On the road, the USC Trojan was surprised by their confidence as they lined up the title of the conference and the influence of the NCAA Tournament seed in a rival sold-out arena. Even if the UCLA Bruins cut the deficit on two possessions in the third quarter, or endured a few players dealing with foul trouble, Lindsay Gottlieb's team never flinched.
The reason for this seemed to be because they had Juju Watkins and they didn't have an opponent.
On Saturday night national television, in front of a crowd that includes basketball royalties and celebrities, from Trojan legend Cheryl Miller to singer John Legend, USC won the Big Ten regular season title in its first season in the league, beating UCLA for the second time this year, 80-67.
With Watkins's eye-opening statistical line of 30 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steel and 3 blocks, USC will be number one in the Big Ten tournament, which begins next week in Indianapolis.
This victory is likely to cement Cements as the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
And for Watkins, her victory and her performance could be solidifying her as the women's college basketball player of the year, against her main competition for the award at UCLA's Lauren Betts.
The 19-year-old sophomore from Los Angeles chose to stay home to help bring the Trojan back to prominence, but started the game with an absolute heater. Watkins made three of his first five three-point attempts, including the opening point of the game, where the Bruins defender scored by ejecting a deep shot when he closed her.
Later in the second quarter, Watkins showed off an elite combination of steering, body control and determination as he ran towards the rim – with UCLA's Angela Dugaric on board, sprinting through the fouls to sink the layup. A while later, after USC collected an offensive rebound, Watkins sunk the 3-pointer for his second chance to make the Trojan 14 on a break.
During the break, Watkins scored 23 points in eight-thirds of shooting, and recorded one sales in 19 minutes of work.
“She's the best player in the country,” Gottlieb said in a halftime interview with Fox. “I'm not surprised at what she can do.”
Meanwhile, Betts struggled in the first half, finishing with just four points in six shots. The 6-foot-7 junior often fails to gain deep positioning in the paint, and when he caught the ball within range, she became double teaming and was forced to tackle physical defenses by the Trojan horse. The judge showed no mercy and sent Betts to the line only once in the first half, where he missed both attempts.
However, USC accumulated points in the first half, but they also accumulated fouls. Kiki Iliafen and Talia von Oelhofen (the Trojan horse's precious offseason acquisition) entered the third quarter had three fouls each, with Kennedy Smith and Raya Marshall two each. Watkins was the only player to score in double figures in the first half, and the situation in which her fellow starters found herself forced her to continue carrying the load in the last two frames.
And she wasn't disappointed.
UCLA trimmed the deficit to four points midway through the third quarter, but USC responded with a 7-0 run, with Watkins connected with a Fastbreak layup and stepping in with Betts and another defender on the way to the rim.
The game appeared to have ended early in the fourth quarter when USC moved 20 points ahead 12-3. But Watkins played another highlight in her bag. Teh Contes essentially concluded – USC played 17 points, 1:04 – she didn't quit. He stuffed a shot of Gabriella Jack into the paint, then raised his hands and pointed in the other direction, remaining there, informing the crowd of Paulie Pavilion that he would not only belong to Trohan, but also celebrate Gym's prime minister.
Watkins' fingerprints were throughout this victory. She didn't look like a rattle, nor did she turn down a big shot or let her get away from that moment. It was another example where Watkins seemed to always play her best in the most important games. So far this season, there's probably no one important. This is the regular season finale between the top five teams ranked in the two APs, with the conference crown on the line, which is what Watkins does when the lights are at the brightest.
Think of Watkins average 26.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.8 steel and 3.1 blocks per game against his ninth-placed opponent this season. With the exception of her stills (2.1 per game), all of these averages are higher than her game-by-game totals for the entire season.
“Her talent is off the charts,” Gottlieb said in a post-game interview. “…She has something no one can teach.”
Betts finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds. She appears to have no answer to the Trojan herd defense, and she and her teammates never really understood how to slow Watkins down. Notre Dame And Iowa.
Watkins embraced the spotlight and USC seized the opportunity. They took UCLA by storm and dealt with the only loss of the season so far for the Bruins.
With the best players in the sport leading the way, USC looks like a legitimate contender for a national title.
