UCLA Women's Basketball Vs USC: How To Watch, Odds, Predictions, And More

A possible March Madness preview?

The Pac-12 Tournament Semifinals kick off tonight in Las Vegas, and for the eighth time in the past nine years, your UCLA Bruins will be a part of the fun. Given that this year is effectively the conference’s swan song, with UCLA set to migrate to the Big Ten next year, it’s perhaps that such a staple of the event remains a presence now.

This evening, the No. 3-seeded Bruins (25-5) will square off against their loathed crosstown rivals, the No. 2-seeded USC Trojans (24-5), at 7:30 p.m. PT. The action can be taken in live on the Pac-12 Network.

The primo matchup to watch, to our thinking anyway, is in the middle, where 6’7” All-Pac-12 sophomore Bruins center Lauren Betts will face off against 6’4” All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention center Rayah Marshall. 

Betts was plagued by consistent double coverages last night in the Utah win, compelling Bruins power forward Angela Dugalic to step up on offense. She responded in kind, scoring a career-high 17 points, including shooting 3-of-4 from deep.

USC and UCLA are 1-1 in their two games against each other this season. The Bruins may have a slight edge in high-level depth, but the Trojans boast the best overall player in prolific All-Pac-12 freshman shooting guard JuJu Watkins, the country’s second-leading scorer behind only Iowa senior point guard Caitlin Clark.

Look for UCLA to pull off the W and advance to the final round.