JuJu Watkins Injury: USC, NCAA Tournament Odds Shift Without Superstar
JuJu Watkins, arguably the biggest star in women's college basketball, tore her ACL in second-round action of the NCAA Tournament, ending her season. USC still managed to advance past Mississippi State, but the future suddenly looks shaky. How did the JuJu Watkins injury impact USC's March Madness odds and the lines for the tourney favorites?
USC Odds Long After JuJu Watkins Injury
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As a freshman, Watkins exploded onto the women's hoops scene, averaging an incredible 27.1/7.3/3.3 line. She set a freshman Division 1 record with 920 points.
With Caitlin Clark moving onto the WNBA, Watkins and Connecticut's Paige Bueckers were the top two returning players in NCAA women's hoops.
USC, after adding premium transfer Kiki Iriafen, is projected as one of the top teams in the country. They made good on that promise, putting together a 30-3 campaign and earning a No. 1 seed in March Madness. The Trojans were among a handful of legitimate title contenders in a wide-open field without an overpowering favorite like last year's South Carolina team.
Now, after previously having odds in the same ballpark as teams like UCLA and Texas, the Trojans sit at . That puts them in the same tier as a team like TCU, which isn't even favored in its Sweet 16 game.
Iriafen will have to carry the Trojans as far as they go now. In Watkins ' absence, the senior forward piled up a 36-point effort on 22 shots. Expect a monster usage rate to continue for the 6-foot-3 bruiser, who averaged a double-double in her final year at Stanford.
UConn, South Carolina Clear Favorites In Women's March Madness
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While the women's March Madness tournament began without an odds-on favorite, it did feature a clear top two in UConn and South Carolina.
Nothing has changed, as both teams occupy a tier at the top of the odds board. Betting odds imply a roughly 70% chance one of those schools will hoist.
The Huskies may have caught a significant break in the JuJu Watkins injury. Seeded into the same region as the Trojans, UConn was looking at a challenging matchup in the Elite 8. Now, if both teams take care of business -- UConn is a massive favorite over Oklahoma, while USC faces Kansas State -- Geno Auriemma's club will likely be a comfortable favorite.
Seeded into opposite sides of the bracket, UConn and South Carolina remain on a collision course to a possible final. The Huskies trounced the Gamecocks by 29 in Columbia earlier this year. Needless to say, a potential rematch would feature a far closer spread.
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