The No. 6 USC Trojans are 21-2, 11-1 in Big Ten conference play. The Trojans are coming off a dominant win against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Women of Troy will face the No. 1 UCLA Bruins on Thursday.

How to Watch:

The USC Trojans women’s basketball team will face the UCLA Bruins at 7 p.m. PT on Thursday at Galen Center in Los Angeles, California. The game broadcast will be on Peacock.

Betting Odds:

The USC Trojans are 1.5-point underdogs at FanDuel Sportsbook against the UCLA Bruins. The total points is 139.5.

USC vs. UCLA preview:

The USC Trojans are coming off a big win against the Ohio State Buckeyes, 84-63. It was a top-ten matchup, and walking out with a dominating win was a major momentum boost heading into the game against UCLA.

After the game, USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb spoke to the media about the importance of the win.

“Really really big win for this team, for our program. We know how good Ohio State is. We know all the implications kind of on the line with both teams’ records and where we stood, stand in the conference,” Gottlieb said. “Just really proud of our team. We felt like this game would be about toughness and I think we answered that call, certainly turned it over a few too many times but that’s how Ohio State plays.”

USC forward Kiki Iriafen was a big-time player against Ohio State, leading the team with 24 points, and 13 rebounds. USC guard JuJu Watkins scored 17 points and guard Kennedy Smith led the team with five assists.

Watkins and Iriafen have become a dynamic duo for the Trojans this season and both made the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Watch List. 

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USC is averaging 83.2 points and will need each player to be at the top of their game against UCLA. The Trojans are 11-1 at home and must use the crowd to their advantage against a top-ranked team.

The UCLA Bruins are the only undefeated team in college basketball. The Bruins have 23 overall wins and 11 conference wins. The Bruins are coming off a 62-52 win against the Oregon Ducks. The upcoming matchup will be UCLA’s second away game in a row. A sold-out Galen Center will make it a hostile environment for the Bruins.

UCLA center Lauren Betts leads the team averaging 19.6 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks. Guard Elina Aarnisalo and forward Angela Dugalic are two players to watch, as Aarnisalo averages 4.4 assists and Dugalic averages 1.7 steals. UCLA is a complete and dominant team, averaging 80.6 points per game.

The Bruins will be USC’s toughest matchup yet, but these two teams are no strangers. USC is 26-32 in the Battle of LA. USC and UCLA last faced off on Mar. 8, 2024, in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals. USC won 80-70 in double overtime to move to the finals. The two teams are playing in a different conference, but the rivalry is just as strong 

USC and UCLA will face each other again to close out the regular season on Mar. 1.

USC vs. UCLA prediction:

Though it will be a tough matchup, USC will use its home-court advantage to take down the No. 1 team, 76-73.

After USC faces UCLA the Trojans will face the 14-11 Washington Huskies on Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. PT at Hec Edmundson Pavilion in Seattle, Washington.