Women's Fastbreak On SI

JuJu Watkins' USC Coach Claims Team Was 'Disrespected' by NCAA Tournament Seeding

USC Trojans head coach Lindsay Gottlieb sounded off about her team being the fourth-ranked No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.

Grant Young

Feb 13, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) and head coach Lindsay Gottlieb during the second half against the UCLA Bruins at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
Feb 13, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) and head coach Lindsay Gottlieb during the second half against the UCLA Bruins at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images / Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Selection Sunday for the 2025 NCAA Tournament has taken place, which means the women's college basketball world knows all of the seedings and matchups ahead of March Madness.

The most intriguing potential Elite Eight matchup is undoubtedly between the No. 1 seeded USC Trojans and the No. 2 seeded UConn Huskies, who found themselves in the same region of the bracket.

These two teams faced off on December 21 in what was the most viewed NCAA women's basketball regular season game of the season. And the Trojans ended up earning a 72-70 win.

USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb spoke with the media after Sunday's bracket reveal and expressed frustration with them being the fourth No. 1 seed, which set them up for this UConn rematch.

"I can't speak for [the players]. For me, I never thought I'd be a one seed and feel disrespected, but I feel the committee... I thought there would be very little chance that we'd be the No. 4 overall No. 1," Gottlieb said, per the USCAthletics YouTube account.

"You tell me if you think that bracket that we got should have been the one that it was," she added. "This was not on my bingo card to be a little bit frustrated after being a one seed, and it's not an arrogance of any kind... but sometimes I don't understand people who make decisions in women's basketball, and why they do what they do. And certainly with this committee, I would love to ask some questions."

It sounds like Gottlieb will be carrying a chip on her shoulder into this year's March Madness.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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