How JuJu Watkins’ injury impacts USC, NCAA title race, beyond

LOS ANGELES — The moment transpired over less than a second. Look away and you might have missed it. JuJu Watkins was dribbling the ball downcourt, full steam ahead on a fast break, ready to make magic happen in one last USC home game this season. Everyone — all 7,808 inside the Galen Center — was watching.

Watkins wedged herself between two Mississippi State defenders, and, in a flash, her right knee appeared to give out underneath her. She crumpled to the ground and grabbed her right knee. Anticipatory cheers turned into worried murmurs, and soon the only sound became the squeak of sneakers as coaches and trainers jogged over to check on Watkins, who was in pain and in tears.

“I’ve never heard an arena get so quiet so quickly,” one USC staff member later said.

“She always has a lot of cameras on her, so my first thought was to try to get in front of the one that I saw,” guard Talia von Oelhoffen said. “Everyone’s zooming in on her, and it’s just not a great moment. So, I was just trying to get around her to cover as much as we can and just make sure she knows that we’re all there.”

After a long, silent minute, Watkins was carried off the court through the nearest tunnel. As USC athletic director Jen Cohen and other athletic administrators quickly followed Watkins to the locker room, the sight of her being unable to put any weight on her right leg was ominous. Soon, everyone would learn Watkins was wheeled out of the arena to a nearby medical facility for an MRI. Later, the worst-case scenario would prove to be true: The national Player of the Year favorite had suffered a torn ACL. Watkins’ season was over.

In the moment, the unknown of Watkins’ health hung over the entire arena, but there were still 35 minutes of game time to be played in the second round of the women’s NCAA tournament. USC players huddled up to pray and check in on coach Lindsay Gottlieb, who was, as senior Rayah Marshall later put it, “a little shook up.”

“I’d be lying if I told you that I wasn’t rattled seeing JuJu on the floor crying,” Gottlieb admitted after the game. “This is a human game, so I obviously tried my best to be what I need to be for the team, but internally it’s a lot.”

But for the next hour and a half, Gottlieb and her top-seeded team put it all aside and stitched together a dominant 96-59 win over No. 9 seed Mississippi State. Emboldened by the raucous crowd, which was resuscitated by their play and booed the Bulldogs every time they touched the ball, the Trojans played with a collection of chips on their shoulders and punched their ticket to the Sweet 16.

“It was emotional,” Gottlieb said. “You had to be there to feel it.”

Even as they battle shock and grief, the Trojans must now turn their sights to Saturday’s regional semifinal (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). In five days, they face No. 5 seed Kansas State for a shot at returning to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive year.

As Gottlieb said after Monday’s game, Watkins’ teammates will have to compartmentalize now. The Trojans will continue their tournament run, but they’ll have to do so without their star player, whose injury radically alters not only USC’s season but the sport as a whole.

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How does Watkins’ absence affect the rest of the women’s NCAA tournament?

When Watkins went down, it cast a pall on March Madness and changed the dynamics of the NCAA championship picture. With her, USC was a national title contender. That becomes less likely now.

What lies ahead on the Trojans’ potential path to the Final Four? As soon as the bracket came out, most were anticipating a USC-UConn game in the Elite Eight. It could still happen, but Watkins’ absence makes the No. 2 seed Huskies the favorite.

The two teams met last season in the regional final in Portland, Oregon. UConn won 80-73 in a game in which Watkins had 29 points and 10 rebounds. The teams faced off again during the regular season in December in Hartford, Connecticut, with the Trojans winning 72-70 behind Watkins’ 25 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

But before the Trojans can even think about the possibility of facing the Huskies again — UConn will have to get there, too, playing No. 3 seed Oklahoma on Saturday (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) in the Sweet 16 — USC must get past Kansas State.

K-State defeated Kentucky 80-79 in overtime Sunday to reach its first Sweet 16 since 2002 and is a senior-led team powered by 6-foot-6 center Ayoka Lee, who averages 15.6 points per game and shoots 64.1% from the field. The Wildcats also have a strong offense around her: They made 15 3-pointers in the second round and had 25 assists on 29 made baskets, with 14 from point guard Serena Sundell.

If the Trojans get through their region and make the Final Four, they might have to face archrival UCLA in the national semifinals. They beat the Bruins twice in the regular season before losing to them in the Big Ten tournament final.

