Bruins' Rival Suffers Major Upset Last Weekend, Huge for No. 1 UCLA

The UCLA Bruins' bitter rival and fellow top-10 team, USC, suffered a brutal upset loss on the road to the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday. The Bruins have gained a leg up for a Big Ten regular season title as they remain undefeated.

Feb 2, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) drives with the ball as Iowa Hawkeyes guard Kylie Feuerbach (4) defends and center Rayah Marshall (13) looks on during the first quarter at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The No. 1 UCLA Bruins' (21-0, 9-0) crosstown rivals, No. 7 USC Trojans (19-2, 9-1), fell to the unranked Iowa Hawkeyes (15-7, 5-6) on Sunday, as there is now somewhat of a separation at the top of the Big Ten standings.

The magic of former Hawkeyes shooting guard Caitlin Clark was in the building as her No. 22 jersey was retired and the Trojans had their hands full. Hawkeyes senior guard Lucy Olsen dropped a game-high 28 points to help lead the Hawkeyes to the 76-69 win, the biggest of their season so far.

USC star sophomore guard Juju Watkins posted 27 points but was 8-22 shooting from the field and had to gain 10 of those points from the free-throw line. It marks the second loss of the season for USC and a pivotal one that puts them behind the eight ball in the race for a conference title.

In this week's Associated Press Top 25 rankings on Monday, the Trojans dropped three spots to the No. 7 team the country while the Bruins still remain atop the nation with a perfect 21-0 record. UCLA now holds a half-game lead over both the Trojans and No. 8 Ohio State (20-1, 9-1).

With a gained advantage late in the season, the Bruins' chances at a Big Ten regular season title just rose drastically as they have just eight regular season games remaining. Half of those contests will be against Top-25 opponents, including two matchups with USC in the coming weeks.

There is always an added pressure when UCLA and the Trojans meet at any time, but when both teams are Top 10 in the country, it means just a bit more. The loss to the Hawkeyes shows that this USC team is mortal, and the Bruins have a great chance to take them down in both meetings.

There is definitely a chance that this Bruins team finished the regular season 29-0 and will control the women's college basketball landscape for the entire season. They have been uprooting all season long but must play their best ball of the season this Wednesday when they host the Buckeyes.

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