Jonathan Lee    AccuScore Analyst
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Oklahoma Sooners vs. USC Trojans Game Forecast

The Trojans have lost twice in the early going, both in Puerto Rico to Seton Hall and Missouri.  Their defense has been very solid, but their offense has so far not been up to par.  The three mainstays have been juniors Dwight Lewis, Taj Gibson, and Daniel Hackett.  The trio took a backseat most nights last season to O.J. Mayo, but this year they have had to carry the load.  Lewis has shouldered the scoring load leading the team with 16.6 points per game.  Gibson is one of the best post players in the conference averaging a double-double with 15.7 points and 11.1 rebounds.  Hackett is a big lead guard at 6-foot-5 and is averaging 10.1 points and 6.1 assists per game.

Most of the hype surrounding USC has been because of talented freshman Demar Derozan.  He was expected to step in and seamlessly replace Mayo, but that hasn’t been the case thus far.  Derozan thrives in the open court using his superior athleticism to get to the rim.  But the Trojans are in the bottom third in the nation in pace, and play more of a half-court game.  To be fair, Derozan is a full year younger than Mayo was as a freshman and he still has plenty of talent.  He just need to continue adjusting to the college game, and a more structured offense.  He is projected for 10 points and 4 rebounds tonight.

Oklahoma has one of the best inside-out combinations in college basketball with junior Blake Griffin and freshman Willie Warren.  Griffin is averaging an incredibly 25.7 points and 19.2 rebounds through six games this season.  Warren has adjusted much more quickly than Derozan to the college game averaging 14.8 points and 2.3 assists.  He is shooting just 44 percent from the field and 23 percent from three-point range thus far, but has proven to be a very effective scorer off the bounce earning five trips to the free throw line per game.

While the Trojans try to get their offense in gear and get Derozan up to speed, the Sooners are a veteran group that should compete with Texas for the Big 12 title.  Combined with homecourt advantage and Oklahoma is a solid favorite winning over 80 percent of simulations by a double digit margin on average.

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