USC Women's Basketball: Lindsay Gottlieb Reflects On Possibility 3 Pac-12 Teams Could Earn March Madness Top Seeds

Could they, really?

Prior to her USC Trojans' upset 74-61 victory over the Stanford Cardinal en route to winning the Pac-12 Tournament championship Sunday afternoon, head coach Lindsay Gottlieb spoke with Luca Evans of The Orange County Register in a presser about the possibility that, beyond the South Carolina Gamecocks, three Pac-12 clubs (USC, Stanford, and the UCLA Bruins) might be good enough to each warrant No. 1 seeds in the forthcoming women's basketball NCAA Tournament bracket.

Asked USC’s Lindsay Gottlieb about this postgame, concept of Pac-12 having three no. 1 seeds in NCAA tourney — mentioned “if you’re watching Pac-12 basketball and the gauntlet that we’ve all gone through … I don’t think that’s too far-fetched.” https://t.co/jOi0EriTZk pic.twitter.com/WjVKRR1474

— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) March 9, 2024

“Yeah I mean we've all said it all year, I think [the competition level in the Pac-12 has] made us all better. When I first started watching film of UCLA back the first time we were going to play them, I wasn't finding a lot of weaknesses. I just knew we were going to have to be really good," Gottlieb allowed, before turning the talk to a broader breakdown of the Pac-12 at large. "Obviously South Carolina's a one seed, and after that it's been kind of up in the air, and Ohio State lost today. So if you’re watching Pac-12 basketball and the gauntlet that we’ve all gone through… I don’t think that’s too far-fetched.”

USC is currently 26-5 on the year, while Stanford is 28-5 and UCLA is 25-6. All three clubs feature elite prospects operating at an insanely high level.