USC Trojans vs. Oregon Ducks Women's Basketball: Preview, Prediction, TV Channel

The No. 6 USC Trojans women’s basketball team is on a three-game win streak following an upset loss against the No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Trojans are 7-1 to start the 2024-2025 season, and the Women of Troy will face the 7-2 Oregon Ducks on Saturday, Dec. 7 for their first Big Ten conference game in program history.

How to Watch:

The USC Trojans women’s basketball team will open Big Ten Conference play against the Oregon Ducks at 1 p.m. PT on Saturday at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon. The game broadcast will be on the Big Ten Network.

USC Trojans JuJu Watkins — JuJu Watkins, 12, of USC celebrates a basket late in the game against St. Louis University during the 2024 Acrisure Women's Holiday Invitational in Palm Desert, Calif., Nov. 29, 2024. | Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Game Preview:

The momentum is on the USC Trojans side. USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb and the Trojans are coming off a 94-52 win over Cal Baptist. In the game, star forward JuJu Watkins reached a school record and career-high of nine 3-pointers.

“I just loved it, just like it felt so joyous they were all in rhythm,” Gottlieb said after the big win. “We know how well she can shoot the ball and just for her to see them go down like that is fun, but I thought the energy of the team was really the winner on the night and so that made it really cool.”

It will be a tough matchup for Oregon against this dominant USC team. Watkins scored 40 points against Cal Baptist and remains the team’s leading scorer. Watkins averages 25.5 points. 2.8 steals, and 2.4 blocks per game. The Trojans are also led by forward Kiki Iriafen, who leads the team with 8.8 rebounds per game. It will be a challenge for the Oregon defense.

USC Trojans Kiki Iriafen — Kiki Iriafen of USC, right, fights for a loose ball with Peyton Kennedy of Saint Louis University during the 2024 Acrisure Women's Holiday Invitational in Palm Desert, Calif., Nov. 29, 2024. | Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Gottlieb spoke about the mindset now that the team will face Big Ten opponents. Gottlieb called Saturday’s matchup the most important one on the schedule. While Oregon and USC have faced each other in the past as Pac-12 members, this is their first time as Big Ten opponents.

“It’s the beginning of conference play. I think it is really the true indicator of how tough you are over the course of a season,” Gottlieb said. “It is a familiar foe but in an uncharted kind of territory, so it’s a great challenge, and but really for us, I’m excited to have such a high-quality opponent. We know it won’t be easy, we know there won’t be, you know, these big leads, and how are we going to respond to that?”

Despite USC being a ranked opponent, the Oregon Ducks should not be counted out. They are 7-2 this season, having the same number of wins as USC, and just one more loss. The Trojan will have to watch for Oregon guard Peyton Scott, who averages 11.3 points per game and is the team’s leading scorer. The Ducks also have center Phillipina Kyei, who leads the team in rebounds.

It will also be an Oregon home game, and the crowd will be fired up for their first in-conference opponent against a familiar foe.

JuJu Watkins and USC Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb — USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) high-fives head coach Lindsay Gottlieb as she comes out of the game in the fourth quarter of their game in the Acrisure Series in Palm Desert, Calif., Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. | Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

USC vs. Oregon Prediction

The USC Trojans will continue their win streak against the Oregon Ducks, 88-79.

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