Hi, everyone! Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter. I'm Ryan Kartje, your USC beat writer, here to wish a hearty and happy March Madness to all of those who celebrate. The most magical week of the college sports calendar is officially upon us, and for the USC women, whose tournament journey begins Saturday against UNC Greensboro, it's shaping up to be an especially memorable March.
The Trojans are coming off a rare loss in the Big Ten tournament final to UCLA, just their third of the season. But after both of the team's previous two losses, USC surged back looking better than before. It won 15 in a row after falling to Notre Dame. After that streak was broken on the road at Iowa, USC won nine in a row, with five victories against ranked teams.
"And now," USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb says, "I think we're in a whole different place than we were after Iowa. There's confidence now in who we are and what we're capable of and who we've become."
Gottlieb graciously took my call on Friday, before the Trojans knew their first-round opponent, to talk about bouncing back from their most recent loss and where her team stands leading into the tournament. Our conversation was edited for length and clarity.
How did the way the team bounced this time after the UCLA loss differ from how they responded after your previous two losses?
Gottlieb: I really do think this time that we're at our strongest place. I don't know that there was as much soul-searching [this time]. It was more, 'Feel the crappy feelings that come with not winning.' Because any time you have a chance to win a championship and see the confetti fall and get a trophy, well, you want to do it.
But the feeling is now we know exactly who we are, exactly what we are at our best, how to fight through adversity. This is it. This is what we've geared up for. We've earned a No. 1 seed. We should have an edge because we lost our last game, but we should have a confidence because we also know what we're capable of. I think that's where this game feels different from Iowa, which feels progressively different from Notre Dame.
JuJu [Watkins] was a freshman in the last tournament, experiencing it for the first time. How do you see her mindset differ this March? Or what gives you confidence that she's able to build on that experience?
Gottlieb: I thought she performed pretty great last year. Obviously we got to an Elite Eight and were right there. Last year, though, in a very sort of authentic way, she didn't know what was coming. She didn't know all the things about seedings and the bracket and how we get two home games. She was just kind of joyfully a little naive. She hadn't been through it before, and obviously she's a competitor and understands it's a national tournament, and let's go. But this year, like with everything, she's really grown in her leadership. Her voice is stronger. As the stakes have gotten higher this year, she's locked in and really galvanized people around her, and I don't expect that to change with respect to the NCAA tournament.
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You're relying this season on a lot of younger players without tournament experience. What have you seen from Avery [Howell], Kayleigh [Heckel] and Kennedy [Smith] that tells you they're ready for that spotlight?
Gottlieb: If you look at us from afar, people would say, well, we've got star power. We've got scorers. We've got All-American types. But we also have depth and defense and all those different pieces, and we've really had to earn that. Our youth has played their way into being really significant factors on a team that's vying for a national championship. That's atypical.
I think Kennedy Smith plays more minutes than any freshman on a top-10 team. I think she's right there neck and neck with [Connecticut's] Sarah Strong. She's never been a typical freshman, but you want her to lean into the experiences she's had. Avery has always been a natural leader and a tough kid, and Kayleigh, and you've seen Malia really grow as a sophomore, just really understanding her role. That's what you're really looking for this time of year – everyone really buying into what their role is and what we're asking them to do for their team. But then the team as a whole being stronger because of all those varying parts – that mindset that everyone matters, that every team kind of has their own stuff. Whatever your stuff is, the No. 1 thing now is to be all-in on what the mission is and believe in what we have. I do believe what we have is enough when we're all locked in and playing well.
You've talked a lot this season about how coaching this team was much different than last year. Does the same sentiment apply to preparing this team for this tournament? Is it different as a coach?
Gottlieb: Last year the key was we had this kind of underdog story kind of going the whole time. Like, don't pick us. You didn't pick us before. To me, when we'd won the Pac-12 tournament and we were a No. 1 seed, the question was how do we keep that underdog edge and still play with that joy. This year, this team has been the opposite. It's been like, 'Hey, bring on the expectations.' We've never shied away from them. But then we really had to earn what we've become.
