Kansas vs. USC: NCAA Women’s Tournament Preview and Prediction

Posted on March 24, 2024

Here is everything you need to know about Kansas and USC in our Jayhawks vs. Trojans NCAA Women’s Tournament second-round preview.

No. 8 Kansas (20-12) vs. No. 1 USC (28-5)

Time, TV: 9 p.m., CT Monday, ESPN

Location: Galen Center, Los Angeles, Calif.

All-time series: (Kansas 1-0). Kansas defeated USC, 82-77, on Jan. 2, 1996.

NCAA Tournament: Kansas: def. Michigan, 81-72 (OT, first round); USC: def. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 84-55 (first round).

Winner: Advances to the Sweet 16 in the Portland Regional.

Projected starting lineups

Kansas: G Wyvette Mayberry, C Taiyanna Jackson, G S’mya Nichols, G Holly Kersgieter, G Zakiyah Franklin.

USC: G McKenzie Forbes, G Kayla Padilla, G JuJu Watkins, C Rayah Marshall, F Kaitlyn Davis.

Players to watch

Kansas

G S’Mya Nichols

With the super-seniors preparing to transition out of the program, the All-Big 12 freshman is the program’s future and it’s a bright one. Nichols has been on a tear the past few weeks. Since Feb. 21, when Kansas lost to Baylor on the road, Nichols has averaged 19.4 points in the last seven games. She dumped 29 points on Oklahoma in the season finale, which is her career high — for the moment. She’s already an exceptional shooter, can drive to the basket and be a dominant offensive force in the Big 12 the next few years.

USC

G JuJu Watkins

If you haven’t seen the show, buckle up. Watkins is one of the most talented freshmen in the country and scores points like most of us draw breath. Entering the NCAA Tournament she was averaging an incredible 27 points per game, along with 7.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists. She set the college basketball world on fire on Feb. 2 with a 51-point game against Stanford. If Watkins plays her full four years with the Trojans, her name could join Cheryl Miller and Lisa Leslie among the Trojans’ elite players. In the Trojans’ first-round win, she became the program’s all-time single-season scorer.

Key storylines

Kansas

The goal was to get back to the NCAA Tournament after barely missing last year’s Big Dance and winning the Postseason WNIT. That’s why the super-seniors — Zakiyah Franklin, Holly Kersgieter and Taiyanna Jackson — all returned. It’s also why coach Brandon Schneider made signing five-star recruit Nichols a priority. Still, in late January, Kansas was 10-10 and looked like it was sinking. Instead, Kansas surged to end the season, won nine of 10 games, and had its NCAA Tournament berth locked up before their Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal loss to Texas, which went on to win the Big 12 Tournament. Kansas then rallied from 10 down to beat Michigan in the first round, winning in the NCAA Tournament’s opening round for the second straight time under Schneider.

USC

Cheryl Miller put this program on the map in the 1980s, leading the Trojans to two national championships. Lisa Leslie became one of the college game’s iconic players after four seasons with USC in the 1990s. Since Leslie departed in 1994, when the program reached the Elite Eight, the Trojans made just five NCAA Tournament appearances and never advanced past the second round before this season. Watkins has changed the dynamic of expectations and the Trojans are more than just their star freshman. After she exploded against Stanford in February, the Cardinal held her to nine points in the Pac-12 Tournament on March 10. The Trojans won anyway, 74-61. USC may be ready to recapture its glory days.

Prediction

USC 81, Kansas 71. Kansas is an above-average defensive team and may have some schemes that can slow down Watkins. But you have to slow down the entire team and that may be too tall a task for the Jayhawks.

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.