Paige Bueckers, JuJu Watkins Facing Off in Potential Elite Eight Rematch Has Fans Torn

Kristen Wong | 10 Hours Ago

UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) and USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) on the court in the first half at XL Center. / David Butler II-Imagn Images

It's the matchup everybody was hoping and waiting for—just not as early as the Elite Eight.

UConn and USC found out their NCAA tournament seedings on Selection Sunday with the former earning the No. 1 seed and the latter earning the No. 2 seed... in the same region. Both teams will play in the Spokane 4 region of the tournament, which means there's a high possibility marquee stars Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins could face off in the Elite Eight again.

College hoops fans fired-up to see the two talented guards take the court this March have some conflicted feelings about the rematch, one that bears resemblances to Caitlin Clark's Iowa battling Angel Reese's LSU in the Elite Eight in their respective final collegiate seasons.

On one hand, the rematch is a wholly exciting one after Bueckers and the Huskies spoiled the Trojans' NCAA title hopes last year. UConn beat top-seeded USC in a thrilling 80-73 win in 2024's Elite Eight contest, in which both Bueckers (28 points, 10 rebounds) and Watkins (29 points, 10 rebounds) put on a dazzling show.

On the other, only one can advance for a chance to win the coveted NCAA championship. And the loser will have to go home fairly early.

Fans eagerly hoping for a Bueckers-Watkins showdown in the national title game were let down by the selection committee's choices:

The two most popular WBB players are Paige and JuJu.. And we put them in the same bracket so one player won’t have the chance to make the Final 4??!??! 🤦‍♀️

— Lauren DeFalco (@Lauren_DeFalco) March 17, 2025

the committee making paige play juju in SPOKANE for a trip to the final four? pic.twitter.com/7qXKUMmNrn

— taylor harris (@hey__taylor) March 17, 2025

Why would you put USC, Juju, and UCONN, Paige, in the same region lol?! To protect others from getting eliminated? @apsamar_5 ESPN/the committee is whack for that lol pic.twitter.com/PvawN0t0dz

— think.™🌊 ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ (@_GLVSS_) March 17, 2025

Paige looking at JuJu https://t.co/aDF4nN6mvq pic.twitter.com/Ii0NF0swnk

— Tobias Barkley (@TobiasBarkley) March 17, 2025

They put Juju and Paige, the only women most people can name this year, in the same region. BAD JOB by that committee not saving that game for later.

— Brett Rasdall (@BrettRasdall) March 17, 2025

With UConn and USC both in good form right now, as well as Paige Bueckers-Juju Watkins being the biggest women's ratings draws, I feel like it would build more momentum for both teams to have a shot at the Final Four rather than playing an Elite Eight elimination game... https://t.co/1sW5CZH2EK

— Yanyan Li (@yyanyanli1) March 17, 2025

Will history repeat itself, or will Watkins exact revenge? Barring any early-round upsets, fans will find out soon enough.

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