Now going into the tournament, we have new goals. We have new things we want to obtain. What we've done in the regular season doesn't add any points on the board, but it should give us the confidence to know that we're capable of it.
USC football general manager Chad Bowden speaks during a news conference on Feb. 5, 2025. (USC Athletics)
—USC is on a tear on the recruiting trail. Is this the Chad Bowden effect? It's certainly hard to deny the surge of recruiting success USC has seen since hiring its new general manager. Turns out the fans aren't the only ones on a high at the moment. Six 2026 prospects have committed to USC during the past month, with four of them four-star recruits. The Trojans now have four commits among the state's top 18 players, and it's not difficult to imagine them signing three or four more, if all goes well. That's a significant shift from previous classes under Lincoln Riley, and it's fair, I think, to attribute that to Bowden who has made it clear that his focus for this class is in Southern California. The looming question is whether he can keep these commits for another six months. USC had similar recruiting momentum last spring, only to watch it unravel in the fall.
—Expect the USC men's team to be safely in the NCAA tournament next season. That progress starts with the arrival of five-star recruit Alijah Arenas, who has the makings — and the pedigree — of a one-and-done lottery pick. But a ton of talent should return, starting with guards Wesley Yates and Desmond Claude. Terrance Williams, who sat out most of the season with a broken wrist, will be back. Rashaun Agee intends to return, he told me Thursday, assuming the NCAA keeps up with its recent guidance about junior college eligibility. USC will lose a starter in Chibuzo Agbo, and it's unclear what might happen with Saint Thomas. But with only a few spots to fill in the transfer portal this offseason, the Trojans shouldn't have any trouble replenishing depth. It's absolutely critical for USC to pick up a starting big man, as well as a rotational point guard in the portal, but Eric Musselman has known those holes needed to be filled since last summer. I trust USC won't have trouble finding a fit.
—The Big Ten's West Coast teams really struggled traveling to the Eastern time zone this basketball season. And that was no different in Indianapolis for the conference tournament. None of the four West Coast teams advanced past the quarterfinals, as UCLA, USC and Oregon finished a combined 2-3. During the season, including the conference tournament, the Big Ten's Western contingent finished 12-21 in the Eastern time zone. Oregon accounted for nearly half of those wins, as the only one of the four to finish with a winning record (5-4). USC and UCLA were each 2-5 on those trips, while the rest of the Big Ten had far less trouble traveling to the West Coast. They finished 14-14 in their first season against USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington.
—A tip of the cap to John Feinstein, the fearless Hall of Fame sportswriter who died this week at age 69. Feinstein penned one of the seminal sportswriting texts of our time, "Season on the Brink," an all-access look at Bob Knight and 1985-96 Indiana basketball team. It was required reading before I joined the Hoosiers beat straight out of college, and as time has gone on, I've grown to appreciate its fearless portrayal of Knight even more. Knight hated the book, which should give you an idea of how good it was.
Top 5 … favorite men's NCAA tournament first-round bracket busters
5. No. 10 Arkansas over No. 7 Kansas
4. No. 13 Yale over Texas A&M
3. No. 11 VCU over BYU
2. No. 11 Drake over Missouri
1. No. 13 High Point over Purdue
In case you missed it
Fired up No. 1 seed USC feels disrespected by spot in women's NCAA tournament bracket
USC wins its first NCAA men's indoor track and field title in 53 years
USC left frustrated in season-ending loss to Purdue: 'We got robbed'
USC men win thriller in double overtime to advance in Big Ten tournament
How USC's Wesley Yates III discovered a family bond that could lead to stardom
What I'm Watching This Week
Judge Tom Colicchio returns for the latest season of "Top Chef." (Brian Roedel / Disney)
The best competition reality show of all time, in my book, is finally back. Bravo's "Top Chef" returned this past week for its 22nd season, this time in Canada. This show has taught me more about cooking and food than anyone or anything, and there is no better reality TV judge than Tom Colicchio. Top Chef never fails to deliver, and I know this season will once again.
Until next time...
That concludes today's newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you'd like to see, email me at ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
