Post a Free Blog

Submit A Press Release

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by Categories
Action
Animation
ATP Tour (ATP)
Auto Racing
Baseball
Basketball
Boxing
Breaking News
Business
Business
Business Newsletter
Call of Duty (CALLOFDUTY)
Canadian Football League (CFL)
Car
Celebrity
Champions Tour (CHAMP)
Comedy
CONCACAF
Counter Strike Global Offensive (CSGO)
Crime
Dark Comedy
Defense of the Ancients (DOTA)
Documentary and Foreign
Drama
eSports
European Tour (EPGA)
Fashion
FIFA
FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC)
FIFA World Cup (FIFA)
Fighting
Football
Formula 1 (F1)
Fortnite
Golf
Health
Hockey
Horror
IndyCar Series (INDY)
International Friendly (FRIENDLY)
Kids & Family
League of Legends (LOL)
LPGA
Madden
Major League Baseball (MLB)
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
MLS
Movie and Music
Movie Trailers
Music
Mystery
NASCAR Cup Series (NAS)
National Basketball Association (NBA)
National Football League (NFL)
National Hockey League (NHL)
National Women's Soccer (NWSL)
NBA Development League (NBAGL)
NBA2K
NCAA Baseball (NCAABBL)
NCAA Basketball (NCAAB)
NCAA Football (NCAAF)
NCAA Hockey (NCAAH)
Olympic Mens (OLYHKYM)
Other
Other Sports
Overwatch
PGA
Politics
Premier League (PREM)
Romance
Sci-Fi
Science
Soccer
Sports
Sports
Technology
Tennis
Thriller
Truck Series (TRUCK)
True Crime
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
Uncategorized
US
Valorant
Western
Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Women’s NCAA Basketball (WNCAAB)
World
World Cup Qualifier (WORLDCUP)
WTA Tour (WTA)
Xfinity (XFT)
XFL
0
-- Advertisement --spot_img
HomeSportsBasketballUSC, Ohio State on collision course in Portland

USC, Ohio State on collision course in Portland

Add to Favorite
Added to Favorite


Pursuit of its first Final Four appearance since 1986 begins at home in the NCAA Tournament Portland 3 Region for top-seeded Southern California against the same opponent where the Trojans’ road began.

USC (26-5) earned its No. 1 seed with an impressive collection of marquee wins, not the least of which was an 83-74 defeat of the Buckeyes to open the campaign. That meeting in Las Vegas on Nov. 6 set a fitting tone both for the Trojans overall, and for freshman phenom JuJu Watkins.

Watkins debuted with 32 points, setting her on pace for a season average of 27 points per game. She won Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year and helped USC to the league-tournament crown with three wins over NCAA Tournament teams: Arizona, UCLA and Stanford.

Battle tested? Seven of the Trojans’ last eight opponents dating back to Feb. 18 are in the tournament field.

“I think we earned it,” USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said of landing a No. 1 seed. “I’ve been in this business long enough to know these things are hard. For our program, it’s a big step. We know the work starts now, but we’re going to take a moment and recognize the work our players did.”

The work starts for the Trojans on Saturday against No. 16 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, champion of the Southland Conference and NCAA Tournament newcomer.

The Trojans’ matchup with the Islanders is 1-of-2 opening-round contests at USC’s Galen Center in Los Angeles on Saturday, with the winner advancing Monday to meet the winner of eighth-seeded Kansas and ninth-seeded Michigan earlier in the day.

“Playing at home … in front of our fans, and just being able to wake up like it’s a regular day, headed to our gym to face an opponent not in our conference, in the NCAA Tournament, how do you even explain that?” USC’s Rayah Marshall said of looking forward to playing in Los Angeles.

The Sweet 16 awaits March 30 in Portland.

If the Trojans get there, they could see Baylor or Virginia Tech. Both spent long stretches of the regular season ranked in the top 10, and each head into the NCAA Tournament with 24 wins.

Fourth-seeded Virginia Tech could be without All-ACC center Elizabeth Kitley when the Hokies open at home in Blacksburg, Va., against No. 13 Marshall. Baylor awaits the winner of a First Four matchup between Vanderbilt and Columbia.

The lower half of the Portland 3 Region bracket includes Ohio State, which ascended to as high as No. 2 in the regular-season poll with such noteworthy wins as Iowa and Indiana to its credit.

Should the Buckeyes make it through No. 15 seed Maine on Sunday then either seventh-seeded Duke or No. 10 Richmond, a potential Sweet 16 encounter with perennial powerhouse UConn awaits.

The Huskies cruised to the Big East Conference championship, recovering from a start that was slow – by the program’s lofty standards, at least. UConn dropped three games by Dec. 3, but heads into the NCAA Tournament at 29-5 overall.

Paige Bueckers has been electric in her return from missing the entire 2022-23 season, leading UConn with 21.3 points per game.

The Huskies open against No. 14 Jackson State, with No. 6 Syracuse or 11th-seeded First Four opponents Arizona or Auburn in the 2nd Round.

With a rematch against Ohio State or a showdown vs. a UConn program that boasts 11 national championships as a potential hurdle to the Final Four, USC’s path to a first national semifinal in 38 years is treacherous. But that has been the Trojans’ schedule throughout the 2023-24 season.

–Field Level Media

Subscribe to get Latest News Updates

Latest News

You may like more
more

Women’s Top 25 roundup: No. 7 USC edges No. 4 UConn

No. 7 Southern California blew an 18-point lead but...

Top 25 roundup: North Carolina rallies late to stun No. 18 UCLA

North Carolina freshman Ian Jackson, playing in his hometown,...

No. 23 SDSU shuts down Cal for fifth consecutive win

Nick Boyd bombed in five 3-pointers in a game-high,...

Virginia attempts to get back in win column vs. American

Virginia's only senior is heating up as the nonconference...