INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana women’s basketball will face No. 1 seed USC in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. The game will tip off at noon on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The No. 9 Hoosiers (19-11) advanced with a 78-62 win over Oregon in the second round. They led for double-digits for much of the game after a hot start with four players in double-digits — Yarden Garzon led all scorers with 18 points — and 11 made 3-pointers.
Here are three things to know about USC:
USC women’s basketball having its best season in 40 years
USC heads into the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 2 ranked team in the AP and USA Today Coaches polls. It’s the Trojans‘ highest ranking since Dec. 30, 1984 and they have the best record through 28 games (26-2) since 1982-83 when they won a national title.
They are coming off a 80-67 win over UCLA that clinched their first regular season conference title since 1994. USC closed out its first year in the Big Ten with a 17-1 record in the Big Ten.
The Trojans have won eight straight games against ranked opponents and were 5-1 this season against top-10 opponents. They are expected to get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament regardless of what happens in Indianapolis.
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USC guard JuJu Watkins is heavy favorite to win player of the year
Watkins has already won plenty of hardware this season — she was named Big Ten Player of the Year, unanimous All-Big Ten First Team and the Big Ten All-Defensive Team — but she’s also likely to succeed Caitlin Clark as this years’s Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy winners for Player of the Year.
The sophomore led the conference in scoring (24.4 points per game), free throws made (185) andwas top-five in blocks (6.7 per game) and steals (2.1 per game). Watkins is already ranked No. 11 in program history in career points (1,604).
She set the all-time national record for scoring by a freshman (920) last year while leading her team to the Elite Eight.
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USC closed out its tenure in the Pac-12 by winning the conference tournament
USC beat Stanford, 74-61, in the finals of last year’s Pac-12 Tournament. The Cardinals were the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and No. 2 ranked team in the country at the time. The Trojans’ lead never dipped below eight points in the second half. They also beat a UCLA team that would go on to reach the Elite Eight by double-digits in the semifinals.
It was USC’s first conference tournament title since 2014.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana women’s basketball plays USC in Big Ten tournament quarterfinals
