USC women’s basketball moves into projected NCAA Tournament field after huge win over Stanford
This is how you know something big has happened, and that the game has changed for USC women’s basketball.
The Trojans are now a projected NCAA Tournament team after taking down No. 2 Stanford and dealing the Cardinal their second loss of the season. Stanford’s only other loss was to No. 1 South Carolina, the defending national champion.
All jokes aside about Stanford being unable to beat USC — either the one in Columbia, South Carolina, or the one in Los Angeles — the Trojans did vault past a lot of bubble teams and moved into the field with a win over a projected No. 1 seed. Stanford is still a No. 1 seed and would need to lose at least one more game, probably two, to risk losing that seeding position.
Beating a No. 1 seed is as good a bubble win as it gets. USC’s projection as an NCAA Tournament team, which you will see below from an ESPN bracketologist, is not an overreaction to the win over Stanford.
The other really good sign for USC’s NCAA tourney prospects: The Pac-12 is so deep in women’s basketball that USC will have other chances to notch high-value wins and keep moving up the board. As long as the Trojans win the games they are supposed to win, merely picking off two or three more high-end wins should be enough to get them into the field.
Here’s the ESPN projection below, accompanied by a lot of other news items, statistics, notes, and team reactions:
BRACKETOLOGY
Stanford did not look good today at all, but the Cardinal are still clearly a No. 1 seed. No one behind them on the 2-line has a better resume to supplant the Cardinal. USC will be moving into the field.
— Charlie Creme (@CharlieCreme) January 16, 2023
FAST FACTS
USC WBB wins 55-46 over No. 2 Stanford, ending Cardinal 39-game win streak vs. Pac-12 opponents … USC now 13-4/3-3 Pac-12 … Stanford 17-2/5-1 … first win for USC vs. No. 2/higher team since 2008
— jeffmetcalfe (@jeffmetcalfe) January 15, 2023
Xs AND Os
Haley Jones’ lack of a strong perimeter offensive game suddenly looks problematic for @StanfordWBB. If you don’t feel like you have to guard Jones or Lepolo on the outside, teams will clog up the paint and the back door cuts…
— Michelle Smith (McDonald) (@macsmith413) January 15, 2023
LOCKER ROOM CELEBRATION
Making history. 🔥@autumnjohnsontv caught up with @dstnylttltn24 after a big win for @USCWBB over No. 2 Stanford. This was their first win against a top 2 team since 2008. #NCAAWBB pic.twitter.com/30bKRsK40P
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) January 16, 2023
FIRST WIN OVER STANFORD IN 9 YEARS
Timber!🌲🪓#USC Women's Basketball snaps #Stanford's 39-game PAC-12 win streak with a 55-46 victory over the Cardinal in the Galen Center! Before today, the Women of Troy hadn't beaten Stanford since the 2014 PAC-12 tournament. pic.twitter.com/cCjad56t6m
— Jack Smith 🎙 (@jacksmithpxp) January 15, 2023
STANFORD HADN'T LOST A PAC-12 GAME IN TWO YEARS
TIM-BERRRRRR! #USC chops down the tall Trees of Tara VanDerveer, giving Stanford its first #Pac12 loss since January 22, 2021. Lindsay Gottlieb had the perfect plan. https://t.co/nsnvUxUpPQ
— USC Trojans Wire (@TrojansWire) January 16, 2023
YOU CAN SEE HOW MUCH THIS MEANT
VICTORY SCENES! ✌️ pic.twitter.com/p7Tr26n7gL
— USC Women's Basketball (@USCWBB) January 16, 2023
LINDSAY GOTTLIEB ADDRESSES HER TEAM
“You guys did it. We did this. Let’s keep going.”
