Kstate

Kansas State Could Face A Juju Watkins-Less USC In Sweet 16 After Injury

Shandel Richardson|
Mar 24, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins during pregame warmup before an NCAA Tournament second round game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
Mar 24, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins during pregame warmup before an NCAA Tournament second round game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

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Kansas State Wildcats

The Kansas State Wildcats women's basketball team is on pace to meet one of the best players in the nation in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

That may change if USC star Juju Watkins is severely injured. Watkins went down with an apparent knee injury in the first quarter of Monday's game against Mississippi State. She was carried off the court and will not return.

The Wildcats are scheduled to play the winner Saturday.

Like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, Watkins has helped increase the women's basketball fan base. She is widely regarded as one of the top five players in the nation. She averaged 24.6 points, seven rebounds and 3.5 assists on the way to earning first-team All-American honors.

The Trojans are the No. 1 seed in the region. The Wildcats are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since in 23 years after a late comeback against Kentucky in the second round.

POINDEXTER COMES UP BIG

Kansas State forward Temira Poindexter started off shooting 0-of-5 from 3-point range against Kentucky Sunday afternoon.

She ended the game as the hero, knocking down eight shots from the arc in a 24-point performance, including the winning shot in overtime.

"Honestly, it's my teammates that tell me and give me and give me the confidence," Poindexter said. "Because in those moments, I do get down on myself. So, my teammates coming in, having my back, and telling me to keep shooting is really what lifts me up and gives me the confidence."

Her resilience and short-term memory to shed the bad shots fueled her star performance.

"I'm really proud of her," K-State coach Jeff Mittie said. "She transferred to us and this is one of her reasons. A lot of transfers talk about playing or this and that. She goes, 'I want to go to the NCAA Tournament. I haven't done that in my career.' She said, 'Coach, I want to go to an established locker room. I want to go to a group that wants to go further.' So to see her step up in the biggest moments, after a start like that, is pretty special."

The Wildcats advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 23 years. They face Southern California or Mississippi State on Mar. 29.

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here