USC Basketball vs. SMU Preview: Lineups, TV Channel, Odds

USC basketball continues on in the 2017 NCAA Tournament with a First Round match up against No. 6 seed SMU on Friday afternoon.

BOK Center | Tulsa, OK12:10 p.m. PT | TruTV (Live Stream)Last meeting: USC 78, Providence 73 on 11/25/16

Fresh off a comeback victory over Providence in the First Four play-in game on Wednesday night, USC basketball faces their next test in the NCAA Tournament.

The Trojans, the No. 11 seed in the East bracket, will battle the No. 6 seed SMU Mustangs, a team they’ve already beaten this season.

The two teams met in Los Angeles back in November, with USC getting the better of a struggling Mustang team.

However, since then, SMU has been on a tear, winning the American Athletic Conference title while amassing 30 victories. They come into Friday’s match up on a 16-game winning streak.

USC’s win streak is currently at one, but it was an important victory over the Friars — complete with a 17-point comeback — which extended the season and the Trojans stay in the NCAA Tournament.

Statistically, the Trojans have a greater scoring average at 79 points per game compared to 74, but the Mustangs boast a better field goal percentage at 47.4 percent to 45.3 percent.. They also shoot from distance at a 40.6 percent clip compared to USC at 36.3 percent.

Forward Semi Ojeleye leads SMU in scoring with 18.9 points per game, but the Mustangs get scoring from across their starting line up — four of five starters average scoring in the double digits.

Last time around, USC forward Bennie Boatwright led the Trojans with 17 points against SMU and he once again provided a lift on the scoring charts with 24 points on Wednesday night. He figures to play a major role on Friday along with point guard Jordan McLaughlin and forward Chimezie Metu.

The game tips off at 12:10 p.m., or whenever Baylor vs. New Mexico State concludes, on TruTV, with Kevin Harlan on play-by-play and Reggie Miller on color commentary. It can be streamed online via NCAA.com.

Westwood One will also broadcast the game on radio.

Probable Starters

SMU:

G #3 Sterling Brown, 6-6, 230, Sr.G #1 Shake Milton, 6-6, 205, So.G #10 Jarrey Foster, 6-6, 220, So.F #33 Semi Ojeleye, 6-7, 235, RS Jr.F #0 Ben Moore, 6-8, 220, Sr.

USC:

G #11 Jordan McLaughlin, 6-1, 180, Jr.G #22 De’Anthony Melton, 6-4, 190, Fr.G #30 Elijah Stewart, 6-5, 190, Jr.F #25 Bennie Boatwright, 6-10, 230, So.F #4 Chimezie Metu, 6-11, 225, So.

Channel Listings: 

Click here for TruTV’s Channel Locator

DirecTV: Channel 246Dish: Channel 9430AT&T U-Verse: Channel 1164Time Warner Cable: Channel 69/74 or Click here for your local guide.

Live Stream: NCAA.com

Odds:

USC opened as a 6.5-point underdog to SMU on Thursday morning and the line has remained steady at that margin, per the VegasInsider.com consensus line. When they last met, the Trojans were favored by 3.5 at the Galen Center.