The Elite Eight field is complete, and the biggest question among the No. 1 seeds is how USC can survive Monday’s matchup with UConn without star guard JuJu Watkins. The sophomore left the court after injuring her right leg against Mississippi Sate, and tests revealed an ACL tear in her right knee.
Even without their star player, the Trojans were able to hold off Kansas State, 67-61, to advance to the quarterfinals, as they did a year ago before being ousted by UConn in a hard-fought game. And the Trojans will face the Huskies again with a trip to the Final Four on the line. The other three matchups will be UCLA-LSU, South Carolina-Duke and Texas-TCU.
Since the tournament expanded in 1994, a No. 1 seed has won the title 23 times. Meanwhile, No. 2 seeds have won the championship four times and No. 3 seeds three times — with the most recent being LSU in 2023, a program that is once again a No. 3 seed this year and competing in its third consecutive Sweet 16.
Perhaps the most dangerous No. 2 seed this year is, unsurprisingly, UConn — the…
