Tag: Indiana Basketball

USC women’s basketball analyst reviews win over Indiana and much more

USC women’s basketball analyst Cece Clay dives into the Trojans’ win over Indiana and offers the areas where USC can continue to evolve.

USC women’s basketball analyst Cece Clay gives you more in-depth analysis of the Women of Troy on social media than just about anyone else. We are delighted to have Cece working with us on our Trojans: Wired USC women’s basketball podcast. Our newest episode is up. In this episode, Cece offers analysis of the win at Indiana and looks at where USC stacks up in Big Ten and national statistical rankings in more than a dozen different categories. It’s a 36-minute episode in which we catch up on all things USC after the Trojans had a full week off.

In addition to our new podcast with Cece, we wish to share with you Cece’s latest 10-minute TikTok video analysis of USC women’s basketball. Cece looks at various plays from the Indiana game in her film room. She also offers some specialty stats and goes into deeper details on finishing plays near the basket.

It’s an exciting time to be a USC women’s basketball fan or a USC women’s basketball commentator. The Trojans have just one loss this season and are unbeaten in the Big Ten. They are in good position to achieve their regular-season goals of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a conference championship. Stay with Cece Clay and Trojans Wire as we continue to bring you detailed, in-depth analysis of USC women’s basketball on the road to March Madness and the Final Four.

USC women’s basketball went into a loud road environment and prevailed

Lindsay Gottlieb was hugely impressed by the energy and passion of Indiana fans who cheered for their Hoosiers against USC.

USC women’s basketball fended off a fierce and spirited effort from a determined Indiana team on Sunday in Big Ten basketball action. What made the game even more challenging was the loud and energized crowd inside Indiana’s venerable basketball building, Assembly Hall. USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb was thoroughly impressed.

“What an incredible atmosphere,” Gottlieb said. “It was everything I thought it would be as a basketball person, the history of Assembly Hall.”

The game was televised by NBC Sports. The Indiana fans who packed Assembly Hall were ready for the moment, hoping to witness an upset of the Trojans and JuJu Watkins. USC, keep in mind, was coming off a full-week break. The Trojans were initially supposed to play Northwestern on Wednesday, January 15, but Northwestern did not travel to Los Angeles last week due to the LA wildfires. USC therefore was out of rhythm. There were a number of obstacles placed in the Trojans’ way, the crowd being a central one, but the Women of Troy were able to fight past those barriers and Indiana.

This was a really good Big Ten win, even though Indiana is not nationally ranked.

Talia von Oelhoffen makes an offensive impact in USC win over Indiana

Talia von Oelhoffen provided 10 big points in a game USC won by 7. That’s important for this team.

The USC women’s basketball team defeated Indiana on Sunday in a very difficult road game for the Trojans. Many details of this win were noteworthy, specifically in terms of how different this USC performance was from many recent efforts. One key for the Trojans in Bloomington was Talia von Oelhoffen.

If you have followed USC women’s basketball closely this season, you know that Talia von Oelhoffen has struggled at the offensive end of the court. She has not hit a high percentage of 3-point shots. With JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen as teammates, von Oelhoffen shouldn’t be taking too many shots to begin with, but if she isn’t hitting, it’s more reason for her to be restrained at the offensive end of the floor. She has been judicious in not taking too many shots away from the more skilled scorers USC has. She is a smart player. Yet, over the course of a full season, USC was bound to have a game in which the stars weren’t at their very best and the bench — which was a central reason for recent USC wins — didn’t have a great game, either. TVO was going to need to chip in some points — not a boatload, but some.

That game came to USC and TVO on Sunday.

Von Oelhoffen contributed 10 points in a game USC won by seven, 73-66. TVO’s offense was needed because JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iriafen were a combined 12 of 31 from the field, and because the USC bench shockingly scored zero points. No, USC doesn’t need Talia von Oelhoffen to be an 18-point-per-game scoring machine, but a 10-point game instead of a 2-point game — an 8-point game instead of a 3-point game — really matters in a close contest. It mattered Sunday for USC.

If Talia von Oelhoffen can give USC 8 to 10 points in March Madness — with reasonably efficient shooting (as was the case on Sunday versus Indiana; TVO was 3 of 7, a perfectly decent percentage) — the Trojans become better. We saw why against Indiana.

USC women’s basketball holds off Indiana with 5 starters contributing

USC, after a week off, was not at its very best, but the Trojans regrouped in the fourth quarter to fend off Indiana and stay unbeaten in the Big Ten.

It wasn’t easy. Playing on the road at Indiana on Sunday, USC women’s basketball found a way to survive.

In a nationally televised that game that tipped off just after 9 a.m. Pacific time, the Women of Troy found themselves in a dogfight with the Hoosiers, trailing 50-48 late in the third quarter. However, a clutch performance by Juju Watkins down the stretch was enough to propel USC. The Trojans avoided the upset and escaped Bloomington with a 73-66 victory.

