USC Trojans vs Maryland Terrapins Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 02/20/2025

Game Time: 8:30 pm ET, Thursday, February 20, 2025

Venue:  XFINITY Center, College Park, MD

Where to Watch:  Fox Sports 1

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  USC +10.5, Maryland -10.5; Over/Under:  152.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  USC +10.5, Maryland -10.5; Over/Under:  152.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  USC +10.5, Maryland -10.5; Over/Under:  152.5 points

USC Trojans:  14-11 (6-8) (11th place, Big Ten)

Maryland Terrapins:  20-6 (10-5) (5th place, Big Ten)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Doc’s Sports is on a HOT STREAK in college basketball on a 15-6 CBB RUN for +$8,350 PROFIT! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

USC Trojans:  2-3  last 5

Maryland Terrapins:  4-1  last 5

USC is entering this game with a 14-11 record overall, a 6-8 record in conference games, and they are 3-3 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a loss against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in their last game. Wesley Yates III and Chibuzo Agbo each led the team in points per game in that game with 18 while Desmond Claude was next on the team with 12. Desmond Claude each led the team in assists with 5 in that game while Saint Thomas and Rashaun Agee each led the team in rebounds with 7. They were 43.8% from the field, 60% from 3-point range, and 83.3% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 76.6 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 72.9 PPG against them. USC has an ATS record of 11-14 this season and their O/U record is 18-7.

Maryland is entering this game with a 20-6 record overall, a 10-5 conference record, and they are 15-1 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a win against the Iowa Hawkeyes in their last game. Ja'Kobi Gillespie led the team in points in that game with 26 while Derik Queen and Rodney Rice each were next on the team with 18. Ja'Kobi Gillespie led the team in assists with 7 in that game while Derik Queen led the team in rebounds with 13. They were 58.2% from the field, 46.2% from 3-point range, and 84.6% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 83.5 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 67.2 PPG against them. Maryland has an ATS record of 13-12-1 this season and their O/U record is 17-9.

The current betting odds have Maryland listed as a 10.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Maryland has looked really good in their games this season with their 20-6 record overall and their 10-5 conference record which has them in the top half of the Big Ten. They have looked great on their home court this year with their 15-1 home record and they have been climbing up the rankings lately as they have been rolling. Meanwhile, USC hasn't looked great in their games this season with their 14-11 record overall and their 6-8 conference record which has them in the bottom half of the Big Ten. They haven't been a great road team either with their 3-3 road record. They are coming off a bad home loss to Minnesota in their last one, Minnesota being one of the worst teams in the Big Ten this season, and they haven't looked good lately as they are 2-3 in their last 5 games. Maryland has looked good lately as they are 4-1 in their last 5 games and they have some momentum on their side with 3 wins in a row now too. They are coming off a huge win over Iowa by double digits in their last one and they have been rolling over teams lately with a lot of their wins coming by large margins. USC hasn't looked good lately and they have been a struggling road team all season, Maryland can take advantage of them here, especially since traveling to the East has been a struggle for this team too. The best way to place a bet here is on Maryland to cover the spread in this game. 

USC Maryland Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Thursday, February 20, 2025 (8:30 pm ET start time) is Maryland 88 USC 62.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert basketball picks today. And if you enjoyed this USC Trojans Maryland Terrapins prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAB predictions and previews.

USC Trojans: 6-3 ATS off a home loss against a conference rival. 23-14 1H ATS after 1 or more consecutive losses. 21-14 1H ATS when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 80%). 26-13 OVER as an underdog. 18-9 OVER when the total is 150 to 159.5.

Maryland Terrapins: 13-21 ATS after a win by 15 points or more. 3-7 1H ATS as a home favorite of 6.5 to 12 points. 16-30 1H ATS vs. good free throw shooting teams - making 72% of their attempts or more. 7-3 OVER as a home favorite of 6.5 to 12 points. 4-1 OVER at home after a game where they made 55% of their shots or better.

USC Trojans:  I. Elohim (G) Questionable - Undisclosed. T. Williams (F) Out - Wrist. K. Patton (G) Questionable - Undisclosed.

Maryland Terrapins:  J. Long (G) Questionable - Knee. C. Stephens (G) Questionable - Undisclosed. B. Pierce (C) Out - Eye.

“I don’t want to get fined, but I just watched it. We have the ball. We clearly have the ball. It’s inbounded and we dribbled the ball several times.” - Eric Musselman after his team’s win against Minnesota in their last game. 

"Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest thing for us was we knew we wanted to press them in the second half. We came out a little sluggish. We were a little bit tired coming out. And I just think, we went into halftime, saw how they were making threes. They had, three of their threes were kind of just simple defensive breakdowns, and we just kind of, we came out of halftime, we picked up our pressure a little bit, mixed in a little zone to try to get them out of rhythm. And I thought the guys did a good job of just picking up the pressure." - Kevin Willard after his team’s win against Iowa in their last game. 

C. Agbo 

D. Claude 

J. Cohen 

S. Thomas 

W. Yates

J. Gillespie 

S. Miguel 

D. Queen 

J. Reese 

R. Rice

PPG: D. Claude (16)

APG: D. Claude (4.4)

Reb/G: S. Thomas (6.1)

PPG: D. Queen (16)

APG: J. Gillespie (4.8)

Reb/G: J. Reese (9.2)

Coaches:

USC Trojans: Eric Musselman (1st season)

Maryland Terrapins: Kevin Willard (3rd season)