Monday goes to be an unimaginable day for girls’s faculty basketball. Together with an LSU vs. Iowa rematch of final 12 months’s nationwide title recreation, we’re getting an Elite Eight duel between 11-time nationwide champion UConn and the up-and-coming USC program.
The Trojans are enjoying of their first Elite Eight since 1994, however their Closing 4 drought is even longer as USC hasn’t competed within the closing weekend since 1986, once they gained their second nationwide title. That was only a 12 months after Geno Auriemma took over as UConn’s head coach.
Auriemma turned the Huskies right into a powerhouse, and regardless that they have not gained a title since 2016, their latest resume remains to be unimaginable. They only performed of their thirtieth consecutive Candy 16 and have made 22 Closing Fours underneath Auriemma.
Auriemma famous throughout press availability on Sunday that whereas his rotation of gamers is skinny — the Huskies used simply six gamers of their win towards Duke within the Candy 16 — he believes they’re as much as the duty.
“I want there was one other manner, however there is not,” Auriemma stated. “Generally you discover a variety of energy that you simply did not assume you had once you’re pressured right into a state of affairs. We tried to gradual the sport down [against Duke] and that backfired. I believe we simply gotta maintain our foot on the gasoline pedal for so long as we will and hope it is sufficient.”
Let’s take a more in-depth have a look at how one can watch the motion in Portland on Monday earlier than attending to a key storyline to observe under.
watch (1) USC vs. (3) UConn
Date: Monday, April 1 | Time: 9 p.m. ET
Location: Moda Heart — Portland, Oregon
TV: ESPN | Reside stream: fubo (Strive free of charge)
USC vs. UConn: Key storyline
JuJu Watkins vs. Paige Bueckers
Whereas successful will take important effort from a number of gamers, there is no such thing as a escaping the truth that we’re getting a matchup between two of the most effective gamers in faculty basketball.
USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb is simply in her third season with the Trojans, however she is already constructing one thing particular in Los Angeles. The Trojans picked up momentum final season, however the addition of freshman JuJu Watkins has leveled up this system. She is the second-leading scorer within the nation with 27 factors per recreation, whereas additionally giving her staff 7.2 rebounds per contest and whole of 77 steals.
Earlier this month, Watkins was introduced as certainly one of 4 Naismith Trophy finalists, together with Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, Stanford’s Cameron Brink, and UConn’s Paige Bueckers.
Bueckers gained 11 main awards in 2021, Naismith Trophy included, after a head-turning freshman season. Accidents have since taken a toll, as she missed all of final season with torn ACL whereas the Huskies struggled to make it previous the Candy 16. Nonetheless, Bueckers seems to be elite once more and is carrying a UConn staff that is coping with a number of main accidents throughout the roster.
Auriemma’s squad has been counting on principally a seven-player rotation this season due to accidents and inexperience. However that goes to point out how highly effective Bueckers may be. The redshirt junior is averaging 21.9 factors and 5.1 boards per contest whereas additionally grabbing 83 steals. UConn will go so far as its celebrity goes, and Bueckers has an enormous check forward in Watkins and USC.
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