Midwest Region: Kansas State (11) vs. USC (6)

The USC Trojans were supposed to be better than this with super freshman O.J. Mayo leading the charge. But they are in as the No. 6 seed in the Midwest and get a tough matchup with Kansas State, which boasts one of the nation's top players in Michael Beasley. They tip off Thursday at Qwest Center.

NewBodog oddsmakers currently have the Trojans listed as 4-point favorites versus the Wildcats, while the game's total is sitting at 141.

Michael Beasley had a game-high 25 points in Kansas State's 63-60 loss to the Texas A&M Aggies in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.

The Wildcats had been favored by 1.5 points in that contest, while the combined score fell UNDER the posted total (135.5).

O.J. Mayo had a team-high 15 points in USC's 57-54 loss to the UCLA Bruins in the semi-finals of the Pac-10 tournament.

The Bruins couldn't cover the 8.5-point spread in that contest, while the combined score fell well UNDER the night's posted total (127.5).

Team records:
Kansas State: 20-11 SU, 11-14 ATS
USC: 21-11 SU, 18-11-1 ATS

Kansas State most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 7-3
After playing Texas A&M are 3-7
After a loss are 6-4

USC most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 7-3
After playing UCLA are 5-5
After a loss are 6-4

A few trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Kansas State's last 14 games
Kansas State is 15-8 SU in its last 23 games
Kansas State is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
Kansas State is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games
USC is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games

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