The other No. 1 seeds — UCLA, South Carolina and Texas — are all still strong title contenders, as is UConn. No. 3 seeds Notre Dame (2018) and LSU (2023) have won NCAA titles in the recent past. The other No. 2 seeds — NC State, Duke and TCU — shouldn’t be left out of consideration, either. So there are still multiple contenders. But USC has taken a big hit. — Michael Voepel

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What adjustments will USC make without Watkins?

Playing without Watkins will be new for the Trojans this season. She has not just been the Trojans’ best player, she has played in every game this season, averaging nearly 35 minutes per game.

After Watkins went down Monday night, Kiki Iriafen became the offensive focus, and the senior forward had a season-high 36 points. Iriafen is more than capable of huge games; last season at Stanford, she had 41 points in the Cardinal’s second-round NCAA tournament victory. On Monday, Iriafen did not look rattled when Watkins went out; she was ready to step into a starring role because she has done it before.

“Kiki, I think, is one of the best players in the country,” Mississippi State coach Sam Purcell said after his team’s loss Monday. “We had our center on her, a guard on her, we doubled her. We went 2-3, we went man-to-man, we trapped her.

“We never stopped her. We threw the whole kitchen sink and the house [at her]. But she was just electric. Elite players know when they need to rise to the occasion.”

Four other Trojans also scored in double figures: senior Rayah Marshall and freshmen Kennedy Smith, Avery Howell and Kayleigh Heckel. Perhaps the mix of veterans and youth going forward will be exactly what USC needs.

Purcell also complimented sophomore Malia Samuels, who didn’t score Monday but had three assists and three steals. He said Samuels’ ability to disrupt the opposing ball handler stood out.

“That kid, every time I watch tape, changes the game,” Purcell said.

USC will need everyone contributing. Watkins isn’t just an All-American on the offensive end but also on defense. The Trojans have to replace her points and make up for the loss of a strong, physical player who can guard inside and outside.

Also, it’s one thing to play on adrenaline after a player is lost during a game. Now the Trojans must face the harsh reality that Watkins is out and that their opponent is able to strategize knowing that. — Voepel

How does Watkins’ injury affect USC and college basketball next season?

It’s difficult to think about 2025-26 in the immediate aftermath, but as with this NCAA tournament, Watkins’ injury will have a long-term impact. The Trojans will be losing Iriafen and Marshall to graduation. USC has this season’s strong freshman class back and has signed the No. 3 recruit, 6-1 guard Jasmine Davidson, according to ESPN. And time will tell how the transfer portal affects the Trojans.

ACL injury recovery times can vary, but they generally take anywhere from nine months to a year. If Watkins’ recovery is on the shorter end of that time frame, perhaps she will be able to play next season. Of course, her professional future and long-term health must also be considered.

Watkins has scored 1,709 collegiate points, which ranks second in Division I history through two seasons behind former Ohio State guard Kelsey Mitchell (1,762) and ahead of former Iowa guard Caitlin Clark (1,662). Clark went on to set the NCAA D-I scoring record, finishing her career last season with 3,951 points.

Watkins is on pace to break Clark’s record, but it’s hard to know how the injury might affect that chase. Watkins might not play a full season in 2025-26. There’s also a chance she’ll miss all of next year, play in 2026-27 and then leave for the WNBA draft rather than play four collegiate seasons. She would be eligible for the draft in 2027, per WNBA rules, as she would have been in college for four years at that point (even if she didn’t play each year). Plus, she turns 22 in 2027, which would also make her draft-eligible.

Watkins is expected to win many — perhaps all — of the national player of the year awards this season; some had already been voted on before her injury. She was going to be the unquestioned face of women’s college basketball next season following the departure of UConn’s Paige Bueckers.

While the game will certainly miss Watkins’ on-court brilliance and overall star power, other top returning players next season include Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo and UCLA center Lauren Betts, who were in the NPOY race this season, along with players such as Texas’ Madison Booker, UConn’s Sarah Strong and Florida State’s Ta’Niya Latson.

With Watkins, the Trojans might have been the nation’s No. 1 team heading into 2025-26. That seems unlikely now, whether she is out for the season or just misses the start of it. — Voepel