Tag: Juju Watkins

March Madness: Elite 8 strategy for the $2.5K USA TODAY’s Women’s NCAA Tournament Survivor Pool

Win $2.5K in the Women’s NCAA Tournament Survivor Pool: Elite 8 pick and prediction.

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The 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament moves on to the Elite 8, starting Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Only 284 entries in USA TODAY’s NCAA Women’s Tournament Survivor Pool contest remain out of the 3,754 who signed up.

Sunday, we have No. 1 seed South Carolina (35-0) facing No. 3 seed Oregon State (27-7) in Albany, while No. 1 seed Texas (33-4) meets No. 3 seed NC State (30-6) in Portland.

Monday, we have a couple of amazing bouts on tap. No. 3 seed LSU (31-5) and No. 1 seed Iowa (32-4) will battle in Albany in a national championship rematch, for a trip to the Final 4 this time around. It’s F Angel Reese and the defending champion Tigers against record-setter G Caitlin Clark and her Hawkeyes in one of the most anticipated games this season.

But don’t sleep on Monday’s nightcap from Portland when G Paige Bueckers and No. 3 seed UConn face freshman phenom G Juju Watkins and top-seeded USC in the final Elite 8 game of the round.

After getting through the 1st round with 3 correct picks for 12 points, I stumbled in the 2nd round and was eliminated. While No. 4 seed Indiana won for me, I was eliminated when 4th-seeded Kansas State lost to No. 5 seed Colorado.

Even though I was done, I still offered out picks for the Sweet 16, hoping to help you. Only having to make 1 pick this round, I rebounded with LSU topping 2nd-seeded UCLA in Albany Saturday in a 78-69 thriller.

As an employee, I wasn’t eligible to win this contest, but there’s no rule against me helping you win $2.5K.

A rules reminder: Remaining entries are required to pick 1 team in Elite 8, 1 team in the Final Four and then the National Championship Game winner — if you still have an eligible team to select.

Points are earned equal to your winning teams’ seeds.

Here is my strategy of which team to pick for the Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament Survivor Pool in the Elite 8 round.

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Elite 8 pick

PICK 1: UCONN HUSKIES (32-5)

Who they play: USC Trojans (29-5)

When: Monday, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Where: Moda Center, Portland

The Huskies are ranked No. 7 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, while the Trojans are No. 3.

USC narrowly escaped an upset in the Sweet 16, edging 5th-seeded Baylor 74-70 in a physical battle. The good news is that the Trojans held the Bears to 38.6% (27-of-70) shooting from the field, but that bad news is that USC wasn’t much better at 39.4% (29-of-66) on its field-goal percentage. USC turned it over 9 times, too, while managing just 11 assists and 2 steals, to 17 dimes and 5 steals for Baylor. Still, the Trojans managed to get the job done.

Watkins misfired on 20 of her 28 field-goal attempts, including a dismal 2-of-11 from behind the 3-point line. Still, she managed to get to the free-throw line 13 times, knocking down 12 of her attempts. It was one of the strangest 30-point night you’ll ever see. She finished with 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocked shots, too.

USC will have its hands full with Bueckers. The Huskies eased by 7th-seeded Duke 53-45 in a defensive battle. Bueckers was 9-of-21 from the field, posting 24 points with 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocked shots and an assist, while knocking down a pair of 3-pointers. F Aaliyah Edwards was tremendously efficient, too, hitting 6-of-7 from the field, ending up with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks in a complementary role.

Coach Geno Auriemma is one of the game’s greats, and Bueckers and Edwards are outstanding options to confuse Watkins, who is on this stage for the first time. All 4 of the games in the Elite 8 are No. 3 vs. No. 1 seeds. The Huskies are your best bet to pull the upset, with NC State a close 2nd if you’ve yet to use them (I have).

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JuJu Watkins and Cheryl Miller discuss USC’s run to No. 1 seed for NCAA Tournament, and more

Cheryl Miller and JuJu Watkins had a conversation. You’ll want to watch it.