YES COACH! ✌️ pic.twitter.com/YmOqga9z44
— USC Women's Basketball (@USCWBB) January 16, 2023
PAC-12 STANDINGS
Pac-12 WBB thru Sunday
Stanford/Utah/Colorado 5-1
Arizona/Oregon 4-3
UCLA 4-2
USC/Washington State 3-3
Washington 2-4
Oregon State 2-5
Cal 1-5
ASU 0-7— jeffmetcalfe (@jeffmetcalfe) January 16, 2023
PAC-12 COULD GET 8 TEAMS IN THE 2023 NCAA WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT
Washington State WBB wins 85-84 (OT) over No. 21 Oregon … WSU now 13-4/3-3 Pac-12 … Oregon 13-5/4-3 … third Pac-12 win this season by unranked team over ranked team
— jeffmetcalfe (@jeffmetcalfe) January 15, 2023
STREAK-BUSTER
Stanford had won 51 consecutive games against unranked opponents coming into today's game vs. USC.
That was the longest active streak in DI, and it ended tonight with a 55-46 loss.
h/t @ESPNStatsInfo
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) January 15, 2023
SIX YEARS
46 points marks the fewest points Stanford has scored in a game since Feb. 2017, when the then-No. 8 Cardinal lost to No. 10 Oregon State 50-47 @ESPNStatsInfo
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) January 15, 2023
"WE ARE BUILDING SOMETHING SPECIAL"
USC UPSETS NO. 2 STANFORD
Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb: “We are building something special.”
Final: USC 55, Stanford 46 pic.twitter.com/7386IpZn5o
— Isabel Gonzalez (@cisabelg) January 16, 2023
POSTGAME PRESSER
A week ago the Trojans suffered a painful loss against UCLA.
Today USC upset No. 2 Stanford. I asked head coach Lindsay Gottlieb what she told her team after each of those games. pic.twitter.com/xojVt6RNH8
— Isabel Gonzalez (@cisabelg) January 16, 2023
THE PAIN BEFORE THE GAIN
USC women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Gottlieb:
“If a loss hurts like this, then you’re doing some things right.” pic.twitter.com/W6E2gRk0lR
— Isabel Gonzalez (@cisabelg) January 9, 2023
LINCOLN RILEY NOTICED
Great job ladies!!!!✌️@USCWBB @CoachLindsayG https://t.co/1W0q4Noiev
— Lincoln Riley (@LincolnRiley) January 16, 2023
USC BEAT STANFORD WITHOUT ITS TOP SCORER
Kadi Sissoko, USC's leading scorer at 16.4 ppg, has energy that does not stop. Practice goes late, there's conditioning and she's still out here getting shots in. pic.twitter.com/yl9Nxw7Wcg
— Haley Sawyer (@haleymsawyer) December 14, 2022
NOTABLE: USC LOST TO TEXAS, MEANING ALL 4 USC LOSSES ARE TO RANKED TEAMS
USC, the team of the week, upset Stanford to finally shake up the top of ESPN's women's college basketball Power Rankings.
And after falling out in mid-November, Texas is back. Oklahoma, Michigan and North Carolina are also ranked this week. https://t.co/QNs1j9uTDJ
— ESPN Women's Hoops (@ESPN_WomenHoop) January 16, 2023
FURTHER READING
USC uses defense to upset No. 2 Stanford https://t.co/i7aVBWdZp2
— O.C. Register (@ocregister) January 16, 2023
MORE NOTES
That win in 2008 was against #2 Stanford. It snaps Stanford's 32 game #Pac12WBB conference win streak & 39 game win streak against #Pac12 opponents. Both were 3rd longest each in conference history.
It's also USC's lowest FG% in a win on record & Stanford's fewest PT since 2016 https://t.co/11MckoYThj
— Greg Mroz (@GregDMroz) January 16, 2023
DEFENSE REALLY HELD THE FORT
#USC is just 3 for its last 16 and hasn't made a FG in more than six minutes, but the Trojans' defense continues to hold the lead…for now.
They lead No. 2 #Stanford, 47-41, with 2:27 remaining.
— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) January 15, 2023
FULL BOX SCORE
.@USCWBB with tenacious defense stuns #2 Stanford 55-46
Destiny Littleton 18pts/4rebs/6asts
Okako Adika 11pts/11rebs#ncaaw pic.twitter.com/RH7c9GklmM— Hoopfeed.com 🏀 (@hoopfeed) January 15, 2023
