USC rises in latest AP Poll ahead of top-ten showdown
The USC Trojans rose one spot in the AP Poll this week following a couple of dominant wins at Wisconsin and at home against then-No. 7 Ohio State. With the wins, Lindsay Gottlieb’s program moved up one spot this week to No. 6.
The Trojans jumped UConn, which fell two spots to No. 7 following a loss at Tennessee.
Up next, USC is looking at its biggest opportunity of a season that has already seen them take on three teams currently ranked in the top ten. Undefeated and No. 1 UCLA is on its way to Galen Center for a sold out showdown on Thursday night. Not only are the Bruins undefeated, they’ve won every game except for the season opener by at least 10 points.
USC and UCLA split last year’s regular season series before the Trojans got the upper hand with an overtime win in the Pac-12 Tournament.
USC’s JuJu Watkins and UCLA’s Lauren Betts rank Nos. 1 and 2 in the Big Ten in scoring. Watkins is averaging 23.9 points per game while Betts averages 19.6 points per game. Betts leads the conference in blocked shots per game and ranks fourth in rebounds.
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Watkins has been in a bit of a shooting slump over her past four games and the Trojans will very likely need her to break out of it against the Bruins if USC is going to pull off the upset.
A big game from forward Kiki Iriafen will also go a long ways and the Trojan true freshmen including Kennedy Smith will need to show up in their first taste of this crosstown rivalry.
