The never quiet and always bombastic Stephen A. Smith is hoping for a JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers showdown in the NCAA women’s tournament. Watkins is looking at National Player of the Year honors and leading the No. 1 seeded USC Trojans against UNC Greensboro in the first round on Saturday.
Bueckers is also gunning for the National Player of the Year honors as the No. 2 seeded UConn Huskies will play in their first round game on Saturday against Arkansas State.
Smith has praised Watkins for her talent and stature even saying she is picking up where Caitlin Clark left off.
Smith envisioned the matchup on Friday’s episode of First Take with co-hosts and ESPN women’s basketball analysts Monica McNutt and Andraya Carter and making it clear who he wants to see come out on top.
“Paige gon’ show up, she’s no joke. … I want to see JuJu win.” he said.
Carter agreed with Smith at wanting to see a USC vs UConn matchup whereas McNutt is looking forward to a showdown between defending champion South Carolina vs UCLA.
Could JuJu Watkins-Paige Bueckers matchup happen?
USC and UConn are playing in the Spokane Region. A potential matchup could come in the Elite Eight if both are able to make it through.
The Trojans arguably have the much tougher path than the other No. 1 seeds in South Carolina, Texas, and UCLA. A major reason is they were sanctioned by the NCAA for not defeating their conference rival UCLA three times despite earning a win against the Bruins for the Big Ten conference championship.
UConn is used to being a top contender. They reached the Final Four last year before losing to Iowa.
On December 21, the then No. 7 Trojans upset the then No. 4 Huskies 72-70. The Huskies attempted to come back from 18 points down but still came up short. Watkins finished with 25 points whereas Bueckers finished with 22 points.
The Elite Eight game is scheduled for Monday March 31.
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