Minnesota squad. Unfortunately, they are going up against a potentially great USC side tonight. Look for Watkins to hit her average (she has gone for 25 or more eight times) and for the Trojans to win and cover the spread at home.
With Watkins at the helm, the Trojans are a high-scoring machine. The team is ranked ninth in the country with 83.8 points scored per contest. Those numbers dip slightly in Big Ten play to about 80 points per game, but USC brings it every time out.
Minnesota is averaging 77 points a game this season, including 75 in conference play. Both squads possess Top-20 scoring defenses, allowing between 54-55 points a game. That will not be the case here. USC will push it, and the Golden Gophers will do everything they can to stay with the Trojans the entire contest.
Look for USC and Minnesota to total more than 136.5 points tonight.
Read more betting picks and predictions for College Basketball on site.
Minnesota | +1650 ML |
USC Women | -6600 ML |
Spread | USC -18.5 |
Total Points | O/U 136.5 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.