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Fans feared the worst when JuJu Watkins crumpled to the floor midway through the first quarter of Monday night's NCAA Tournament matchup between the top-seeded USC Trojans and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Watkins, the star guard for USC, did not return to a contest that the Trojans already controlled and went on to win by 37 points; the worst was confirmed overnight, when it was revealed that Watkins tore the ACL in her right knee and is set to undergo surgery.
Watkins' season is over, and the Trojans lose their best player, their heart and soul, whose smooth scoring and playmaking with the basketball is just as impactful as her disruptive, block-heavy defense. With a national championship still on the line, USC has a daunting challenge in front of it entering the second weekend of the tournament.
Lindsay Gottlieb praises USC strength in the face of adversity
The Trojans relied on a strong performance from forward Kiki Iriafen to overcome the Bulldogs' challenge, and USC's victory was never in doubt despite Watkins' absence. Amid Iriafen's 36 points in the Trojans' 96-59 win, USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb prompted an emotional locker room scene postgame as the Big 10 Conference runners-up reached the Sweet 16 for a second successive season.
"I am so grateful," Gottlieb said. "You guys had my back. You had each other's back. You had Ju's back. The fans had your back. We were a team. We were drop, drop, drop, drop and then the tidal wave ocean came and I will never forget this game for as long as I live."
USC rode the emotional rollercoaster all the way until the final buzzer, when multiple players on both sides had to be separated in the handshake line amidst the uncertainty over Watkins' immediate status following her injury. No players actually came to blows, but the Trojans are going to use the emotion as fuel for the battles ahead -- the next one being a matchup with #5 seed Kansas State in Spokane on Saturday.