USC jumps out as the early favorite to win the BCS title

Even though spring practice has yet to begin, college football fans can make wagers already on who will win the next Bowl Championship Series title game Jan. 5 in Florida.

The current favorite on the website Bodoglife.com is USC at 3-1. The fact the championship game is in Miami could be a good omen for the Trojans, who were possibly the best team in the country at the end of last season.

In the last BCS title game played in Miami, the Trojans blasted Oklahoma, 55-19, in 2005.

There are four teams listed at 6-1 -- Ohio State, Oklahoma, Georgia and Florida.

USC and Georgia is a game many people wished they had seen last month in New Orleans rather than another championship game loss for Ohio State, which fell to Louisiana State. Instead, the Trojans and Bulldogs toyed with overmatched opponents. USC blitzed Illinois in the Rose Bowl, and Georgia humiliated Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl.

The defending champion Tigers are 11-1. Other notable schools include Texas (25-1), South Carolina and UCLA (60-1) and Notre Dame (70-1).

Michigan, which is hoping for a return to glory under new Coach Rich Rodriguez, is 35-1.

Pro basketball

So much for Boston’s dominance of the Western Conference.

The Celtics, who were 16-0 against the West before the All-Star break, have begun a five-game trip with losses to Denver and Golden State.

Before closing out the swing with games at Portland and the Clippers, Boston has a date in Phoenix tonight.

The Suns also are smarting, having begun the Shaquille O’Neal era with a loss to the visiting Lakers on Wednesday.

One thing is certain about tonight’s game. A lot of points figure to be scored. The Suns, who have defeated the Celtics in nine of their last 12 meetings, surrendered 130 to the Lakers two nights ago, and the Celtics have been outscored, 243-235, in the first two games of their trip.

College basketball

UC Santa Barbara, which has been rolling away from home, will get a stern test tonight when it visits former Big West rival Utah State.

The Gauchos, who are 20-6, have won five in a row to improve to 8-3 on the road but are facing a team that is 14-0 at home.

Third in the Big West, Santa Barbara, which has 20 victories for only the ninth time in school history, hopes to maintain momentum into the conference tournament next month in Anaheim.

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bob.mieszerski@latimes.com