Tag Archives: USC

2024 Women’s March Madness Preview

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By: Lily Smith

Lily Smith is a first-year undergraduate at BGSU from Oregon, Ohio. She is majoring in Sport Management with a Marketing minor. 

March 11, 2024

OVERVIEW

The NCAA only started calling the women’s tournament “March Madness” in 2022. However, this year has further proved that March is really full of Madness when it comes to women’s basketball. There has been such growth in the sport, and coverage of it, rightfully so. Here is an overview of four of the top teams on the AP Top 25 list. 

SOUTH CAROLINA

Caption: Kamilla Cardoso prepares for free throw.

South Carolina’s record increases to 32-0 after this past weekend’s SEC Tournament win over LSU. This win places them in the coveted spot of top overall seed. The Gamecocks are led by senior center Kamilla Cardoso who averages 14 points per game, and 9.5 rebounds. There isn’t much to hear about one single player, but more of a team effort play-style works best for the Gamecocks. Head coach Dawn Staley leads a tough team that’s looking for a third National Championship win under her coaching. 

STANFORD

Caption: Cameron Brink with Stanford in 2022

Stanford takes the #1 spot in the Pac-12 placing them at 4th in the AP Top 25. Junior forward Kiki Iriafen leads the team in scoring averaging 18.6 points per game. Senior forward, Cameron Brink leads in rebounds, with about 12 per game. With these two powerhouses, the Cardinal are looking for a long tournament run. Long time head coach Tara VanDerveer is in her 35th season with the Cardinal, and is looking for her 4th National Championship with the team. 

IOWA

Caption: Caitlin Clark will move on to WNBA

Iowa has had a ton of attention this season due to the success of Hawkeye superstar, Caitlin Clark. She leads the team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. Clark recently declared for the WNBA draft after this season.  The Hawkeyes are 29-4 overall, and ranked 2nd in the AP Top 25. Iowa just won the Big Ten championship taking down Nebraska. Many people are looking forward to seeing Clark and her Hawkeyes shine during March Madness. 

USC

Juju Watkins averages 27 points per game

The Trojans are reaching new heights, achieving the best ranking in 38 years. USC is 3rd in the Top 25, and took down Stanford for the Pac-12 title. With a record of 26-5, the Trojans are led in scoring by freshman guard, Juju Watkins averaging 27 points per game. Rayah Marshall is leading the Trojans in rebounds with 10.5 per game. Watkins and Marshall make for a hard-to- beat team especially in later tournament play. Fresh off of a Pac-12 title win “So-Cal” is hungry for a Final Four Spot. 

EVEN MORE TO WATCH

These top four are projected to do well, obviously, but there are always upsets and shockers within March Madness. I believe that makes it all the more fun to follow. With Selection Sunday coming up this weekend on March 17th, the true stories of the road to the 2024 Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament are soon to come out. 

Some more teams to look out for Mississippi State, projected to be the last team into the tournament. The last byes of the tournament are most likely to go to Michigan, Miami, Auburn and Marquette. These last couple teams are always teams to look out for. There is almost always a team that comes from what seems like out of nowhere and continues to stun everyone. 

Overreaction to Lane Kiffin Firing

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BY KIA TYUS

It seems like the University of Southern California (USC) finally did what everyone was waiting for and fired Lane Kiffin, causing a media up roar. But my question is, did the media perpetuate Kiffin as an awful coach that should have been fired long ago?

When Kiffin became coach at USC, they were ranked number one in the nation. They were one of the very few teams that were unranked by the end of the season.

After a 62-41 loss to Arizona State, Kiffin was fired by athletic director Pat Haden as the team returned home.

There have been many former players as well as future prospects that have given their input on Kiffin’s firing. Former USC cornerback Terrell Thomas claims that he still loves Kiffin but is glad they are looking for a new coach stating, “It’s about time.”

The media focused only on the negative portions of Thomas’s comments making it seem like former players didn’t respect him as a coach.

Snoop Dogg’s son, Cordell Broadus, made a comment on his twitter about how Kiffin was not leading the team in the right direction. Broadus is currently the number six-ranked wide receiver in California.

The media said because of his firing, USC will now have a higher chance at recruiting top prospects because of Kiffin’s firing. The media made it seem like USC had no chance of recruiting high prospects because the future prospects didn’t want to play under Kiffin.

Rumor has it that Kiffin may lose his house because USC loaned Kiffin 500 thousand dollars. Should schools even be allowed to loan money to coaches?

What is Kiffin’s response to all of this? Kiffin has fully accepted blame for the poor play of USC. While it was very hard for him to have his job taken away, he stated, “Pat has a very hard job…at the same time it was hard to deal with the sanctions and reduced roster.” 

In my opinion, the media was too hard on Kiffin. I feel as though they made it seem like Kiffin was the sole reason for USC’s fall. The media seems to have forgotten all the things that go into a winning team. USC has other coaches. You don’t hear anything about the defensive coordinator. 

Many players have probably given up on the current season because they know they will not get into a good bowl game. Kiffin does not make every call and it is up to the players to complete each play. I guess as a head coach, Kiffin had to take responsibility for everyone’s failure.