USC, Stanford compete for final Pac-12 title

USC v Stanford — Can JuJu Watkins again light up Stanford and lead USC to the Pac-12 Tournament title? | Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

It’s the final Pac-12 Tournament ever, and it comes down to JuJu Watkins’ USC against Cameron Brink’s Stanford.

Well, we’ve made it.

The Pac-12 Tournament championship—and the final Pac-12 game ever—will be on Sunday, Mar. 10 at 5 p.m. ET (ESPN) between the No. 2-seed USC Trojans and the No. 1-seed Stanford Cardinal. We didn’t get a Cinderella story, but we have a “Clash of the Titans” with the top two seeds facing off for it all. Here’s the path to winning it all for both teams.

How USC can win

Can JuJu Watkins beat Stanford again? The last time these two teams faced off, Watkins scored 51 points to beat Stanford 67-58. Now, that’s probably not the best strategy or one you can rely on to win, but she certainly can take over and dominate in that kind of fashion again.

JuJu Watkins with a 50 piece‼️

51 points
14-26 FG
6-11 3PT
17-19 FT

– Most points scored by a freshman since Elena Delle Donne in 2010
– USC single-game record (Cherie Nelson, 50 pts, 1989)

All 14 shots @Jujubballin hit from the field ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/4M682ElJX9

— Sean Hurd (@seanahurd) February 3, 2024

With Watkins being an offensive powerhouse and shooting at such a high volume, the Trojans must give her space and crash the boards. They’ll have to find a way to win the rebounding battle or lose by a negligible number. That’s easier said than done with Stanford having Cameron Brink on their side, but that will be a key factor in deciding who wins.

Watkins may be the feature, but the performance will be in vain without the supporting cast. USC’s other guards, Kayla Padilla and McKenzie Forbes, will have to step up and hit timely buckets to keep up with Stanford. If they can each score in double figures, it’ll help USC’s odds of winning tremendously.

How Stanford can win

All season, Stanford has been the cream of the crop. Winning on Sunday would put a stamp on that excellence and end Brink’s time in the Pac-12 on top. To get that done, Brink will have to continue being the walking double-double she’s been all year, Kiki Iriafen will have to get big buckets and Hannah Jump will need to get hot; that will be one too many things for USC to overcome, and Stanford will come out on top.

Down, but never out.#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/uMTmchjuio

— Stanford WBB (@StanfordWBB) March 9, 2024

Just as USC will be looking to get the most out of Watkins, Stanford will look to slow her down. Look, she will get her buckets, but make her exert as much energy as possible. That means putting her into tough shots, making sure she’s working a lot on and off-ball and putting her to work on the defensive end. She’s phenomenal, but, in fact, human. If you can force her to feel alone out there, you can overwhelm the team and beat USC, whether or not she scores 30 or more.

Closing thoughts

This is a great matchup. You have the rising star in Watkins and USC and the standard of excellence in Stanford and Brink. It’s a new-school vs. old-school bout, and regardless of who wins, it should make for a good game. If—and that’s a big if—there is a blowout, it would be Stanford beating USC. Why? Well, they have the seniority and the pedigree, and maybe USC making it this far was already them punching above their weight.

I do expect the game to be competitive and close, though, and the winner will likely be determined by who executes better in the final 90 seconds.