Bronny James will continue to play off the bench for USC as they open conference play at Oregon on Thursday. James has been limited to 16 minutes a game due to his ongoing recovery from heart surgery. Additionally, his talent level compared to the Trojan starting five is also a factor. Despite the idea that James would play as a 3-and-D anchor, he is 30% from three and 33.3% from the field. Some USC writers have argued that James was never meant to be a prolific scorer. However, most agree that 5 points a game isn’t going to cut it.
Entering conference play, the Trojans are 6-5, having ended a three-game slide with a win over Alabama State. Despite being projected to finish second in the Pac-12, USC struggled immensely across their non-conference slate and will need to address some serious issues if they want to live up to expectations come March.
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Bronny James Falters While JuJu Watkins Soars
While James has been underwhelming in his return, the true freshman success story can be found in USC’s women’s team. Juju Watkins, the No. 1 recruit in the 2023 class, has been absolutely electric to start her college career. Watkins is second in the nation in scoring with 26.8 points per game. Her contributions were a major contributor to USC’s undefeated non-conference slate. The 10-0 run included a season-opening win over then-No. 7 Ohio State and has seen USC enter conference played ranked No. 6 in the nation.
However, the start of the Pac-12 slate brings with it USC’s toughest game yet. On Saturday, they face No. 2 UCLA in a game that could easily be a deciding factor in the regular-season title race. The Bruins are 11-0 and have notched ranked wins over UConn, Florida State, and Ohio State. Sophomore transfer Lauren Betts is having a huge breakout after seeing limited freshman minutes at Stanford. Betts also has the nation’s best shooting percentage, as the center is sinking 77.1% of her shots. However, UCLA also has the second-worst turnover rate in the Pac-12, something that could be key to a USC upset this weekend.
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