Bodog Beat

Last year, O.J. Mayo hogged the headlines in his one and only season with the USC Trojans, who lost in the first round of the NCAA tourney. (Boston College Images)

This time, with a maturing junior core consisting of Taj Gibson, Dwight Lewis and Daniel Hackett, USC might be more balanced.

It all begins today against the Boston College Eagles in the opening round of the Midwest region.

The Trojans, who are 2.5-point faves, sure weren’t a lock to get in until they secured the automatic bid. They went 1-6 in February to fall to 7-9 in the Pac-10, before regrouping and winning their final two regular season games.

After missing the tournament altogether last season, the Eagles have returned to the field for the seventh time in the last nine years.

The Eagles are a hard team to predict. They defeated North Carolina and Maryland, but suffered a stunning loss to Harvard. Get your NCAA tournament betting with Bodog today.