Watkins finished with a game-high 22 points. She was one of five Trojans in double figures. Kiki Iriafen and Kennedy Smith each had 14, Rayah Marshall had 13, and Talia von Oelhoffen added 10. Marshall also had 10 rebounds, as she recorded her third double double of the season.

It was the 13th consecutive victory for the Women of Troy. USC is now 17-1 overall on the season and 7-0 in Big Ten play. Crosstown rival UCLA is the only other Big Ten team which has yet to lose a conference game.

The Trojans will wrap up their two-game trip to the Midwest when they visit Purdue on Wednesday evening.

Maryland game needs to help USC this Sunday against Indiana

USC needs to do something against Indiana which it did not do versus Maryland.

USC women’s basketball had to dig very deep to beat Maryland on the road one week ago. The Trojans were down by seven points midway through the fourth quarter. They were in big trouble, but they rallied for a 79-74 win to stay atop the Big Ten standings and give Maryland its first loss of the season. As the Trojans prepare for a nationally-televised game at Indiana on Sunday, they need to lean on that Maryland game and learn from it.

The reason the Maryland game was so problematic is that USC was chasing the game most of the way. The Trojans started slowly and fell behind initially. They produced several great minutes and did get a seven-point lead late in the first half, but then they allowed a quick 6-0 run. Maryland took charge in the third quarter and gained the upper hand midway through the fourth before the Trojans rallied late. For much of the night, USC was on its heels. The Trojans responded when they got punched in the mouth, but they did get punched in the mouth.

As the scene shifts to Indiana on Sunday, the Trojans need to get on top of a road game. If they fall behind, they are obviously capable of winning, but the point being made here is that they can’t keep doing that. They will be playing a dangerous game if they do. USC got on top of the UConn game in December. It did allow a big UConn run, but being up by a big margin means that when a team allows a run, it is still right there with a chance to win instead of being knocked out. USC was able to make a final surge and prevail over UConn. The great first 25 minutes USC played gave the Trojans a cushion and more margin for error.

That’s what the Trojans need against Indiana: a strong start and a healthy working margin. Make Indiana play from behind and shrink the margin for error on the opponent’s side.

The Maryland game — in which USC did not start well — needs to lead to a much stronger start for the Trojans against Indiana. Let’s see what happens.

USC women’s basketball is on ambush alert when it travels to Indiana

Indiana is not an easy team to play against. The Hoosiers will bring energy to Sunday’s game. USC women’s basketball must be ready.

USC women’s basketball is putting together a strong month of January and a season which, so far, is generally meeting expectations. Yet, there are specific things USC can still do better. This team is still a work in progress. Players — including JuJu Watkins — have not reached their ceiling. There is still room to grow. One really good test for this USC team should come Sunday, when the Trojans play a “body clock game” in Bloomington against the homestanding Indiana Hoosiers. The game starts just after 9 a.m. Pacific time. USC is flying across multiple time zones to play this game on national television. NBC has the game just before the network moves over to NFL football for the divisional playoff round on Sunday, January 19.

Indiana just went into Iowa City and beat the Iowa Hawkeyes. That should get USC’s full attention. Indiana coach Teri Moren, who has guided IU to its only three Sweet 16s and its one Elite Eight appearance in the past four seasons, is a superb coach. She spoke about the win over Iowa:

We kept the lead, we built the lead, we kept it, we didn’t lose the lead, but they obviously came crawling back at us. I felt like we just made big play after big play after big play. Of course, Yarden (Garzon) had a special night, but she’s a special player as we know. But I thought all of them. I thought Syd Parrish, Strip (Karoline Striplin) making the shot when we were only up (four) with a minute to go at the end of the shot clock. That was a huge, huge play for us. I thought Shay (Ciezki), although didn’t shoot the ball great tonight was good defensively. We’re just happy to get out of here with a win. Really pleased with my group, how hard they played. This is a difficult league, as you guys all know. Iowa is was going to be just fine. But tonight, we’re happy to be getting back on that plane and headed back to Bloomington with the win game.

USC needs to be ready for the Assembly Hall crowd and Indiana’s energy. The Trojans fell behind in their most recent road trip to Maryland. They would love to produce a smoother ride this time.

USC vs Indiana is a matchup of elite women’s basketball coaches

Indiana women’s basketball coach Teri Moren is the real deal. USC will need a quality game plan on Sunday against the Hoosiers.

USC women’s basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb has done a superb job with the Trojans. Gottlieb inherited a nowhere program and has very quickly turned it into a national powerhouse with Final Four potential. When USC faces Indiana this Sunday on national television, Gottlieb will look at the other sideline in Assembly Hall and see a formidable counterpart on the Hoosiers’ bench. Teri Moren and Gottlieb are thriving in their careers, which adds to the intrigue when they go head to head this weekend in Bloomington.