Cheryl Miller’s place as a basketball icon is enormous and secure. JuJu Watkins is just beginning to collect awards and pursue championships at USC. An established USC great and a rising USC star have a lot to talk about, and one of the great things about this USC women’s basketball season is how it has brought the legend and the current Trojan star together.

Cheryl Miller’s imprint on USC and Los Angeles sports is massive. As we noted, “After facing Kim Mulkey in a contentious Final Four semifinal on March 30, 1984, Cheryl Miller became a teammate of Mulkey on the 1984 United States Women’s Basketball National Team. Miller, Mulkey, and other women’s basketball stars of the era led the USA to the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics. Miller therefore won a national title and Olympic gold in Los Angeles in 1984, a very special year for a USC basketball icon.”

Cheryl Miller and JuJu Watkins talked ball, USC, and more in a conversation you won’t want to miss. Here it is:

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JuJu Watkins breaks Cheryl Miller’s all-time single-season USC scoring record

JuJu Watkins and Cheryl Miller are linked forever in USC women’s basketball history.

JuJu Watkins has racked up a lot of awards this season. She is a First-Team All-American. She is the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Freshman of the Year. She has made history on a lot of levels at USC. Now comes one of the crown-jewel achievements of her resplendent 2024 season: She is now the all-time single-season scoring leader for USC women’s basketball. Cheryl Miller had the record at 814 points. JuJu broke it early on Saturday in the Trojans’ NCAA Tournament opener against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Watkins will now try to win honors connected to team success. USC, powered by Watkins, led A&M-CC by a 36-20 score at halftime. The Trojans are trying to earn their way into the second round on Monday evening in the Galen Center against the Kansas Jayhawks, who defeated the Michigan Wolverines in overtime in the day’s first of two games in Galen.

JuJu Watkins broke a Cheryl Miller record set in 1986, the last time the Trojans were a No. 1 seed in the Women’s NCAA Tournament before this year. The year 1986 is also the last time the Trojans made the Women’s Final Four and reached the national championship game. Those are the goals JuJu Watkins wants to reach more than anything else.

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Vanessa Bryant and family were among those out to support USC women’s basketball in March Madness

The Bryants were out to support JuJu Watkins and USC women’s basketball on Saturday.

During the USC women’s basketball team’s opening-round NCAA tournament game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, sensational Trojans guard JuJu Watkins and her teammates had quite the cheering section.

Vanessa Bryant, wife of the late Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, attended Saturday’s game with her family to root for Watkins and the Trojans, an awesome gesture that shows the connection between the L.A.-based school and the Bryants.

In the past, Watkins has talked about the late Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s influence on her USC playing days and the way she approaches basketball. So it’s great to see the Bryant family supporting her and her team in one of the big games of their careers.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the likely top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and women’s basketball legend Cheryl Miller were also in attendance for the day’s game.

This is just a really cool thing to see, as it’s clear the love in basketball family in Los Angeles can spread levels of play and different programs.

We’re sure that Watkins and USC deeply appreciate the support from the Bryants as they try to bring a national title back to the City of Angels.

Featured image courtesy of ESPN.

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The most important number for USC women’s basketball in NCAA Tournament first-round game

Beyond winning the game, USC needs to achieve one other specific goal in its NCAA Tournament opener on Saturday.

The USC women’s basketball team begins the Women’s NCAA Tournament this Saturday afternoon on its home floor in the Galen Center, the first time the Trojans will host an NCAA Tournament game in Galen since the building opened nearly 20 years ago. It’s a special time for USC, coach Lindsay Gottlieb, superstar JuJu Watkins, and the rest of an overachieving team which won the Pac-12 Tournament and gained a No. 1 seed.

As USC prepares for its first-round game versus the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders, the Trojans aren’t expected to be tested in this contest. It’s a 1 seed versus a 16 seed, after all. What should USC realistically try to get out of this game beyond a win? There’s one really big key, and there’s one number you should have in mind when thinking about that key point.

