Women's Fastbreak On SI

Paige Bueckers and UConn's Matchup With JuJu Watkins and USC Has Fans Fired Up

The upcoming UConn vs. USC women's basketball game is already receiving a lot of hype from fans.
Grant Young|
Apr 1, 2024; Portland, OR, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) drives to the basket during the second half against UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) in the finals of the Portland Regional of the NCAA Tournament at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images
Apr 1, 2024; Portland, OR, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) drives to the basket during the second half against UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) in the finals of the Portland Regional of the NCAA Tournament at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

One of the most compelling matchups of the 2024-25 NCAA women's basketball season is just two days away when the No. 4 ranked UConn Huskies face the No. 7 ranked USC Trojans on UConn's home court Saturday, December 21.

There are several reasons for the hype around this matchup. In addition to these two squads being 2025 National Championship contenders, they also faced off during the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. UConn ultimately won that game 80-73, which means USC will be looking for revenge.

But perhaps the biggest reason for intrigue is that women's college basketball's two best and most popular players (arguably) will be going head to head.

Of course, these players are UConn superstar Paige Bueckers and USC sophomore stud JuJu Watkins.

Getting to see a rematch between Bueckers and Watkins has fans on social media eagerly awaiting Saturday's game. This was made clear by an X post from Vanshay Murdock that showed a graphic of Watkins and Bueckers with the caption, "I CAN’T WAIT FOR THIS !!😤".

The post already has over 630,000 views, and fans are sharing their excitement about the imminent matchup in the post's comments.

"Paige Bean Buckets vs Juju Jordan? I’m locked in," one fan commented, which are references to NBA legends Kobe Bean Bryant and Michael Jordan.

Another fan wrote, "This will be the top game to finish out the year."

Another fan posted a graphic of LeBron James saying, "I will be there no matter what".

While this game taking place at the same time as the College Football Playoff isn't ideal, the combined star power both of these teams bring will surely attract tons of attention.

Published
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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