Women’s basketball gets top seed for March Madness
USC will welcome Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to Galen Center in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
By LEILA MACKENZIE
Let’s dance!
The No. 1-seeded Trojans (26-5, 13-5 Pac-12) — who earned a top seed for the first time since the 1986 NCAA Tournament — will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament at Galen Center, playing No. 16 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (23-4, 14-4 Southland Conference) Saturday at 1:30 p.m. As part of the Portland 3 region, the winner will play No. 8 Kansas (19-12, 11-7 Big 12) or No. 9 Michigan (20-13, 9-9 Big 10) in the second round Monday.
Although the Trojans, ranked No. 3 in the national AP Top 25 women’s college basketball poll, were far from the bubble, Selection Sunday incited a spirit of suspense.
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Seated in rows, the team keenly eyed ESPN’s selection show on one of the many TVs encircling the Founders Room at Galen Center. Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb rocked back and forth, squeezing junior center Rayah Marshall’s shoulders, and freshman guard JuJu Watkins bounced her leg up and down, matching the oscillating tension in the room.
After 32 teams had been revealed, the Trojan logo finally flashed before the screen and the whole room burst into a collective cheer. Cheryl Miller embraced all those within reach, redshirt freshman guard Aaliyah Gayles danced even with a boot on her injured left leg and veterans of the student section shook cutouts of the starting fives’ faces.
“My body was shocked with chills,” Marshall said. “We went from last year as an eight or nine seed and now, our dreams are coming true being a one seed at home.”
Having won the Pac-12 Tournament the week prior, USC already clinched a spot in the tournament, however, Gottlieb was still nervous when she drove to Sunday’s celebration.
“I was nervous to continue to make you all proud,” Gottlieb said in a speech leading into the selection show.
In her third season at the helm, Gottlieb has guided USC to consecutive NCAA tournaments for the first time since 2006. And all season, Gottlieb has emphasized her successes belong to her as much as they do to the Trojan legends that came before her and the community surrounding USC.
“It’s just the theme of the year, just bringing ’SC and [Los Angeles] back on the map in the national discussion,” Forbes said. “I think that means a lot to us and I hope it means a lot to Cheryl [Miller] and the people who came before us as well.”
USC last hosted an NCAA Tournament game in 1994 when Miller was coaching. This season, the Trojans attracted 3,856 fans per game, including their first sellout against UCLA.
“A home game for us is something we’re grateful for,” Marshall said. “We embrace [it] and we’re ready to put a show on for our fans.”
The Trojans are one of seven Pac-12 teams to make the NCAA Tournament, but if they move on to Portland for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, they’ll likely face nonconference teams such as No. 2 Ohio State (25-5, 16-2 Big 10) — whom they defeated in their season opener — No. 3 UConn (29-5, 18-0 Big East) or No. 4 Virginia Tech (24-7, 14-4 ACC).