USC, if it wins on Saturday, would have to turn around on Monday and play another game against Michigan or Kansas. If you watched JuJu Watkins during the season, you know that in the games where she has more rest, she plays and shoots better. She always delivers on defense, but her better offensive games during the season usually came on Fridays and not Sundays. Her 51-point game against Stanford: Friday. Her excellent game versus Colorado: Friday. Her 8 of 27 shooting performance in the loss to Washington? Sunday. Her 6 of 32 shooting line at Oregon State? Sunday.

USC needs JuJu Watkins to be fresh for Monday. That means putting this game away at halftime or early in the third quarter, so that JuJu can get added rest for the Monday game.

The important number: 25. If JuJu Watkins doesn’t have to play more than 25 minutes, that would be a great result for USC. Watkins averages 34.3 minutes per game. Yes, she has had a long time to rest, but she needs her best game in the second round. She shouldn’t have to be at her very best against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. If JuJu can at least play fewer than 30 minutes, that would be good, but hitting 25 minutes — maybe 27 tops — would be especially encouraging for this team as it tries to handle the strain of playing two NCAA Tournament games in three days.

USC plays A&M-CC at 1:30 p.m. in Los Angeles on Saturday, with ESPN showing the game nationwide.

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Cheryl Miller warns JuJu Watkins to remember 1 thing as her fame and trajectory with USC grows

Cheryl Miller has a passionate warning for JuJu Watkins as her young, blossoming career progresses.

JuJu Watkins is an incredible talent whose prowess has propelled the USC Trojans women’s basketball team back into top basketball conversations. However, earning that amount of superstardom comes with a mountain of attention and fame that USC legend Cheryl Miller wants JuJu to know should never compromise her ability to maintain a sense of self.

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JuJu Watkins is a hooper. She’s gritty. She’s tough. She’s dynamic on the floor. However, as she’s been seemingly breaking every USC women’s basketball record and scoring the most points by a freshman in NCAA history — surpassing Caitlin Clark — it can be hard to remember that Warkins is just 18 years old.

That’s why Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller recently asked JuJu if she has taken quiet time for herself. When she struggled to answer, Miller offered some advice.

Per Sean Hurd of ESPN, this is what Miller shared with JuJu:

“I want you to find that quiet space where no one else [is], where it’s your time to exhale…I’m not worried about the physical. You’re a young kid, and you’re going to continue to grow into your body. But it’s the mental fatigue that I worry from you. It’s not a basketball…It’s the business aspect. That’s what I need from you, to find that quiet space.”

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USC’s JuJu Watkins does something which hadn’t happened in 28 years

JuJu Watkins is USC WBB’s first player to become a First-Team All-American since the great Tina Thompson in 1996.

The USC women’s basketball team has authored a very special season in 2024. The Trojans, as a group, have done something no USC women’s basketball team has achieved in 38 years: Get a No. 1 seed at the NCAA Tournament. USC has won the Pac-12 Tournament for the first time since 2014. The Trojans, who have played in the Galen Center for nearly 20 years, will finally host NCAA Tournament games in their on-campus arena for the very first time. This is a season full of milestones and landmark moments for USC women’s basketball. You can add one more achievement to the list: JuJu Watkins was named a First-Team All-American in 2024, marking the first time in 28 years anyone at the program has done so. You would have to go back to Tina Thompson in 1996 to identify USC’s previous First-Team All-American.

JuJu Watkins probably would have made the All-America Team solely on the basis of her scoring prowess. She has spent almost all of the season second on the average points-per-game scoring list behind Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark. Watkins likely would have been a Second-Team All-America selection solely for her offensive ability.

What makes JuJu Watkins a first-teamer, not a second-teamer, on the All-America roster is her defense. Watkins is an elite on-ball defender who regularly gets multiple steals per game. She is a capable shot blocker as well and has great instincts as a help defender for USC. JuJu Watkins’ quality at both ends of the floor, not just offense, is what makes her a legitimate first-team selection. Now we will see how far this First-Team All-American can carry the Trojans in the Women’s NCAA Tournament.

