Spokane regional: No. 1 seed USC finds itself playing underdog against perennial power UConn

On Monday night, Spokane basketball fans will get the Elite Eight matchup they dreamed of when the NCAA brackets were revealed two weeks ago.

Well, sort of.

Just as the committee drew it up, top-seeded USC and No. 2 seed Connecticut will play for the Spokane Region 4 title and a spot in the Final Four.

But USC isn’t the same team without star JuJu Watkins, while UConn is playing better than anyone else in the tournament.

The media experts surely see it that way.

Three days ago, ESPN ranked the Huskies (34-3) the best squad in the Sweet 16, and that was before Paige Bueckers went off for a career-high 40 points as UConn beat Oklahoma by 23 in the first game of a double-header Saturday at the Arena.

Two hours later, USC took the nightcap by an unconvincing 67-61 margin over Kansas State. That night, oddsmakers made the Trojans 13½-point underdogs – surely some sort of dubious NCAA record for a top-seed team.

“We understand that they’re a great team,” USC senior forward Kiki Iriafen said at Sunday morning’s media conference.

“They’re kind of playing at their best right now, and we’re losing a huge piece,” Iriafen said of the Huskies, who have won their three tournament games by an average of 42 points.

“But I think for us, when there’s a will, there’s a way,” Iriafen said.

USC has tangible willpower, including the confidence built from a regular-season win at UConn earlier this year, and their gritty, defense-driven win over KSU.

The Trojans (31-3) also have something more tangible: a trio of fearless freshmen who filled the void left by Watkins’ ACL injury.

All three made a major impact on Saturday. Kennedy Smith had a team-high 19 points on 7-for-14 shooting, plus four steals. Avery Howell knocked down 6 of her 11 shots, including four 3-pointers to finish with 18 points. Kayleigh Heckel came off the bench to add eight points while making plays on defense.

The Trojans have one more asset, said Iriafen, who averages 18 points and 8.4 rebounds. “We’ll have a great game plan to guard them. And I think we really pride ourselves on our defense, and that’s something we’ve been great at.”

“So I think it will be a great game for us, but we’re definitely coming with a lot of confidence,” Iriafen said.

So did Oklahoma, which led by four points at halftime and held Bueckers scoreless in the second quarter.

But the senior All-American took over in the second half and at one point scored 19 straight fourth-quarter points.

For that, she credited a verbal assist from UConn Coach Geno Auriemma.

After the game, Bueckers spoke to some of the criticism she received from Auriemma during the game.

“He got on me pretty hard this game,” Bueckers said. “But just the confidence he has in order to keep believing and just keep instilling that confidence with us, the team, with every individual.

“We have all worked extremely hard,” Bueckers said. “He challenges us in ways we didn’t know we could be challenged.”

The winner will face Region 1 champion UCLA in the Final Four on Friday in Tampa.