Women’s basketball awarded No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament

Posted on March 16, 2025

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Women’s basketball awarded No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament

The Trojans were named the top seed in the Spokane 4 region, with familiar foe UConn as the No. 2 seed.

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By HENRY MODE

March 16, 2025

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Juju Watkins watches a play in game versus UCLA in Los Angeles, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (Braden Dawson / Daily Trojan)

Sophomore guard JuJu Watkins and the Trojans may have an opportunity to avenge their 2024 Elite Eight loss against UConn at the same stage in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. (Braden Dawson / Daily Trojan)

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USC’s women’s basketball team will be a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year, the ESPN selection show revealed Sunday evening.

It is the second year in a row Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s squad has been on the top line of their region — the first time the Trojans (28-3, 17-1 Big Ten) have secured back-to-back top seeds since the 1982-83 and 1983-84 campaigns.

The other No. 1 teams are Texas (31-3, 15-1 SEC) in the Birmingham 3 region, South Carolina (30-3, 15-1 SEC) in the Birmingham 2 region and UCLA (30-2, 16-2 Big Ten) — the tournament’s top overall seed — in the Spokane 1 region.

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USC is the top seed in the Spokane 4 region, which also features No. 2 seed UConn (31-3, 18-0 Big East) and No. 3 seed Oklahoma (25-7, 11-5 SEC). They will face off with No. 16 UNC Greensboro (25-6, 13-1 SoCon) in the opening round Saturday, with the winner taking on either No. 8 UC Berkeley (25-8, 12-6 ACC) or No. 9 Mississippi State (21-11, 7-9 SEC) on Monday.

If the Trojans can pull out two victories at home, they will head to the Spokane regional for the Sweet 16. To clinch a berth at the Final Four in Tampa Bay, Gottlieb’s squad will need to one-up its performance at the Portland regional last season — when they fell 80-73 to UConn in the Elite Eight. It will be an apt opportunity for Trojan revenge if USC and the Huskies both advance to the same stage once again.

USC’s 72-67 loss to UCLA in the Big Ten Championship has left a bitter taste in the Trojans’ mouths heading into the big dance, but Gottlieb’s squad still remains one of the favorites to take home the trophy in April. The madness will kick off on Friday, when USC takes on UNC Greensboro at Galen Center.

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