How can USC win without JuJu Watkins?

Sorry, USC basketball fans, but the nightmare is, in fact, real.

JuJu Watkins went down during the Trojans’ second game of the NCAA Tournament against Mississippi State, tearing her ACL. This ends her year and makes next season likely one of recovery for the wunderkin.

While the loss of Watkins is utterly devastating, basketball, for better or worse, never stops.

USC still mustered a 96-59 win over Mississippi State to make it to the Sweet 16. This is the Trojans’ 12th time making it this far in the NCAA Tournament, and they now have a chance to return to the Elite Eight. To do that, they’ll have to find a way to beat Kansas State without Watkins. Here’s how they can get that done.

Kiki Iriafen’s moment

The main reason USC is still in this tourney is because of Kiki Iriafen. She was amazing against the Bulldogs, scoring 36 points. She also tied for a team-high nine rebounds.

While Iriafen has had to play second fiddle to Watkins and adjust her game since transferring from Stanford last year, she can undoubtedly lead a team. With USC, she’s averaging 18.6 points and 8.5 rebounds on the season. Back in 2023-24 with Stanford, she had a slightly better production, averaging 19.4 points and 11 rebounds per game.

When you lose a superstar like Watkins, you get worse, but this is an opportunity for Iriafen to unleash and just be as aggressive as possible and put up monster numbers. She did this on Monday, and it resulted in a Trojan win. If she does it again this weekend, USC will keep on dancing.

The X-factors

While Watkins has been the sun that everything and everyone at USC revolves around, they have other planets that matter. Rayah Marshall and Talia von Oelhoffen have been staples in the starting lineup, and when they play well, good things happen for the Trojans.

As a big, Marshall has been a beast on the boards, averaging 8.2 rebounds per game. In their second-round win, she grabbed nine boards and added a dozen points to keep USC on top.

She’ll have her hands full with K-State center Ayoka Lee. While she likely can’t match her point for point, if she can slow her down and win some 50/50 balls, that just might be enough to defeat the Wildcats.

Another key starter who can make a difference is von Oelhoffen, who transferred to USC from Oregon State. With the Beavers, she was a player who could get hot and score in bunches. She hasn’t wowed as much with the Trojans, but has had her moments. Against Oregon, she scored 11 points, and she’s had double-digit scoring nights against top teams like Notre Dame peppered throughout the season. If she can perform at her highest level the rest of the way, USC can continue to fight on.

The youngsters

USC runs a tight ship with only eight players averaging double-digit minutes. With Watkins gone, there are over 33 minutes on the table, and they need to be redistributed. Some of it will go to the starters, but this is a moment for the reserves to step up.

When looking at who could contribute more from the bench, Avery Howell and Kayleigh Heckel are two top candidates. Howell had 18 points against Mississippi State, and Heckel scored 13. These backcourt freshman can help ease the pain of Watkins’ absence while propelling the Trojans into the next round.

Watkins is irreplaceable. She is a superstar, the best player in the nation and a generational talent. Even so, basketball is a team game. USC didn’t get here just because of one player.

They have an elite group, and they can still win if they rally around each other and buy into head coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s game plan. So, while others may be writing USC off, they are one of 16 left, and if they play their cards right, they’ll have something to say about who wins the national title.