For the second consecutive year, USC women’s basketball is a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. After making it to the Elite Eight last year, the Trojans are looking to make a Final Four run in 2025.
However, their path will not be easy. If the Trojans want to make it to Tampa and play for the third national title in program history, they will have to go through several really good teams, including the one that knocked them out of the tournament last year. USC was named the weakest of the four No. 1 seeds, a shocking development given that UCLA was named the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament. USC beat that No. 1 overall seed twice and yet got demoted to the fourth top seed below Texas. This put USC in the same region as the UConn Huskies.
USC basketball was essentially punished for not being UCLA all three times the two teams met. USC’s 2-1 record against the No. 1-ranked team in the country — including a Big Ten regular-season championship — was essentially discarded by the NCAA Tournament selection committee. USC received a very tough draw.
Let’s take a look at the Trojans’ potential path through the tournament.
First Round
USC will open the tournament on Saturday at Galen Center against No. 16 seed UNC Greensboro.
Second Round
Assuming the Trojans advance to the second round, they will face the winner of No. 8 seed Cal vs. No. 9 seed Mississippi State. The Bears would be a particularly intriguing matchup, as it would be a renewal of former Pac-12 foes. USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb also served in the same role at Cal from 2011-2018, taking the program to its first ever Final Four in 2013.
Sweet 16
After hosting the first two rounds at Galen Center, the Trojans would travel up to Spokane, Washington, for the second weekend. USC’s most likely Sweet 16 opponents are No. 4 seed Kentucky and No. 5 seed Kansas State.
Elite Eight
The No. 2 seed in USC’s region is UConn, meaning that there is a decent chance we could get a rematch of last season’s Elite Eight matchup. The Huskies won that matchup, but the Trojans won their regular season battle in December of this season.
Final Four
USC and UCLA are No. 1 seeds on the same side of the bracket. Could we get a fourth Crosstown Showdown at the Final Four?
National Championship Game
If USC goes the distance, South Carolina and Texas are the No. 1 seeds the Trojans could potentially face on Sunday, April 6. First things first, obviously, but the Trojans have high expectations and should be thinking big as March Madness begins.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC women’s basketball not rewarded for winning Big Ten, beating UCLA
