Updated NCAA Tournament Odds After USC Trojans' JuJu Watkins Season-Ending Injury

USC Trojans star guard JuJu Watkins tore the ACL in her right knee during the NCAA Tournament second round game vs. Mississippi State at Galen Center. Watkins could not stand up on her own and had to be carried off the court and straight to the locker room. Watkins appeared to be in extreme pain.

Watkins will undergo season-ending surgery and then begin rehab.

Mar 24, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) grabs her knee after falling to the floor during an NCAA Tournament second round game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

The Trojans' odds to win the NCAA Tournament plummeted after the injury as the UConn Huskies and South Carolina Gamecocks are the favorites to win the National Championship.

Before Watkins' injury in the second round game, USC had the fourth-best odds to win the National Championship at +700. Despite beating Mississippi State and punching their ticket to the Sweet 16, the Trojans' odds are now +2700 without their star in Watkins.

UConn is the favorite to win the title at +170, followed by South Carolina at +190, UCLA at +650, Texas at +750 and then Notre Dame at +950. The Duke Blue Devils are tied with the Trojans at +2700 with the sixth-best odds to win the NCAA Tournament on FanDuel.

Without Watkins, the Trojans will rely on freshman guard Kennedy Smith and senior KiKi Iriafen. This season, Smith averaged 9.2 points per game and Iriafen averaged 18 points per game.

Mar 8, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; South California Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) attempts a free throw against Michigan Wolverines during the second half of the Big Ten Conference Tournament semifinals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Stephanie Amador Blondet-Imagn Images | Stephanie Amador Blondet-Imagn Images

"I'm feeling a lot of emotions, obviously," USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said after Watkins injury and beating Mississippi State. "But the biggest one is pride. What a performance by this group. When you throw a bunch of talented people on a team. It doesn't become a team until you work through some things.... You never want anyone to go down, especially someone like JuJu that we all lean on in so many ways, but this team rallied. They rallied for her. They rallied for each other."

"Our fans had our back I'm just really proud and I think we showed what kind of team we are," Gottlieb continued. "Credit to Mississippi State for getting to this point but I think what you saw here was, was a really good determined team that had something to play for and you saw the results Kiki (Iriafen) was unbelievable. Avery (Howell) as well. It was a true team effort. I don't think I'll forget this night for a lot of reasons."

After beating Mississippi State 96-59 Monday night at Galen Center, USC is now 30-3 overall, locking in its first 30-win season since 1986. In the victory, Iriafen led the team with a season-high 36 points, freshman Avery Howell matched her a career high with 18 points, freshmen Kayleigh Heckel added 13 points and freshman Kennedy Smith added 10 points.

No. 1 seed USC has a tough path to get to the Final Four, facing No. 5 seed Kansas State in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in Spokane, Wash., on March 29 at 5 p.m. PT. If USC can continue its domination and beat the Wildcats, a potential matchup with UConn looms in the Elite 8.

USC was eliminated in the Elite 8 last year by UConn but upset the Huskies earlier this season. On December 21, then-No.7 USC upset then-No. 4 UConn, 72-70, in Hartford at the XL Center. It was USC’s first win over UConn in program history and Watkins led the team with 25 points.

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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"It's been kind of a wild emotional rollercoaster over here," ESPN reporter Holly Rowe said after Watkins injury on the ESPN broadcast. "When the injury first happened, players came to the bench and kind of stunned and shocked and very upset. But they had to quickly regroup. (Coach) Lindsay Gottlieb took a big deep breath and then they got back to basketball. And that last time out, they are just talking about X's and O's."

The Trojans are looking for their first NCAA Tournament title since 1984. Notably, USC’s 96 points vs. Mississippi State was the most the Trojans have scored in a NCAA tournament game since scoring 100 points against Nebraska in 1988. USC advances to the Sweet 16 in consecutive seasons for the first time since the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons.

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