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Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo named AP First Team All-American

What a season she’s had.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] has had a special freshman season at Notre Dame, and now, we know exactly how special. She has joined USC’s JuJu Watkins as the fourth and fifth freshmen to be named to the AP All-American First Team since it began during the 1994-95 season. They join Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley and Texas’ Madison Booker.

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Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb obviously has seen Watkins up close and personal throughout this season, but she reserved praise for Hidalgo, too:

“We’ve had a front row seat to JuJu, but what Hannah’s done is unbelievable Coach Niele (Ivey) has done an incredible job.”

Ivey also was quoted in the AP story and said this about Hidalgo, the nation’s steals leader at 4.6 a game and its third-leading scorer at 23.3 points a game:

“She deserves to be listed amongst the best in women’s basketball. Hannah is a fierce competitor and an elite performer who rises to the occasion and has been extremely consistent and dominant this season.”

What has to be scary to opponents is that Hidalgo only is getting started. She likely will hold many Irish records by the time she’s done with the program. Irish fans will be anxious to find out how many of those records she holds in the end.

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USC’s JuJu Watkins named finalist for 2024 Dawn Staley Award

JuJu Watkins has a very long list of awards and semifinalist nominations, with more to come.

The leading lady for the Women of Troy is Juju Watkins. The USC superstar has been named a finalist for the Dawn Staley Award. The winner will be announced the weekend of the Final Four (April 5-7). A virtual award ceremony will be held on the evening of Thursday, April 11.

Watkins has been insane this season, averaging 27.8 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game, 2.6 steals per game, and 1.6 blocks per game.

JuJu Watkins 2023-2024 Honors include:

• The Athletic National Freshman of the Year
• The Athletic First Team All-America
• Ann Meyers Drysdale Award finalist
• Dawn Staley Award finalist
• Sullivan Award semifinalist
• Dawn Staley Award late season watch list
• Naismith Midseason watch list
• Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Top 10
• Wade watch list
• Wooden Award late season Top 20
• Wooden Award Midseason Top 25
• Wooden Award Preseason Top 50
• Jersey Mike’s Naismith Award watch list
• Pac-12 Freshman of the Year
• All-Pac-12 Team
• Pac-12 All-Defensive Honorable Mention
• Pac-12 All-Freshman Team
• Pac-12 All-Tournament Team
• Preseason All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention
• Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas Player of the Game (11/6)
• Pac-12 Player of the Week (3x)
• Pac-12 Freshman of the Week (14)

Watkins and the Women of Troy are now awaiting the reveal of the 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket, with the Selection Show set for 5 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday, March 17. USC is likely to get a No. 1 seed and serve as a host school for the first and second rounds.

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Iowa, USC battle in women’s basketball rankings as Caitlin Clark, JuJu Watkins prepare for March Madness

Caitlin Clark’s Hawkeyes and JuJu Watkins’ Trojans are both viewed as top-four teams. We hope that’s true in April.

The Iowa Hawkeyes and USC Trojans are expected to be No. 1 seeds when the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed on Sunday evening. The show is at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. in Los Angeles. Caitlin Clark and JuJu Watkins are getting ready for March Madness. With the Big Dance almost here, Iowa and USC are very close in the national rankings.

Hawkeyes Wire has more on this story:

“According to the polls, Iowa comes in at No. 2 in the nation. According to CBS Sports and their final regular season power rankings, the Hawkeyes are slotted down just one row to No. 3 in America with an upstart team jumping them at No. 2.”

(snip)

“Iowa can’t move down. They did their job winning the Big Ten Tournament and locking up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament thanks to efforts from all over the place. Ahead of Iowa at No. 2 in the rankings are the young, confident, and dangerous USC Trojans.”

Is USC better than Iowa? Hawkeyes Wire joins us in saying we would absolutely love to see these two teams meet at the Final Four in Cleveland in April. Then we would get to find out.

Both teams have a lot of work to do until then. Winning four games against quality competition will not be easy.

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