UCLA, USC Basketball Teams Experience Highs and Lows of March Madness in First Weekend
In an eventful first weekend in the NCAA tournament, UCLA men’s basketball experience a win and a loss, UCLA’s women survive a scare in the Round of 32 and USC’s women enter the Sweet 16 despite a massive loss due to injury.
By Austin Gage Contributing Sports Writer
To say it was an action-packed first weekend for the Los Angeles-based collegiate basketball teams in the NCAA Tournament would be a wild understatement.
The 10th-seeded UCLA men took on the 7th-seeded Utah State Aggies in the Round of 64 on the tournament’s first official day of games.
After 15 minutes of close basketball in the first half, the Bruins began to run away with the contest as the first half ended. Taking a 39-27 lead into halftime, they never looked back and held on for a comfortable 72-47 victory over the Aggies.
Quality three-point shooting, 10-24 from beyond the arc, paired with offensive performances from junior guard Skyy Clark and sophomore guard Eric Dailey Jr. propelled UCLA into the second round for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Both players paced the team with 14 points, while junior guard Dylan Andrews thrived in a playmaking role chipping in eight assists.
After a stellar first-round performance, UCLA’s reward was a date against the 2nd seed Tennessee Volunteers.
Tennessee, a group who spent time ranked number one in the entire country at one point in the middle of the season, proved to be a challenge too tall for the male Bruins. Despite a similar game script to their first round victory over the Aggies with a tightly contested first 15 minutes, the Bruins lost the lead with just less than three minutes remaining in the first half and would never recover.
The higher-seeded Volunteers, playing in nearby Lexington, Kentucky, held on for the 67-58 win. Despite another solid game from Clark, who finished with 18 points thanks to four three-pointers made, UCLA simply did not have enough to match with Tennessee.
“Offensively, we weren’t good enough,” UCLA head coach Mick Cronin said simply.
Senior guard Chaz Lanier led the Volunteers on offense with 20 points and connected on four threes of his own to pace the victors.
The loss ended the 2024-2025 campaign for the UCLA men’s side, which was a solid one by most accounts in their first season as a part of the Big Ten.
On the women’s side, the Bruins looked to capitalize on their status as the tournament’s number-one overall seed. Flying high after defeating rival USC in the Big Ten championship, UCLA entered the tournament as the top-ranked seed and one of the favorites to claim the title.
Their first-round matchup against the 16th-seeded Southern Jaguars showcased the dominance the Bruins displayed throughout the season. UCLA, who spent 13 weeks topping the AP Top 25 during the regular season, dominated the contest from tip to the final buzzer. Thanks to eight players totaling nine or more points, the Bruins used a balanced offensive arsenal to cruise to an 84-46 victory, setting up a second-round date against the 8th-seeded Richmond Spiders. Star junior center Lauren Betts starred in the win scoring 14 points and grabbing six rebounds with four assists.
However, the second-round matchup against Richmond would not be as smooth, at least at the beginning.
The underdog Spiders, who led after the first quarter with a 20-18 advantage, entered halftime against the Bruins knotted up at 36. Led by junior guard Maggie Doogan, Richmond was doing all it could in the first two quarters to make sure that UCLA would have to work for a Round of 32 win. Doogan played a great game and led the Spiders with 27 points to go along with six rebounds and seven assists.
Realizing that they needed a boost, Betts and junior guard Kiki Rice understood that they needed to step up in the second half. Behind two stellar performances from the two, the Bruins locked in. Digging in deep on the defensive side of the ball, UCLA held Richmond to just seven points in the third quarter while adding 29 in the period.
“That second half we really turned it around. I think we just changed our mentality defensively,” said Betts.
Because of the massive gap, the top seed was able to hold on for the rest of the contest and escaped with an 84-67 win to reach the Sweet 16. Betts and Rice played almost flawlessly on offense, as Betts totaled 30 points on 14-17 shooting from the field while Rice added 23 points on 7-13 shooting. Betts contributed 14 rebounds and Rice dished seven assists as the duo carried the Bruins to the next round.
UCLA will take on the fifth-seeded Ole Miss Rebels on March 28th.
For the USC women, things were very smooth in terms of taking care of business with comfortable victories.
The Trojans, who also represented as one seed in the tournament, defeated the UNC Greensboro Spartans 71-25 in their first-round matchup.
Led by the dynamic duo of star sophomore guard JuJu Watkins and graduate transfer forward Kiki Iriafen, USC was able to push past the Spartans with ease. Watkins, who was named on Tuesday as one of the finalists for the Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year along with Betts, UConn senior guard Paige Bueckers and Notre Dame sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo, paced the Trojans with 22 points to go along with eight rebounds. Iriafen showcased her double-double threat as she scored 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
The USC defense was particularly exceptional as they held UNC Greensboro to just 7-54 shooting (13%). The Trojans’ defense made sure the Spartans would not score over nine points in any of the four quarters.
The win moved USC into the second round with a date against the ninth-seeded Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Unfortunately, a hot start for the Trojans was quickly overshadowed. Racing out to a 13-2 lead midway through the first quarter, USC was set up for a fast break attempt via Watkins as she dribbled down the court. As Watkins neared the hoop, she suddenly fell onto the floor and immediately grabbed at her right knee. She would not return to the game and later would be diagnosed with a torn ACL, ending her season and certainly affecting her potential 2025-2026 debut. According to a statement from the official USC Women’s Basketball team, Watkins will undergo surgery and begin rehabilitation shortly thereafter.
Without their star, the Trojans stepped in a big way. The hot start fed a 28-8 lead after the first quarter, a 50-27 advantage at halftime and a 75-42 scoreline after three quarters. The eventual 96-59 victory showcased the depth USC has, and that depth will be relied on heavily if they hope to progress throughout the rest of the tournament.
“You never want anyone to go down, especially someone like JuJu that we all lean on in so many ways, but this team rallied,” USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “They rallied for her, they rallied for each other, our fans had our back. I’m just really proud and I think we showed what kind of team we are.”
A magnificent performance from Iriafen gave USC all they needed and more to emerge victorious. Her 36 points on 16-22 shooting marked a season-high for the star as she added nine rebounds to her game.
Off the bench, freshman guard Avery Howell scored a career-high 18 points with four three-pointers and four assists to support Iriafen’s dominance. Without Watkins, Howell is a name to watch in the backcourt.
Next up for the Trojans are the Kansas State Wildcats, who are a five-seed. That game will take place on March 29th in the Sweet 16.
The first weekend of the NCAA tournament was one to remember for the Los Angeles-based teams, and there certainly will be more moments for the women’s teams as they participate in the Sweet 16 and potentially beyond.
