LOS ANGELES — The boos rained on Mississippi State’s players every time they brought the ball up the court. They continued into halftime as the Bulldogs cheerleaders took the stage, then when Mississippi State came back out of the locker room, and when one of them tangled with Rayah Marshall in the postgame handshake line.
The blame didn’t lie with them, but the USC fans needed somewhere to direct their anger. It was overwhelming. How could it not be? The air had been sucked out of the building, their greatest fear materializing in front of them. The hopes of the best team most of them could remember in their lifetimes crumpled, in an instant.
In the most wide-open women’s NCAA Tournament in recent memory, the Trojans had their best chance of getting back to the Final Four for the first time in 40 years and even capturing their third national title in program history. Their belief existed because of JuJu Watkins, the hometown hero who brought excellence back to USC basketball and life to a moribund fan base.
As Watkins fell to the floor Monday night, and her screams echoed in the arena, all that was left was pain.
“I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t rattled seeing JuJu on the floor and crying,” coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “I’m trying, obviously, my best to be what I need to be for the team, but internally it’s a lot.”
That feeling extended beyond the Galen Center, beyond the Trojans fan base, when news spread late Monday night that Watkins would miss the rest of the tournament with a knee injury that requires surgery. Watkins has energized basketball fans around the country. She is the sport’s latest icon with her scoring prowess and her stardom, and her absence materially affects the tournament’s success, not just USC’s.
Watkins and the Trojans were supposed to be the capper to a dazzling second round — one that featured overtime barn-burners between Kentucky and Kansas State and then Maryland and Alabama. Instead, there is only concern and disappointment heading into the second weekend rather than excitement for what mark Watkins could leave in her second postseason.
The Trojans have All-American Kiki Iriafen, defensive stalwart Marshall, the No. 1 freshman class in the country, and role players who are the envy of other coaches. They tout their depth and the importance of every part to the whole.
The Trojans were able to win without her in the second round, and in convincing fashion, 96-59. The Iriafen-Marshall duo is still formidable, and USC’s active, swarming defense presents problems for any perimeter player.
Watkins said it herself after USC’s first-round victory. “I’m really confident in my team regardless of if I’m in or not. I know what they can do.”
What they aren’t is a championship contender without Watkins. She is the one who puts USC on her back in its biggest games and is the differentiator between good and great. She blows by defenders in transition and creates space in the half court. She roams on defense, pouncing at the opportune moment for turnovers. She’s on a national commercial during every break in the action. Watkins is inescapable.
Prayers for Juju!
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) March 25, 2025
— Stewie (@breannastewart) March 25, 2025
The women’s tournament has suffered from the absence of its best players in recent years. Paige Bueckers missed the entire 2022-23 regular season, including the tournament, following UConn’s run to the national title game in 2022 with a torn ACL. Olivia Miles missed that postseason — and the next — after tearing her ACL for a top-10 Notre Dame team in the final regular-season game of 2023. Three-time ACC player of the year Elizabeth Kitley tore her ACL in the last week of the 2024 regular season, denying Virginia Tech a repeat bid at the Final Four.
Only Bueckers can claim to match the star power of Watkins, but the impact of Watkins’ injury will be amplified in 2025. The momentum of the women’s tournament has been building since the historic 2023 national title game between Iowa and LSU. It was on pace for even more record highs with Watkins’ potential rematches against Bueckers and UConn, and the Bruins.
The NCAA must hope another star can fill that vacuum. In all likelihood, Watkins is too special to be replaced.
In the arena, USC players did what they could to regain control after Watkins was carried off the court. Marshall said they tried to calm Gottlieb in the huddle since she was shaken by not knowing what had happened with Watkins. Iriafen was as enthusiastic as ever, raising Marshall in the air after she banked a 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer and dancing to distract her after Marshall had to be pulled away from a Bulldogs player on a held ball. She hyped the crowd up after an and-1 in the third quarter.
As she did last year in the second round for Stanford when her star teammate Cameron Brink fouled out, Iriafen comfortably assumed the role of No. 1 option, finishing with 36 points and nine rebounds.
“Once we lost Ju, she obviously has a high usage rate, does a lot for the team, so I think everybody else knew that we had to step up and come together,” Talia von Oelhoeffen said. “(Kiki) took her game to another level, knowing that we lost a huge piece on both ends of the floor, so her energy definitely, definitely helped us.”
The dominant victory wasn’t enough to change the tenor of the locker room celebration or the lack thereof. Gottlieb said there’s usually jumping and spraying water when a team gets to the Sweet 16. For USC on Monday, there were prayers for Watkins, but also some pride for what they had achieved without her and how they had rallied on their home court.
“You cannot tell me that the energy of that crowd and how angry they were with the other team and how much fired up they were for our team is so much about what JuJu has given to this arena, to this program, to this city,” Gottlieb said.
Watkins is 19 years old and has so much more to give to Los Angeles and women’s basketball. To miss out on any amount of that is a waste. It was a sad night at USC, and its ramifications will reverberate far beyond this arena.
(Photo: John W. McDonough / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
