March Madness: Previewing Sunday’s Round of 32 Matchups
USC (11) vs. Baylor (3)
Southern California came back to win their play-in game on Wednesday, and they then came back to beat SMU on Friday. Now they are rewarded with facing 3 seed Baylor.
Our metrics like Baylor in this one, giving the Bears a 71% chance to advance. Baylor has a better offense, significantly better defense, and a big edge on the glass. However, it's March, so you never know.
Below are three players to keep an eye on from each team.
| Player | Team | PPG | RPG | eFG% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnathan Motley | Baylor | 17.3 | 9.9 | 0.528 |
| Manu Lecomte | Baylor | 12.4 | 1.9 | 0.563 |
| Jo Acuil | Baylor | 9.2 | 7.0 | 0.560 |
| Bennie Boatwright | USC | 14.6 | 4.3 | 0.518 |
| Chimezie Metu | USC | 14.5 | 7.8 | 0.549 |
| Jordan McLaughlin | USC | 13.1 | 3.4 | 0.530 |
Here is a quick breakdown of the team stats comparison.
| Team | nERD | O Rtg | eFG% | Reb% | TOV% | D Rtg | Opp. eFG% | Opp. TOV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #3 Baylor | 16.61 | 112.0 | 0.532 | 56.6 | 17.4 | 96.6 | 0.453 | 15.0 |
| #11 USC | 9.0 | 110.7 | 0.519 | 50.3 | 13.8 | 102.9 | 0.497 | 15.6 |
