USC had a mediocre season in 2010-11 with a 19-15 record as well as a fourth place showing in the Pac-10 conference.  During the conference tourney Southern Cal advanced to the semifinals, then proceeded to lose in the play-in game of the tourney to VCU.

The Trojans achieved success by becoming an excellent defensive group.  Southern Cal held their opponents to 40.9% from the field shooting and to less than 64 points every game.

The departures of Nikola Vucevic and Alex Stepheson will be hard to substitute.  Vucevic averaged more than 17 points per game and grabbed more than 10 boards every game.  Stepheson was the team’s second leading rebounder at more than 7 each game and also contributed 9.8 points.

2011-12 Overview

Kevin O’Neill has been the Southern Cal head coach for a couple of seasons and has given the supporters teams that play tough and improve as the year goes on.  This year’s team has a great deal of contributions to replace, but O’Neill does have Jio Fontan, Maurice Jones, and Garrett Jackson returning.  Together with a sound group of newcomers the Trojans brought in transfers Aaron Fuller and Dewayne Dedmon.

Backcourt

USC is going be heavily relying on their guard starters of Fontan and Jones.  Fontan sat out fall semester last season, but returned to lead the team in assists and finished 2nd in scoring at 10.5 points per contest.

Jones was third on the Trojans in scoring with 9.9 points each contest, gave out 110 total assists, and established the team record with 69 steals as a freshman.  His achievements helped to bring in a spot on the conference All-Freshman team.

Bryon Wesley is a 6’5″ freshman guard who’s anticipated to help around the offensive end immediately.  Alexis Moore is another freshman who ought to see time and plays properly on both sides sides of the court.  Junior college transfer Greg Allen is actually a excellent defender and can shoot well from outside.

Frontcourt

USC’s three big men should be Aaron Fuller, Dewayne Dedmon, and James Blascyk.  Fuller was forced to sit out last year soon after transferring over from Iowa.  In his sophomore season at Iowa he was honorable mention on the All-Big Ten team with 9.7 points and almost 7 rebounds every contest.

These guys will probably be pushed in practice by a few transfers who will sit out this season.  Ari Stewart came over from Wake Forest and Eric Wise is a transfer from UC-Irvine.

Every single year we provide our Southern Cal basketball preview in order to get you ready to beat the college basketball lines.

They beat Connecticut handily in the last regular season contest, but lost to the Huskies by a couple of points in the conference tournament. Pitt didn’t have much luck in the NCAA tourney either, losing in the second round to Butler.  Ironically, Butler then went all the way to the title game before losing to UConn.

This year’s edition of the Pittsburgh Panthers will have only two starters returning. However, coach Dixon has started a winning tradition and the program has shown to be able to reload when losing top talent.  While we don’t expect the team to have quite as good of a record as last year, they won’t be a slouch either.

Guards

Pitt’s backcourt will center around Asthon Gibbs. Gibbs opted to enter his name in the NBA draft, but pulled out due to the uncertain labor situation. Last season he averaged 16.8 points per game on 49% 3-point shooting.  If he can improve upon those number he should have a chance to go in next year’s lottery, making his decision to come back to Pitt a good one.

Travon Woodall will take over for Brandon Wanamaker at the point guard position. Woodall is an excellent defender who must live up to the hype of being a solid passer.  The other guards you will be seeing are Cameron Wright, Durand Johnson, and John Johnson.

Post Players

The Panther’s biggest losses came on the inside.  Pitt will be without the services of both Gilbert Brown and Gary McGhee. Nonetheless, Pitt does get some solid players returning to go together with some of the most highly touted recruits anywhere.

Nasir Robinson will bring the expertise to the floor. Last year he averaged 9.4 points and 4.9 rebounds for every contest, but he ought to get far more minutes this year which should increase those numbers.

Khem Birch was a McDonald’s All-American and one of the most-wanted big men coming out of high school. Malcolm Gilbert was also wanted by a good deal of colleges on account of his rebounding and shot blocking capabilities.  While neither one of these players have been tested at the collegiate level, the talent is there for them to contribute immediately.  Providing the team with some extra minutes down low will probably be Dante Taylor, JJ Moore, and Talib Zanna.

Each year we offer our Pittsburgh basketball predictions so you can get yourself ready to beat the college basketball odds on their games.

