NFL Tickets
TV Schedule: Thursday, Nov. 26, 2:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Arena: HP Field House, Kissimmee, Fla.
Picked to finish No. 10 in the Pac-12 in the preseason media poll, the USC Trojans have stormed into 2015-16 with an impressive 4-0 record, including a home win over the Monmouth Hawks, who beat the UCLA Bruins. While USC has been one of the perennial bottom feeders of the Pac-12, they Trojans finally seem to be on the right track under Andy Enfield. They will have an opportunity to prove that they are a legitimate NCAA tournament threat when they face off with the No. 20 Wichita State Shockers on Thanksgiving Day in the AdvoCare Invitational.
Wichita State has already dropped a game to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, but they should still be the favorite, along with the Evansville Aces, in the Missouri Valley Conference, even after the injuries to Fred VanVleet and Landry Shamut. Tulsa is an extremely talented team, so the Shockers should not worry too much about their opening season loss. They will, however, have to avoid losses to teams like USC, who are expected to miss out on the 2016 NCAA tournament.
USC should be overmatched in this one, but the numbers show that they are one of the most explosive offenses in the country. On a neutral court, the Trojans definitely stand a chance, and without VanVleet or his backup Shamut, the potential for an upset is clearly there.
That being said, I do not expect Wichita State to drop another game this early in the season. The Shockers got caught sleeping a bit against a highly underrated Tulsa squad and should have the composure to beat a Trojans team that they are clearly better than.
Prediction: Wichita State 85, USC 75
Taylor Sturm is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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