2025 NCAA Women’s Sweet Eight: How Does JuJu Watkins’ Injury Change The Field?
by Tyler Doty | by Tyler Doty
NCAA Women's: Elite 8
The NCAA women’s basketball tournament, and likely your basketball predictions changed in a big way over the weekend when USC star JuJu Watkins was lost for the year to a torn ACL. With her on the shelf, USC now goes from one of the tournament favorites to a good but not great team that won’t be expected to reach the Final Four.
And that means things have shifted in a big way toward Connecticut. The Huskies were probably already in that place as one of the hottest teams in the nation, but they’re now a favorite to make it to the Final Four. The Huskies have won 12 straight games overall, and with Watkins on the shelf, they’ll have the best two players in the regional in Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd.
Not that the Trojans won’t make the Huskies work, assuming that they get by Kansas State. But considering that USC only survived by two fully healthy, the Trojans will be hard pressed to find an answer for Connecticut in Spokane.
A Break for UCLA?
And that means UCLA likely isn’t going to see its crosstown rival in the Final Four, if it can survive in Spokane. The Bruins struggled for a half against a determined Richmond squad, and they should be able to see off Ole Miss in the next round. The bigger question is who their opponent is likely to be.
NC State believes that it’s a much better team than what it showed last time against LSU. The Wolfpack had issues moving the ball around against the Tigers in the first meeting, but that was played back in November. This time around, State is coming off a hot shooting performance and moved the ball around beautifully against Michigan State. If Saniya Rivers can limit her turnovers (just one in the first two rounds), the Wolfpack have the guard play needed to get back to the Final Four.
Birmingham: Can Duke Score Enough To Advance?
The Blue Devils went 1-2 against the Carolina schools, falling to South Carolina in Columbia and splitting with North Carolina. In the second meeting with the Tar Heels, Duke’s offense made the difference. The Blue Devils held North Carolina to the same 53 points each game, but in Durham, Duke shot 40% compared to 23% in Chapel Hill and only turned the ball over eight times compared to 21. As long as the Blue Devils are taking care of the ball, their defense can beat almost anyone.
Almost, because they probably can’t beat South Carolina. The Gamecocks won the first meeting by 11, and it really wasn’t that close. Maryland might not have anything left anyway after its miracle comeback against Alabama, which could make this a really easy prospect for Dawn Staley’s crew. The Gamecocks, when they’re at their most motivated and focused, are the nation’s most complete team. All three teams in their regional carry some deficiency they can exploit.
All Orange & White Showdown
In the other Birmingham regional, Texas’ ball control will tell the tale. The Longhorns make their living on squeezing the life out of their opponents, while Tennessee attempts to force the issue by causing turnovers and getting easy baskets. The Volunteers lost nine games this season, and six of them were in games where they caused fewer than 20 turnovers.
On the other side of the bracket, Notre Dame once again looks like it’s worthy of having been a No. 1 seed. The Irish have the backcourt to handle either defense, and if Hannah Hidalgo can keep getting the ball where it needs to be, this could be the dark horse contender. It’s not really fair to call the Irish a dark horse, because it was only a stumble that kept them from being a top seed, but that’s technically their role compared to Texas.
