USC, UCLA to meet in Big Ten title game after dominating conference in first season
Freshman Avery Howell and sophomore Malia Samuels had answered every question asked of them following their fourth-quarter performances that clinched the Trojans the first berth for the 2025 Big Ten national championship game. For their final query, they needed an assist.
Did they have a preference between UCLA and Ohio State for who they wanted to face in the title game?
'That's going to be a no,' USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said from at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as the second semifinal was underway. 'Whoever wins, we'll be ready to play.'
Ask almost anyone else that question and they would've answered right away. It's the same as it would've been in September. USC and UCLA are not only two of the best teams in the country with national title-contending rosters, they're rivals experiencing a glow-up after decades of dimness. They boast national player of the year candidates, USC's JuJu Watkins and UCLA's Lauren Betts, surrounded by top transfer hauls on positional player of the year shortlists.
It comes as little surprise the traditional Pac-12 powers will meet for the title on Sunday (4:30 p.m., CBS) in what has proven to be a complete takeover of the Big Ten. Including Washington and Oregon, all four former Pac-12 teams qualified for the 15-team conference tournament, forcing Purdue, Northwestern and Penn State to watch from home.
The Los Angeles programs topped them all.
Regular season champion USC lost a single conference game, to Iowa on the road ahead of Caitlin Clark's postgame jersey retirement ceremony. The Trojans advanced thought the Big Ten tournament in an 82-70 semifinal win over Michigan.
UCLA lost two games all season, both to USC. The Bruins players and coaches haven't been quiet about wanting to see USC again.
'From the very beginning, I was pretty emphatic about that,' UCLA head coach Cori Close said after blasting Ohio State, 75-46, in the second semifinal. 'I think I was asked about that right after our game we lost at our place (on March 1). And I said, absolutely, I'd love another opportunity.'
The latest bout in the 2025 Los Angeles series — and the third in 23 days — arrives amid different circumstances.
Neither will have home advantage on the court or in the crowd. The UCLA and USC contingents were strong through two days for programs based more than 2,000 miles away. They paled in comparison to the Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State and Michigan concentrations here in the heart of Big Ten country. And in a city newly filled with Fever, more WNBA and neutral women's basketball gear dotted the landscape than that of the conference's newest standouts.
Optimal rest and preparation is subjective for both. It will be the third game in three days, and already the schedule appeared to take a toll on USC. Starting center Rayah Marshall missed the quarterfinals with an illness and Watkins looked a step slower and winded late in the semifinals. The Trojans played closer contests, edging Indiana by five in the quarterfinals. UCLA, which had to work for a win over Nebraska in the quarters, went deep into its bench with the win over Ohio State out of hand by half.
The Big Ten trophy awaiting the winner in a day for the history books is almost secondary in a matchup weighted in levels.
It is their final chance to add a cherry on top of their NCAA tournament résumés with a logjam of programs jockeying for No. 1 seeds. ESPN and Her Hoop Stats projected both teams maintaining No. 1 seeds in their bracketology heading into the conference tournament semifinals. Notre Dame likely squandered its chance by not making it to the ACC title game, while Texas, South Carolina and Connecticut are also top contenders.
The No. 1 overall seed is still up for grabs, creating a tough decision for the NCAA women's basketball committee in the coming week. USC winning three over UCLA could prove the difference in a higher position. UCLA finding its footing against the only team it's lost to would brighten its outlook after solidly holding the overall top spot in its undefeated run.
That's all noise in the background of UCLA's present reality.
The Bruins played poorly in both of their biggest games this season, allowing Watkins to score 68 total points while shooting 45 percent, blocking shots and packing the rest of the stats. The Trojans dictated the play both at home and on the road.
'If you're a real competitor, you want to be tested against the very best and you want to have opportunities to conquer your previous adversities,' Close said. 'That's exactly what we're getting. It forces you to dig deep and to find new levels of growth.'
Betts, the Bruins' fulcrum, performed below her season standards with inefficient shooting and disappeared defensively.
'Everyone's been held accountable individually and we've had a lot of meetings,' Betts said. 'We obviously felt really badly about how we played them the last time and how we showed up, and we don't ever want to feel that again.'
While the tournament matchups in the interim were fun and all — a young, upset-minded Michigan team and Iowa's group nearly crashing the party in Caitlin Clark's new house highlighted the week — this is what the masses yearned for on championship Sunday.
USC, with two wins in what could end up being a four-game series should they meet in the NCAA tournament, can stay hushed about it. UCLA called its shot for everyone.
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