The cross-country travel continues for the USC women’s basketball team, which is set to play eighth-seeded Clemson as the ninth-seeded team in the Sacramento Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
The Trojans (17-13 overall) have been all over the country in their second season of Big Ten basketball and will face the Tigers (21-11) in Columbia, South Carolina – just a 2-hour drive from Clemson’s home court – in a first-round game on Saturday.
“We knew we’d be getting on a plane,” head coach Lindsay Gottlieb told reporters. “We’re not unfamiliar with traveling. I think, sometimes, it heightens your focus level. I think it makes an excitement level of not just driving up the street.”
It’s the Trojans’ fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth and also the fourth out of five seasons under Gottlieb. They’re one of 12 Big Ten teams to make the 68-team field.
USC was projected to be a No. 9 seed by ESPN bracket expert Charlie Creme after losing its first Big Ten Tournament game to Washington, 76-64. It was the Trojans’ fourth straight loss after falling to No. 11 Ohio State, Penn State and No. 2 UCLA.
The Trojans are using the roughly two weeks in between the conference tournament loss and the beginning of the NCAA Tournament to rebuild their competitive drive before shifting into a mindset that dials in on the Tigers.
“I feel good, just in general,” 6-foot-1 sophomore guard Kennedy Smith said. “I think we really attacked the break that we did have by getting better in areas that we have weaknesses in. Just coming in from putting in our full effort and 100% everything.”
Clemson finished ninth in the final ACC standings and has won three of its last five games. It lost in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament to the eventual champion, Duke, before earning its first NCAA Tournament berth since the 2018-19 season.
“I’m not sure many people thought in year two that we could be here at this point,” second-year Tigers coach Shawn Poppie said. “We talked about it internally. That’s why we kept it a little more private here to celebrate – the only ones that truly believed were in that locker room and their families involved.”
Senior Kara Dunn, a 5-11 guard, will also be an important part of USC’s tournament run. Not only is she scoring 15.2 points per game, but she’s also become a mentor for star freshman Jazzy Davidson.
Dunn is a Georgia Tech transfer who has seen plenty of Clemson during her three seasons in the ACC.
“The ACC has a fast-paced game, kind of like how we want to play,” Dunn told reporters. “I feel like the way that we play is kind of similar to how the ACC plays. That’s why I feel like the pace was not really a change for me coming from ACC to Big Ten, so I think it will be good for us.”
Davidson, USC’s leading scorer (17.6 ppg), underwent an MRI due to a right shoulder injury sustained in the Big Ten Tournament loss, but the team announced on social media that she will be available for the NCAA Tournament.
“You grow up playing basketball and watching the NCAA Tournament, and it’s always super electric every year,” Davidson said. “Getting the opportunity to play in my first one, I don’t take that lightly at all. I’m super excited and just going in and doing whatever I can do to help the team win.”