Not much was expected out of Iowa State last season. Pretty much every person figured they would be at the bottom of the Big 12 conference with just two players returning from the season before, however the Cyclones ended up being sort of a surprise. Ordinarily, it is difficult for people to get energized about a .500 season, nevertheless it was the first time Iowa State did not possess a losing record since the 2005-6 season.

In Fred Hoiberg’s first season Iowa State absolutely modified their identity. Proceeding from a slow it along and grind it out group to one that ran more and spread the floor.  That adjustment of pace helped the Cyclones rank fifth within the conference and 39th in the country in offense at 74.8 points for each game.

Iowa State also shot the 3-ball particularly effectively last year, draining 275 (8.6 for every game) shots from beyond the line. That was plenty to pace the conference and rank 13th in the country.

2011-12 Preview

Only two starters return for Iowa State this season, but the real key may be the addition of four transfers. Last year this group was named the best scout team within the nation and helped keep every single practice competitive. Now Chris Allen, Chris Babb, Royce White, and Anthony Booker will likely be prepared to prove themselves on the floor.

Last year Iowa State wasn’t really deep, so they performed a much more conservative half-court defense. With extra talent on this year’s roster you can bet they are going to be more aggressive in utilizing pressure to force turnovers.

Backcourt

The Cyclones are planning to have to search out a way to replace Dainte Garrett’s production. He was a high quality point guard who notched his name all around Iowa State’s history books for both assists and points.

There is still a lot of talent from the Cyclone backcourt. Scott Christopherson is a very talented shooter who has drained 131 career three-pointers already. He drained 86 last season, ranking 2nd inside the Big 12 and 33rd around the nation at 2.8 for every game. His 44.1 3-point percentage was good for 11th in the country and he’s buried a trey in 34 consecutive games. Christopherson does not turn the ball over, works hard, and shouldn’t have to log a lot of minutes this season due to the team’s bench.

You’ll most likely see Iowa State employing a great deal of three-guard sets due to possessing so much talent in the backcourt. Transfers Chris Allen, Chris Babb, and Tyrus McGee are strong shooters. Allen and Babb ended up being Big Ten starters and both averaged just under 10 points for each game back in 2009-10. McGee is coming over from Cowley Community College.

Chris Allen brings three seasons of experience from his time at Michigan State. He has performed in 14 tournament games and two Final Fours. He can not merely shoot from the outside, but can also be a defensive stopper.

Chris Babb drained 69 three-point shots in his last season at Penn State and averaged 10.2 ppg in Big Ten play.

Tyrus McGee nailed 115 3-point baskets last season at a 48.7% clip. He was a NJCAA First-Team All-American and might play both at the two and at point.

Two more players to keep an eye on are Bubu Palo and Tavon Sledge. Palo played all 32 games last season and proved capable of playing the point position. Sledge will be the person with the most potential. He is incredibly fast and was ranked as the third best participant in New York City following averaging 25.3 points and 5.2 assists in his senior year.

Frontcourt

Mevlin Ejim and Jordan Railey each ought to see action as returning letterman while Royce White, Anthony Booker, and Percy Gibson will all make an impression as newcomers.

Ejim experienced a really productive freshman season last season for Iowa State. The Canadian put up 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. He was only the 12th freshman in school history to record double figures. Despite his quality production, Hoiberg thinks Ejim will probably be even far better this season. Ejim is a lot more of a small forward, but was forced to move down low last year because of the team’s lack of depth.

Royce White was an extremely highly touted recruit two years back, but did not play a game for the Minnesota Golden Gophers he sat out last year immediately after transferring to Iowa State. White is powerful and is an exceptional passer. He’ll be starting at power forward and might be the star of this team.

Percy Gibson was one of the best big men in Michigan last year, averaging 21.2 points and 12 boards for each game. Booker was a top-50 player coming out of high school, but only averaged 6.4 points and 4.1 boards when he was a freshman for Southern Illinois.

Take a look at all of the NCAA basketball lines this year for every game on the Iowa State basketball schedule.

This line may initially seem rather high for a neutral court game but in reality, it is about fiver points too low. Purdue is the class of the Big Ten along with Michigan St. and it will likely come down to those two teams who wins the conference. The Boilermakers bring back seven of their top eight scorers from last season’s team that went 25-9 and 15-3 in the Big Ten. It is a down year for the conference but Purdue placed four players on the Preseason All-Big Ten Team including two on the first team.