USC fans know what Lindsay Gottlieb has done in Troy. Teri Moren has whipped Indiana into shape. Indiana is a blue-blood men’s basketball school, but it did not have a track record of elite success in women’s hoops. Moren changed all that. She did need time to put all the pieces together, but in 2021, she led IU to the Elite Eight. The Hoosiers then made two additional trips to the Sweet 16. Last season, Indiana played South Carolina in a very, very close game in the regional semifinals. The Hoosiers made the eventual national champions sweat profusely in the Sweet 16.

Teri Moren can coach. Lindsay Gottlieb, Beth Burns, and the rest of the USC staff will need a quality game plan against Indiana on Sunday.

Indiana basketball put up a fight against UCLA, offering USC a measuring stick

Indiana lost to UCLA but didn’t allow the Bruins to knock them out early. The Hoosiers could be a very tough opponent for USC.

USC women’s basketball will wind up getting a full week off before facing Indiana on Sunday in Bloomington. The Trojans get extended time to gear up for the Hoosiers in a difficult road environment in Assembly Hall. One reason USC better be ready for the challenge posed by Indiana is that the Hoosiers gave UCLA a battle even on a day when they did not play especially well.

Indiana lost 73-62 to UCLA a few weeks ago at home. The Hoosiers competed well. They forced 13 UCLA turnovers and limited the Bruins to 5-of-18 3-point shooting. Indiana’s effort was superb. However, the Hoosiers hit just 4 of 21 3-pointers, missing a lot of open looks. UCLA was never immediately threatened in that game, but if Indiana had made more shots, this game could have been a dogfight down the stretch. UCLA won that game with some measure of comfort, but its opponent fired a lot of blanks.

USC has to be ready to withstand a game in which Indiana makes tough shots. If the Trojans aren’t especially sharp, this game could get tricky. The UCLA-Indiana game is certainly a game Lindsay Gottlieb and the USC women’s basketball staff will study intently before Sunday’s game. It will be fascinating to see how the Trojans handle their trip to Assembly Hall.

USC women’s basketball to face Indiana on NBC Sports this coming Sunday

USC women’s basketball will be the lead-in to NBC’s coverage of the Philadelphia Eagles’ NFL playoff game on Sunday.

USC women’s basketball hopes that its increased national television presence, due to JuJu Watkins and the Trojans’ overall standing in college basketball, will continue to help the program. This Sunday, USC gets to play on NBC Sports for its road trip to Bloomington, Indiana. USC versus the Indiana Hoosiers will air at noon Eastern time, 9 a.m. Pacific. Notably, the game will be a lead-in to NBC’s coverage of the NFL playoff game being hosted by the Philadelphia Eagles, which starts at 3 Eastern and noon Pacific. NBC’s NFL pregame show starts at 2 p.m. Eastern, 11 a.m. Pacific. USC will try to continue to take advantage of its proximity to the NFL, as we noted last month after the win over UConn:

The USC-UConn TV ratings are in, and they are good: The game averaged 2.23 million viewers, making it the second-highest-rated game ever shown on Fox Sports, and the most-watched women’s college basketball game so far this season. This game got plenty of eyeballs on it.

We continued:

Fox Sports said that the audience for USC-UConn women’s basketball peaked at 3.76 million viewers in the first 15 minutes of the broadcast window. This is likely due to the fact that USC-UConn followed Fox’s NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. The NFL lead-in gave this game a boost.

The NFL is king. USC hopes that the Indiana game gets some NBC viewers who are tuning in for football … and a lot of viewers who simply want to watch JuJu Watkins on a Sunday. Keep in mind that the USC-UConn game went directly up against a College Football Playoff game (Ohio State versus Tennessee). There is no such competition for this game early on Sunday. JuJu Watkins has it all to herself.

UCLA’s Kiki Rice has high praise for her most recent opponent

UCLA’s Kiki Rice faced a tough one-on-one matchup against Indiana. This should make her better for future games.

The top-ranked UCLA Bruins were able to hold off the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday 73-62, even with star guard Kiki Rice having an off shooting game. 

Rice went just 3-13 from the field but was able to help UCLA in other ways, getting to the free throw line eight times and tallying seven rebounds and seven assists with two steals. The junior was matched up with Indiana’s Chloe Moore-McNeil, who’s made the Big Ten Defensive Team the previous two seasons with the Hoosiers. 

“She’s a great defender,” Rice said of Moore-McNeil. “Definitely one of the better ones that I’ve faced this season. I think her length and her ability to really move on the perimeter and get through screens and all that was definitely a tough matchup.”

Rice still ended with 12 points in Saturday’s game, but it was her first time since November she shot below 50% from the field.

“Watch the film and learn from it.” Rice said.

Rice is matching her career high in points per game with 13.2 while shooting a career best 56.5% from the field. 

Tuesday should be a better matchup for the Bruins’ offense, facing Purdue, which has the No. 17 scoring defense in the Big Ten. That is a sharp contrast with playing the conference’s No. 2 scoring defense in Indiana. UCLA will tip off against the Boilermakers on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Pacific time. The game will be aired on the Big Ten Network.