No. 10 USC Trojans vs. No. 7 Boston College Eagles

NCAA Tournament Preview
No. 10 USC Trojans (21-12) vs. No. 7 Boston College Eagles (22-11)
Minneapolis, MN., Friday, 7:20PM Eastern

Betus.com betting line – USC -2.5, O/U 135.5

Day two of the first round will be highlighted by a highly anticipated opening round match-up between the 10th seeded USC Trojans and 7th seeded Boston College. The contest will be the second straight day between a 10 and 7 seed battle between the ACC and Pac-10. Maryland got the win over California on Day 1 in convincing fashion and the Boston College Eagles will attempt to give the ACC another victory over Pac-10 opponent USC. USC is coming off their first ever Pac-10 Tournament Championship with a win over Arizona State in the title game 66-63. The Trojans will be riding a wave of momentum into the game as they will try to take down a solid opponent in Boston College. The Eagles have won some big games this season over Duke and North Carolina. Boston College is a well balanced disciplined team that could give a number of teams a hard time in the NCAA Tournament, but they will have to hold off an emerging Trojan team on Friday.

Boston College has played well on the offensive side of the ball this season posting 75 points per game ranking in the top half of the high scoring ACC. The Eagles on the other hand has also given up nearly 70 points on average this season as well. The Eagles made a strong showing in the ACC Tournament barely losing to Duke by a single point as the Blue Devils went on to win the Championship. Boston College definitely has the talent to play with any team in the country, but they have also been inconsistent at times this season as well. However, senior guard Tyrese Rice will try to lead the Eagles to a respectable victory. Rice has led the Eagles all season in scoring with 17.1 points per game. Aiding the cause for the Eagles will be Joe Trapani and Rakim Sanders. Both players are averaging 13 points per game and will need to be effective on Friday. One portion of the game the ACC schools have really looked strong in during the early first round games is the rebounding. Boston College is another strong rebounding team as well and if the other games are any indication of things to come then the Trojans will have to find a way to not let the Eagles dominate the boards.

The Trojans Pac-10 Tournament Championship was their first in team history. USC put together 5 straight wins in their Conference surge and it will be interesting to see if they can stay hot entering the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans are averaging 68.4 points per game on the season and have held teams to a fairly low 63 points per game this season as well. USC freshmen sensation DeMar DeRozan had a brilliant showing in the conference tournament. In the Trojans 3 games, DeRozan averaged over 20 points well ahead of his 13 point averaged he carried through the season. DeRozan’s emergence is a big reason that the Trojans have had so much success late in the season. However, Taj Gibson and Dwight Lewis have posted the most points this season for the Trojans. Both stellar athletes are sporting a 14 points average while Gibson is pulling down 9.4 boards per contest as well. Gibson could very well be the difference maker for the Trojans if DeRozan does not have another big performance. Regardless of who steps up to shine for USC they well need a collective effort to capture the win over a solid Boston College basketball club.

Betting Trends..
USC is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games while reaching the over total in 5 of their last 7 games. Boston College has been a bit more inconsistent ATS, but the Eagles have reached the under total in all 5 of their previous contests.

Pick – Boston College