March Madness Monday recap: USC star JuJu Watkins tears ACL in win, Maryland survives 2OT battle

The second round of the women's NCAA tournament is now in the books, ending what has been a wild five days of basketball across the country.

Here are the biggest stories from Monday's games as the women's tournament now turns to the Sweet 16.

USC rolls after JuJu Watkins’ knee injury

Though No. 1 USC still found a way to pick up a blowout win on Monday night, the Trojans had to do so without star JuJu Watkins — who went down with what ended up being a torn ACL in her right knee.

Watkins, while trying to drive to the rim, collided with a pair of Mississippi State players in the first quarter and crashed to the court. She reached for her knee immediately, and appeared to be in considerable pain as she was carried off the floor and to the locker room.

It simply did not look good.

The Trojans ruled her out after halftime, and then confirmed the season-ending injury after the game. She'll now miss the rest of the NCAA tournament, and likely be impacted at the start of next year, too.

Watkins has taken the college basketball world by storm in recent years. The sophomore put up 24.6 points and seven rebounds per game this season while leading the Trojans to a top seed in the tournament. Monday’s win gave the program its first 30-win season since the 1985-86 campaign, too.

Kiki Iriafen totaled 36 points and nine rebounds while shooting 16 of 22 from the field in Watkins’ absence on Monday night. The Trojans shot better than 52% from the field as a team. They’re clearly still capable of winning and making a meaningful NCAA tournament run.

But with Watkins now sidelined for the rest of the season, it’s unclear how deep the team will be able to make it — especially with No. 2 UConn waiting on the other side of the bracket.
— Ryan Young

Maryland survives 2OT battle

Maryland basketball is the star of the both NCAA tournaments. On Sunday, Derik Queen lifted the Maryland men to an unlikely buzzer-beating thriller over a Colorado State team that thought it had secured its Cinderella story with a late go-ahead 3. On Monday, Maryland’s women countered with a stunning, double-overtime thriller over Alabama that required a comeback from a 17-point deficit just to get to the extra sessions.

The Terps were in control early and raced out to a 31-21 second quarter lead in front of their home crowd. But the Crimson Tide punched back with a 41-14 run to take a 62-45 lead late in the third quarter. Alabama’s spot in the Sweet 16 seemed secure. But Maryland wasn’t done. The Terps closed the gap, and then tied the game with 17.5 seconds left in regulation with a 3-pointer on a busted play. Sarah Te-Biasu’s game-tying shot sank through the net with four seconds remaining on the shot clock.

From there, Maryland blew a chance to win the game in overtime by fouling All-SEC guard Sarah Ashlee Barker on a 3-point shot with 0.7 seconds remaining. Barker hit all three ensuing free throws en route to an Alabama-record 45 points to force a second session.

But Maryland scored the first bucket of the second overtime on another Te-Biasu 3-pointer and never trailed again. A late game-tying 3-point attempt by Alabama missed the mark, and Maryland held on for a 111-108 win in a game that produced the second-highest combined score in tournament history.

Both Maryland teams advance to the Sweet 16 as No. 4 seeds where they’ll face stiff tests. The Maryland men will take on No. 1 seed Florida. The women will take on No. 1 seed and reigning champion South Carolina. But for the next few days, at least, it’s gonna be a great time to be a basketball player on campus in College Park.
— Jason Owens

Paige Bueckers goes off in final home game

UConn star Paige Bueckers made the most of her final home game at Gampel Pavilion.

Bueckers matched her career-high and dropped 34 points in UConn’s 91-57 blowout win over South Dakota State on Monday night. She shot 14 of 21 from the field and wrapped up her college career in Storrs perfectly.

Bueckers and the Huskies appear to be on a vintage tear for the program, which hasn’t won a national title in nearly a decade now. The fifth-year senior, who has battled significant injuries throughout her career, has now led UConn to a 31st consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. She’s gotten the team to the Final Four three times, too, including last season.

They’ll now take on No. 3 Oklahoma next in Spokane. While Bueckers will undoubtedly go down as one of the all-time greats at UConn and is on pace to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft later this summer, she's still searching for a title. And, at least so far, UConn looks like a legit championship contender this March.
— Ryan Young

Joe Buglewicz via Getty Images

Iowa eliminated after back-to-back title game runs

With Caitlin Clark now in the NBA, Iowa’s run in the NCAA tournament was cut short for the first time in years.

The Hawkeyes, who made it to the national championship game twice in a row, fell in a blowout 96-62 loss to No. 3 Oklahoma on Monday afternoon in Norman. That officially eliminated the Hawkeyes from the NCAA tournament before the end of the first weekend for the first time in three years.

Skylar Vann led the Sooners with 17 points after she shot 6 of 9 from the field, and Raegan Beers added 11 points and 13 rebounds. They led nearly the entire way, and held the Hawkeyes to just 11 points in the opening quarter before blowing the game open in the second half. The win now sends the Sooners into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013. They’ll now take on UConn, which rolled over South Dakota State in its second-round game, on Saturday in Spokane.

The Hawkeyes finished the season with a 23-11 record in their first season without Clark or longtime head coach Lisa Bluder, who retired last spring and handed the reins to longtime assistant Jan Jensen. Lucy Olsen transferred in to try and fill the hole left by Clark’s departure, which helped carry the Hawkeyes back into the tournament for a seventh straight time.

While they didn’t make it past the opening weekend, the Hawkeyes more than held their own in their first season in the post-Clark era. As far as transition years go, there’s not much to complain about.
— Ryan Young