No. 2 UCLA is hosting No. 4 USC on Saturday for the second round of the Battle for Los Angeles and their regular-season finale. The stakes are high as the winner of this matchup will also take the Big Ten regular-season title.
The Bruins were the only undefeated team in the nation until Feb. 13, when the Trojans claimed a 71-60 win behind a superb performance by JuJu Watkins at Galen Center.
USC shocks top-ranked UCLA: JuJu Watkins delivers signature performance as Trojans rise to first in Big Ten
Isabel Gonzalez
USC shocks top-ranked UCLA: JuJu Watkins delivers signature performance as Trojans rise to first in Big Ten
That remains UCLA’s only loss of the 2024-25 campaign. Cori Close’s group enters Saturday 28-1 with a 16-1 Big Ten record — the same conference record as the Trojans. USC is 25-2 overall with losses to Notre Dame and Iowa.
Another exciting aspect of this matchup is that Watkins and UCLA’s Lauren Betts are two of the top candidates to win national Player of the Year. They also happen to be the Big Ten Co-Players of the Week ahead of their upcoming meeting.
Here is what you need to know before Saturday’s Battle for Los Angeles:
Where to watch No. 4 USC vs. No. 2 UCLA
When: Saturday at 9 p.m. ET
Where: Pauley Pavilion — Los Angeles, California
TV: Fox
Streaming: fubo (follow for free)
Last meeting
The Bruins have a 33-25 series lead over USC since 1999, but the Trojans have won the last three encounters.
JuJu Watkins lifted USC to a 71-60 win over then-No. 1 UCLA on Feb. 13 with an impressive two-way performance that included 38 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, eight blocks and a steal.
While it was a strong win for USC, the whole roster didn’t have a great outing. Watkins carried the Trojans offense for most of the game as she scored all 14 points for them in the second quarter. Late in the third, no other USC player had more than five points.
Lauren Betts led UCLA’s efforts with 18 points, but she really had to work for it and was just 2 of 4 in the first half.
JuJu Watkins doing it all for USC
Watkins is one of the nation’s top-three scorers with an average of 24.2 points per game. She also contributes 6.9 rebounds per contest and leads her team in assists and steals.
The truth is the guard has had her ups and downs this season and went through a month-long offensive slump before the win against UCLA. However, even when she is struggling, Watkins typically figures out how to get the job done — whether it’s by passing, contributing on defense or getting to the free throw line.
Watkins is still only a sophomore, but her impact has helped resurrect the program. This is USC’s second consecutive season with at least 23 wins, and the Trojans’ 25-2 record is their best through 27 games since the 1982-83 season, when they finished 31-2.
UCLA’s Lauren Betts dominating inside
The 6-foot-7 center is a key reason why the Bruins are having the best season in program history. They earned their first ever No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll in December and stayed there 12 weeks before losing to USC.
Betts is solid on both sides of the court and is almost averaging a double-double with 20 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. She is also in the top five nationally in blocks per contest (2.8).
UCLA picked up a 30-point win against Wisconsin on Wednesday, and Betts once again grabbed the spotlight. She recorded her 15th double-double of the season with 26 points and 10 rebounds while going 11 of 12 from the field.