USC women’s basketball, like any basketball team, has to do a lot of things right to become great. Championship seasons require production, discipline, toughness, effort, and precision across various components of competition. Teams need to be smart, skilled, fluid, connected, resilient, and resourceful.
When we think of what USC has to do well in order to maximize its potential and get to the 2027 Final Four, we are trying to get at a priority we aren’t sure the Trojans will be able to follow through on.
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USC’s defense is going to be good. There’s virtually no question about that. JuJu Watkins, Jazzy Davidson, and Kennedy Smith are elite defenders, and the frontcourt has size and length. USC needs to play well on defense, but it’s not really a question as to whether the defense will be there.
USC’s dribble penetration will be elite. JuJu Watkins and Jazzy Davidson will share the floor for a majority of every game. USC needs that, but again, there isn’t a real question as to whether the Trojans will get that in the season to come. Of course they will.
The true key for this team — there are a few other valid answers, but this one feels like the best one — is to minimize turnovers. Why would this (as opposed to the other good answers, such as frontcourt rebounding or low-post scoring) be the number one priority for USC women’s basketball in 2026-2027?
There are two main reasons. First, USC’s JuJu-Jazzy-Kennedy trio rebounds well. Even if USC misses a shot, it has players who will crash the glass and get putbacks or second chances. A missed shot is not necessarily a bad outcome for USC. The Trojans have players who can get the loose ball and create more possessions and shot chances.
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The second reason minimizing turnovers is so important for USC women’s basketball is that the Trojans are going to be very good defensively, as noted above. One of the few ways USC can lose games this coming season is for the Trojans to gift free points to opponents with fast-break baskets before their elite halfcourt defense can get set.
USC might not shoot a high percentage on 3-pointers. It might not get to the free throw line enough. It might be inconsistent in rebounding. Those are all areas of play where the Trojans need to be better. However, minimizing turnovers, if achieved, shuts off many paths to victory for opposing teams. It’s where USC can do the most good for itself beginning in November and lasting all the way through the 2027 Final Four in early April.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: The biggest key for USC women’s basketball in 2026-2027 season
