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During its NCAA Tournament second round matchup with Mississippi State Monday night, USC women's basketball had the worst possible outcome come to pass when superstar Juju Watkins had to be carried off the floor with an injury. After the game, the Trojans got the worst possible news regarding Watkins: Her season is over.
Late Monday night, USC announced that Watkins's injury is season ending, and that she will undergo surgery. Per Shams Charania of ESPN, she suffered a torn ACL.
It is an absolutely brutal development for the Trojans, who lose their best player at the worst possible time. Watkins was the All-America face of a program that earned consecutive No. 1 seeds in the tournament, made it to the Elite Eight last season, and looked like a legit national title contender this year. Now, USC will be forced to play on without its superstar, the player most responsible for getting them to this point.
Even without Watkins, the Trojans were able to dominate Mississippi State and advance to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season. However, it is difficult to imagine this team making a lengthy tournament run without quite possibly the best player in the country.
USC (247Sports) beat writer Ahmad Akkaoui raised the possibility that JuJu Watkins might not be available for the nonconference portion of USC's 2025-2026 season. That would be a terrible outcome for USC, full stop. It would also be less than the absolute worst-case scenario: missing the entire 2025-2026 season. There's no use going deep into the weeds on those questions now. Obviously, it's something Lindsay Gottlieb and USC women's basketball will have to think about once the NCAA Tournament ends and transfer portal acquisitions are pursued.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Juju Watkins to have right knee surgery, recovery timetable unclear
Continue reading...
Late Monday night, USC announced that Watkins's injury is season ending, and that she will undergo surgery. Per Shams Charania of ESPN, she suffered a torn ACL.
It is an absolutely brutal development for the Trojans, who lose their best player at the worst possible time. Watkins was the All-America face of a program that earned consecutive No. 1 seeds in the tournament, made it to the Elite Eight last season, and looked like a legit national title contender this year. Now, USC will be forced to play on without its superstar, the player most responsible for getting them to this point.
Even without Watkins, the Trojans were able to dominate Mississippi State and advance to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season. However, it is difficult to imagine this team making a lengthy tournament run without quite possibly the best player in the country.
USC (247Sports) beat writer Ahmad Akkaoui raised the possibility that JuJu Watkins might not be available for the nonconference portion of USC's 2025-2026 season. That would be a terrible outcome for USC, full stop. It would also be less than the absolute worst-case scenario: missing the entire 2025-2026 season. There's no use going deep into the weeds on those questions now. Obviously, it's something Lindsay Gottlieb and USC women's basketball will have to think about once the NCAA Tournament ends and transfer portal acquisitions are pursued.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Juju Watkins to have right knee surgery, recovery timetable unclear
Continue reading...
