With JuJu Watkins, perhaps the best player in the country, USC is proving it is a force to be reckoned with

HARTFORD, Conn. – JuJu Watkins stared at Shrek, Dwight Schrute, Guy Fieri and a flying SpongeBob SquarePants. The white pompoms raged sideways. The band’s instruments glittered while a handful of Santa hats bobbed up and down.

In the corner, a few sections away, a Grinch watched as Watkins played her own scene-stealing role.

Their free throws against the ferocious Connecticut student section gave No. 7 Southern California enough breathing room to claim a 72-70 win over the sport’s standard-bearer. It’s a program so accustomed to winning that Husky doesn’t bow its head in the face of a new generation of talent’s pursuit of fiery national titles.

Time is running out in Paige Bueckers’ collegiate career to achieve even one victory as competitors have reached, and in some cases exceeded, Connecticut’s level.

South Carolina. LSU. Iowa. Notre Dame.

And now USC. The Watkins-era Trojans are back in the game, a stunning return to the national stage and title discussion after four decades of insignificance. The Elite Eight loss to UConn served as a clue. An official announcement is the top 10 statement victory at the home of the 11-time champion and a program director who Lindsay Gottlieb considered “basketball excellence.”

“I don’t care that they haven’t won a championship in a few years,” Gottlieb said. “There’s still a way they prepare, a way they play that makes you better, and that made us better. And that’s really meaningful to me.”

The players are making the weight of their victorious moment clear even before the holiday break. They celebrated with the small group of friends and family who had traveled with them. Gottlieb ceremoniously received a water tap that was as cold as the weather outside.

“I think losing to UConn in the Elite Eight last year is a stone on our shoulder,” Kiki Iriafen said. “We didn’t want this to happen again.”

“If you look at the history of last year and how they sent us home, it’s a little different,” said Watkins, who led all scorers with 25 points.

The Trojans beat No. 4 UConn the same way the Huskies were used to during their powerhouse run. They enter opposing arenas behind Watkins, the nation’s best player, and other teams don’t. She played one of her most efficient games, shooting 9 of 16 with six rebounds, five assists and one steal. Her three turnovers were a bright spot after she posted higher totals against ranked opponents Ole Miss and Notre Dame.

The second-year defender struck softly from all angles and scored her first three-pointer in the opening minutes of the game by evading key defender Bueckers. At the half, the 36% 3-point shooter was 3 of 4 with easy looks. Shortly before halftime, she threw her defender to the ground and shot wide into the open.

“It’s very obvious that one player can’t protect her,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said. “When she gets into a rhythm a little bit, like she did in the first half, it’s really, really difficult to guard her.”

She gave USC its largest lead out of halftime by knocking down Bueckers’ 3-point attempt, knocking it down the court and landing over a pack of Huskies. Kennedy Smith scored on a turnover and Watkins also blocked Ashlynn Shade on the other side. She had three of the team’s seven blocks.

When Bueckers led UConn back into a close contest, Watkins responded. She equalized the former national player of the year when she drove offside late in the third period with UConn trailing by six points, 53-47. After the Huskies took a 65-64 lead with 4:34 to play, Watkins connected on the and-one to put USC back in the lead. And when Bueckers tied it at 67 two minutes later, Watkins got all the attention by setting up a cutting Rayah Marshall for the game-winning basket.

UConn has often had the best player in the country, from Diana Taurasi to Maya Moore to Breanna Stewart. That’s probably still the case with Bueckers, but the offensive support around them isn’t what previous groups had. This is what puts USC back in the spotlight. UConn couldn’t get enough – especially on USC’s 49.2% shooting night, including 9 of 16 from 3 – and Watkins was ever-present.

“The dilemma comes when they start firing shots and the guy you’re trying to limit is still firing shots,” Auriemma said. “Then a lot of credit goes to them because they took advantage of it.”

Gottlieb used the transfer portal for established talent, a new way to quickly level the playing field. Iriafen, a Stanford graduate forward, had 16 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Smith, playing her first minutes since undergoing surgery in November, went 3 of 6 from 3-point range.

“We just felt like it had to be a five-player operation, regardless of who was on the field,” Gottlieb said.

USC came to Connecticut still on the rise, slipping past Ole Miss early in the season and losing at home to Notre Dame with a poor performance. Gottlieb praised the group for their cohesion. Iriafen said they realize they need to stay on track and trust the work.

“To compete in elite competition, our practices have to be elite,” Gottlieb said. “And I thought we had some of the best practices up front. That makes you better. The way they (huskies) challenge you. … There wasn’t a moment when we weren’t training like we were on the verge of elite competition.”

Any team ready to face USC will now do the same.