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Monday night's Elite Eight matchup between USC and UConn was supposed to be a showdown between perhaps the two best players in the country. The Trojans' Juju Watkins and the Huskies' Paige Bueckers squaring off with a trip to the Final Four on the line for the second consecutive year would have been appointment television.
As we know by now, however, that will not be the case. Although both schools made it back to the Elite Eight, USC lost Watkins to a season-ending ACL injury in their second round victory over Mississippi State. As a result, the Trojans are heavy underdogs on Monday night.
On Sunday, UConn players and coaches discussed facing USC without Watkins.
"You know Kiki [Iriafen] is going to be more involved," head coach Geno Auriemma said. "But other than that, you really don't know."
Bueckers, meanwhile, had high praise for Trojans freshman Kennedy Smith.
"She's a great defender," Buckers said. "You would think she is not a freshman the way she plays defense . . . I don't know who she will be matched up against, but she does a great job defensively."
The Trojans will be looking to shock the women's college basketball world by knocking off the sport's most successful program of all-time without their superstar who got them to this point.
Tipoff between USC and UConn is set for 6:00 p.m. Pacific time Monday on ESPN.
"
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: UConn players talk about preparing to face USC in Elite Eight
Continue reading...
As we know by now, however, that will not be the case. Although both schools made it back to the Elite Eight, USC lost Watkins to a season-ending ACL injury in their second round victory over Mississippi State. As a result, the Trojans are heavy underdogs on Monday night.
On Sunday, UConn players and coaches discussed facing USC without Watkins.
"You know Kiki [Iriafen] is going to be more involved," head coach Geno Auriemma said. "But other than that, you really don't know."
Bueckers, meanwhile, had high praise for Trojans freshman Kennedy Smith.
"She's a great defender," Buckers said. "You would think she is not a freshman the way she plays defense . . . I don't know who she will be matched up against, but she does a great job defensively."
The Trojans will be looking to shock the women's college basketball world by knocking off the sport's most successful program of all-time without their superstar who got them to this point.
Tipoff between USC and UConn is set for 6:00 p.m. Pacific time Monday on ESPN.
"
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: UConn players talk about preparing to face USC in Elite Eight
Continue reading...
