NCAA tournament: JuJu Watkins plays through pain as USC cruises past UNCG

JuJu Watkins thrived on Saturday despite playing through pain. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

No. 1 seed USC made easy work of No. 16 seed UNC Greensboro in its NCAA tournament opener Saturday.

But the Trojans didn't leave the game without concern.

All-America forward JuJu Watkins appeared to tweak her left hand in the first half and played through pain in USC's 71-25 win over UNCG. Then, in the third quarter, Watkins rolled her left ankle on a drive to the basket.

She regrouped after the miss to hit an open 3-pointer from the corner after a USC offensive rebound.

Juju Watkins rolls her ankle and still hits the 3 right after pic.twitter.com/MTOsy9CoBc
— Shabazz 💫 (@ShowCaseShabazz) March 22, 2025

But she limped off the court toward the locker room at the next break in action. Watkins returned to the USC sideline after her brief exit from the court, her day seemingly done with USC in control with a 45-15 lead in the third quarter.

But head coach Lindsay Gottlieb sent Watkins back out for the start of the fourth quarter as the Trojans led, 53-16. Watkins went on to lead the game with 22 points alongside eight rebounds, two assists and three steals.

After the game, Watkins downplayed the injuries when asked about them by ESPN.

"End of the season knick-knacks," Watkins said. "So small things, maintenance things. Regardless, nobody cares. So just continue to do what I do."

The nature of either of her injuries wasn't initially clear. It was also unclear what initially happened to her left hand. She was seen throughout the first half grabbing her left hand, but played all but two minutes of the first half.

Juju Watkins has been grabbing her left hand since the first quarter pic.twitter.com/V9vjMq0Lcr
— Shabazz 💫 (@ShowCaseShabazz) March 22, 2025

Here's a closer look at her rolled left ankle that took place when she stepped on a UNCG defender's shoe.

Juju Watkins rolled her ankle pic.twitter.com/wlNiSaOcHK
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) March 22, 2025

USC advances to face the winner between No. 8 seed California and No. 9 seed Mississippi State in the second round on Monday. They'll hope to do so without any limitations on Watkins.

USC defense smothers UNCG

Saturday's effort was a strong one by USC, particularly on defense. UNCG missed its first five shots and didn't find the scoreboard until 4:29 had passed in the first quarter. Then, in the third quarter, UNCG didn't score until the 5:52 mark.

USC limited UNCG to three points in the second quarter and five points in the third as the Spartans failed to crack double digits in any single quarter. UNCG shot 13% (7 of 54) from the field and scored more than half of its field goals on a 4-of-18 effort (22.2%) from 3-point distance. The Spartans turned the ball over 23 times.

It was a dominant display of defense and an ideal start to the tournament for USC — as long as Watkins is OK.

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USC defense smothers UNCG

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