USC and Baylor haven't faced each other since 2000, and the Sweet 16 is a pretty great place to meet again. Things look much different 24 years later, and coincidentally both programs hired new head coaches in 2021. Both are already thriving under their new leadership.
This is only Linsday Gottlieb's third season as USC's head coach, but she is already taking the Trojans to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1994. The Trojans had a breakout season last year, but the addition of freshman JuJu Watkins has taken them to a new level.
Watkins averaged 25.5 points and eight rebounds in her first two NCAA Tournament games and has already broken the USC single-season scoring record. The team has other players who can take over on any given night, the most notable being McKenzie Forbes. The grad student is playing her best basketball of the season as she has scored at least 17 points in the last four games.
Meanwhile, Baylor coach Nicki Collen is showing everyone that Baylor can be successful even after Kim Mulkey moved on to LSU. The Bears have made the NCAA Tournament every year since 2004, and with Collen they've made two Sweet 16s already.
"I think any time you're hired into a position like Baylor, this is the expectation," Collen said during the media availability this week. "I think it's about meeting expectations, but my expectations aren't really driven necessarily by what people think they should be. It's more about wanting to be considered one of the best at what I do and how we do it. I think it's special to be part of this group, it's truly ours. These are not a bunch of inherited players, these are players that believed in Baylor, believed in me."
The winner of Saturday's matchup will move on to face the winner of No. 3 seed UConn and No. 7 seed Duke on Monday. Let's take a look at how you can watch the game before getting to a key storyline to follow in the game below.
How to watch (1) USC vs. (5) Baylor
Date: Saturday, March 30 | Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
Location: Moda Center -- Portland, Oregon
TV: ESPN | Live stream: fubo (Try for free)
USC vs. Baylor: Key Storyline
One of the biggest topics in women's college basketball right now is who will be the next superstar after the current seniors leave, and JuJu Watkins has wasted no time in making a case for herself. Her 51-point game against Stanford in February seems to be just a small taste of what is yet to come.
The question now is how far can Watkins take this team? It is already big to see the Trojans back in the Sweet 16, but Watkins has potential to do so much more this season and in the coming years.