One of those players is Robbie Hummel who averaged 11.4 ppg and 6.1 rpg and was voted the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year. And he is only a sophomore. He has no weakness in his game and after four games this year he is averaging 16.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg while shooting 52.8 percent from the floor including 55.6 percent from long range. Oh, and he has not missed a free throw in 17 attempts. He is just one of five returning starters that play with serious abandonment.

While the Boilermakers are a force on the offensive end, the defense is what this team wants to be known for and so far this season, they are living up to that. The competition has been average but Purdue is limiting opponents to 50 ppg on 32.9 percent shooting. Purdue allowed only 62.4 ppg last season which was 42nd in the nation. Boston College put up some big offensive numbers in its first three games at home but its first road game resulted in only 50 points on 33.3 percent shooting in a three-point loss to St. Louis.

Tyrese Rice had only six points in that game after coming off games of 16 and 28 points. This last game proved that if you stop him, you stop the Eagles. The next top five scorers are all either freshmen or sophomores and while the numbers have been good, they will be overmatched here. Boston College shot just 57.9 percent from the free throw line against St. Louis and that is a problem as Purdue is hitting 77.2 percent from the stripe on the season. Look for the Boilermakers to roll the Eagles at MSG.

Play:  3* Purdue Boilermakers

Fargo went 1-2 with in NCAAB yesterday with one of the losses taking place in double overtime. It was the 5th loss this season that took place in OT or the final 5 seconds! We get it back Wednesday! Fargo last released a TOP PLAY on Monday and Notre Dame covered by over 23 points! He has another here and it results in another BLOWOUT! Find out which team rolls and why!

Information on Matt Fargo’s premium play tonight:

Fargo’s **7** NCAA Hoops Top Play BLOWOUT Winner.  Fargo went 1-2 with in NCAAB yesterday with one of the losses taking place in double overtime. It was the 5th loss this season that took place in OT or the final 5 seconds! We get it back Wednesday! Fargo last released a TOP PLAY on Monday and Notre Dame covered by over 23 points! He has another here and it results in another BLOWOUT! Find out which team rolls and why!

To start things off we’ll start with our hottest overall capper, Jeff Alexander.  Tonight Jeff has one of his patented Wiseguy plays going in college basketball.  He’s already 1-0 in the young college hoops season with an easy winer on Michigan Wednesday.  He’s found another potential blowout tonight as he uses a time-tested 89% system!  As always, his play tonight is guaranteed or tomorrow’s pacakage is free!

Coming up just behind Jeff is an up-and-coming handicapper in Jay Todd.  Jay has gotten off to an incredible start to the NBA season and is quickly climbing up the leaderboards in all major sports.  Tonight he’s selling all of his picks for the night in one monster winning package.

Rocky Atkinson is known in the industry as “The Rocketman”.  Last year he hit an incredible 67% in college basketball and is ready to start his season off right with a 3* selection for his premium members.

Ben Burns DOMINATED the Big East last year & he’s continued to fare EXTREMELY WELL in that conference again in ’08. You’ll recall his DOUBLE-DIGIT WIN from the Cincy/USF clash. Did you know he’s also CASHED 75% of his plays on/against Louisville? Ben won when these teams met last year and he plans on doing so again tonight!  Ben’s premium play on the game is just $20.00.  Get it now!

Doc’s Sports is one of the most well-known and respected handicappers online today.  Tonight the doctor is in with his ESPN2 winner on Louisville/Cincinnati!

If you are looking for action in the NBA tonight, look no further than Vernon Croy!  Vernon has his 20 Unit NBA SLAM DUNK OF THE MONTH tonight on the Pistons/Lakers game!!!

Maybe the best bet of the night comes from Jack Jones.  Jack has a 25* Best bet going on tonight’ college football game as his one and only Big East game of the year!   Jack is locked and loaded on this Cincinnati/Louisville matchup for Friday night. This 25* BEST BET is his Friday Night Big East Game of the Year and you are not going to want to miss out on this bankroll builder before the weekend hits. This game comes GUARANTEED TO WIN or else tomorrow’s card is on the house!

That’s all for today.  Good luck!

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