USC Basketball: Trojans Given Good Chance Of Winning 2023 Championship

Is this the year?

A season that's begun with a 4-2 start led by one of the nation's top backcourts in Boogie Ellis and Isaiah Collier possesses tremendous promise for your USC Trojans. 

As other teams across the nation begin to ramp into form, USC's national title odds have been set at 60-1 via SportsBetting.ag, as Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times reports: 

UCLA has 40-1 odds and USC 60-1 odds to win the 2024 NCAA men’s basketball title.

Via @SportsBettingAG

— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) November 27, 2023

Their odds rank below a number of more experienced, talented teams, including Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, UConn, Gonzaga, and, somewhat surprisingly, UCLA. 

USC's limited shooting and depth are major asterisks on a team that has folded come each of the past two postseasons. Losses in the round of 64 in both 2022 and 2023 have made USC a difficult national title bet, especially considering the top-down talent that some of the frontrunners have. 

Their performance thus far has also been shaky, as highlighted by a double-digit loss to UC Irvine and a narrow win over Brown, there's no indication that this Trojans squad is anything special. 

Given its talent and current injuries, however, the trajectory is likely up. The absences of Vincent Iwuchukwu and Bronny James represent two rotational pieces that the Trojans have been without, keeping fatigued starters on the floor longer and forcing players that head coach Andy Enfield doesn't trust as much to be out there more than he'd want. 

With guard play historically being the X-factor amongst national championship-winning teams, USC is still in a good position to perform down the stretch. The combination of shot creation and playmaking that comes from Ellis and Collier is second to arguably no duo in the nation, and as a result, the Trojans have a chance against anyone. 

Matchups against Gonzaga and Auburn in the next couple of weeks will be great indicators of where this team is at heading into conference play against Oregon on December 28th. Let's see what the cardinal and gold have in store. 

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