Bruins' Bitter Rival's HC Sounds Off About Tournament Seeding

USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb voiced her displeasure with where her team was seeded for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. UCLA received the No. 1 overall seed, while the Trojans were the fourth No. 1 seed to be chosen.

Mar 8, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lindsay Gottlieb reacts to a foul called against her player while playing the women’s Michigan Wolverines for the Big Ten Conference Tournament semifinals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Stephanie Amador Blondet-Imagn Images | Stephanie Amador Blondet-Imagn Images

Sunday afternoon's NCAA Tournament selection show elated the UCLA Bruins as the No. 1 overall seed but ruffled the feather of their bitter rival, USC, and Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb. USC was awarded the fourth No. 1 seed, playing out of the Region 4 in Spokane, Washington.

Gottlieb voiced her strong displeasure with where the Trojans were seeded for the tournament while addressing the media following the bracket reveal on Sunday. Despite still receiving one of the four No. 1 seeds, Gottlieb was still upset her team received the lowest one.

"I can't speak for them, for me, I never thought I'd be a No. 1 seed and feel disrespected, but I thought the committee, there would be very little chance we would be the No. 4 overall, No. 1 [seed]," Gottlieb said. " ... You tell me if you think that bracket that we got should have been the one that it was. I can speak for the players -- I think they're excited to play, but this was not on my bingo card to be a little bit frustrated after being a No. 1 seed."

"Sometimes I don't understand people who make decisions in women's basketball and why they do what they do," Gottlieb said. "And certainly with this committee, I would love to ask some questions."

The Trojans won the Big Ten regular season title, beat UCLA twice during the regular season and finished 28-3 overall. Although, they suffered an ugly loss to the unranked Iowa Hawkeyes earlier this season and lost to the Bruins in the Big Ten tournament championship.

Considering UCLA got the No. 1 overall seed and will await its first opponent that will play in the First Four opening round, Gottlieb and the Trojans were certainly more upset that they did not receive the respect they thought they deserved when it was their arch-rival earning the top spot.

Gottlieb was mostly upset because the lowest No. 1 seed is given the toughest region of the bracket, while the Bruins may have the easiest. USC's region features the No. 2 UConn Huskies, No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 6 Iowa, who already beat them this year.

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