After a drama-filled February which saw USC emerge as the team to beat in the Big Ten, the conference’s annual Women’s Basketball Tournament is slated to tip off Wednesday afternoon in Indianapolis.

The Trojans, by virtue of being the conference’s No. 1 seed, will not play until Friday, where they will meet the winner of a second-round matchup between Indiana (18-11, 10-8 Big Ten) and Oregon (19-10, 10-8) in the first quarterfinal.

USC clinched the No. 1 seed in the conference after running away with an 80-67 victory over No. 4 UCLA (27-2, 16-2) at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday night. The Trojans never trailed during the matchup, and held a double-digit lead over the Bruins for the entirety of the fourth quarter.

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The victory was powered by a well-rounded performance from Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s squad. Sophomore guard JuJu Watkins finished with 30 points, scoring 23 in the first half alone. Graduate forward Kiki Iriafen added 17 points on 8-13 shooting, marking her fourth game in a row shooting at least 40% from the field.

“To come out and play the way that we did … I think the way we won shows the growth of our team. It literally took every single person. It was such a team effort. UCLA is as good as advertised, we just had to be better to beat them,” said Gottlieb in the post-game press conference.

The Trojans’ rapid ascension to the top of the college basketball world has put the country on notice. Last week’s AP Top 25 poll saw the Trojans (26-2, 17-1) rise to No. 2 in the country from No. 4, now solely trailing No. 1 Texas (29-2, 15-1 SEC). The Trojans earned six first-place votes out of 31 available; the Longhorns took the rest. 

Both teams are, barring a poor showing in their conference tournaments, highly likely to earn No. 1 seeds from the NCAA Selection Committee. If so, it would mark USC’s third-ever time on the seedline, after last season’s No. 1 seed marked the school’s first since 1986.

The successful run for Gottlieb’s squad comes after the team fought through a short sophomore slump from Watkins. Through late January and early February, it almost seemed as if the star guard was beginning to come back down to earth. While she still averaged 19.5 points per game throughout the four- game stretch before the Trojans hosted UCLA on Feb. 13, she also shot at a dismal 30.81.5% rate from the field. 

The slump was marked by a rare upset loss for the Trojans on Feb. 2, when they traveled to Iowa (20-9, 10-8). That night, Iowa retired the jersey of former star Caitlin Clark, and the Hawkeyes rode the momentum in Carver-Hawkeye Arena to a 76-69 victory. Watkins scored 27 points in the loss, but shot just 8-22 from the field.

Later in the month, in matchups against Minnesota (20-10, 8-10) and then-No. 8 Ohio State (24-5, 13-5), Watkins started the game shooting 0-10 and 0-11, respectively. In the latter matchup, she finished 5-21, leading to skepticism and concern from fans and pundits alike. Still, other players filled the void; Iriafen recorded double-doubles in both games, while senior center Rayah Marshall’s defensive prowess helped to power the Trojans to victory.

Watkins assuaged her doubters’ concerns with a 38 point explosion in USC’s first matchup against UCLA, putting away six three-pointers. Since then, her field goal percentage has recovered, the Trojans have held off their opposition, and the team looks to be playing their best ball at the perfect time.
“When you play with players like Kiki and the team we have and our seniors, you want to do your best. You don’t want to let anybody down. I don’t want to let Coach down,” Watkins said. “So whatever I have to do to [achieve] that and just go out there and have fun. I’m just out there playing, really.” 

The Trojans’ success down the stretch has earned them accolades from the Big Ten’s end of year awards release. Watkins was named Big Ten Player of the Year, and unanimously named first-team All-Big Ten by coaches and media members. Gottlieb was honored as Big Ten Coach of the Year, while Iriafen was unanimously selected by coaches for the first-team All-Big Ten honor. Marshall was named to the conference’s All-Defensive team, and freshman guard Kennedy Smith was named to the conference’s All-Freshman team.

While USC enters Indianapolis as the favorite to survive the weekend and hoist the Big Ten Championship, many other schools pose a threat to the crown. If the Trojans advance to the semifinals, they could face Michigan (20-9, 11-7) or a ranked Maryland (23-6, 13-5) team that has won six of their last seven games.

That “if” weighs heavily, too; just last year, No. 1 Ohio State was upset by No. 8 Maryland in the conference quarterfinals, falling 61-82. In fact, the tournament’s No. 1 seed hasn’t walked away with the title since 2021.

On the other side of this year’s bracket, Ohio State, Michigan State (21-8, 11-7) and Iowa, which gave the Trojans their only loss in conference play, will all compete for a chance at the title. But second-seeded UCLA, led by powerful junior center Lauren Betts and junior guard Kiki Rice, is the favorite to emerge out of the pack. The Bruins are hoping to reach the title game and exact revenge on USC for handing them their sole blemishes on an otherwise perfect season.

“One hundred percent, absolutely yes. If you’re a competitor, yes, bring it on. And if we don’t, there’s something bigger wrong. And if anyone in our locker room would answer differently, don’t come back,” said Bruins Head Coach Cori Close after being asked if her team would want to face USC again.

The two Los Angeles schools have taken the Midwest-based conference by storm in their first year as members, putting together a combined 31-1 record against all other schools in the league. It’s not unlikely — rather, it’s expected — that the two meet again in the conference championship game on Sunday. And Gottlieb is doing her part to make sure her team makes it there.

“We gotta be ready to go, [and] I think we will, but there’s no question. We put our bodies on the line. They fly around. They need that rest and recovery, and that’ll help us be ready to go for three games in three days in Indy,” Gottlieb said.

The Trojans will open Big Ten-tourney play Friday against either Indiana or Oregon. The game will tip-off at noon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.