It seems like the WNBA title game on October 20 did not generate enough noise to reach the NCAA. The foul controversy called for a more serious check on refereeing from Cheryl Reeve and Co. when the NY Liberty picked their first-ever championship against the Lynx. But USC’s very first game of the season has already seen JuJu Watkins become the recipient of a seemingly bad call.

The Trojans are head-to-head against the Ole Miss Rebels with Watkins exceeding expectations with her play. Racking up 16 points, six rebounds and two assists through the first 20 minutes, the sophomore is delivering on all expectations that her breakout freshman season led us to believe would be. But no one imagined a little trash talk would earn her a foul.

Watkins collided with Mississippi’s Kennedy Todd-Williams as she went to make a basket. Afterward, the USC player seemed to have a few words with the opposing player that the referees didn’t like. While even someone like Caitlin Clark is a famous trash talker, with Watkins even having called her “a dawg” for it, the refs were not having it today and called it a technical foul.

Some thought it was bad for USC to get into trouble so early in the game, but for the most part, fans are lashing out at her being given the foul at all.

Basketball fans call for more freedom as JuJu Watkins gets fouled

Poor officiating can affect any sport at crucial moments, as the Lynx realized in their finals bout with the Liberty. While Minnesota thought it tasted bitter defeat because of refs making a bad call at a crucial moment, it was slightly different for Watkins and the Trojans.

And yet, the very first game of the season beginning with a technical perhaps doesn’t bode well. Fans are certainly not happy. “JuJu Watkins just picked up the weakest technical foul in basketball history,” one fan wrote. Another posted a video of the moment with the caption, “Women’s basketball is back and so are weak technical fouls JuJu Watkins is the first culprit.”

Although the third-ranked USC was expected to make an easy win against No. 20 Ole Miss, the scoreboard in the fourth quarter is proving otherwise. Watkins’ blocking was off center in the first half, the third of which earned her the foul; Kennedy Todd-Williams got a free throw, and while that may not make or break the game, the crowds were incensed. It did not seem like Watkins went overboard with her words, nor did she make any rude gestures.

Even USA Today’s Meghan Hall wrote, “Did they really give JuJu Watkins a tech for that?? That is… Okay. I’m gonna say it. Weak. It was a weak T.” Another supported the sophomore by revealing the situation at hand, “JuJu Watkins swats a shot and lets Kennedy Todd-Williams know about it afterwards, which earns Watkins a technical foul.”

What’s even more interesting is that the 19-year-old received a bloody nose in the latter part of the game as she walked around with plugs in her nostrils. “Somebody gave Juju Watkins a bloody nose,” a fan revealed with a shot of the player in question attached. But that was not called a foul for the Rebels, only igniting the fan fury more.

The Trojans, especially their star sophomore, are expected to win the conference by Big Ten media and coaches and go further than the Elite Eight this season. While last year was already a huge upgrade since JuJu Watkins helped lead USC to their first Elite Eight appearance since 1994, the addition of former Stanford forward Kiki Iriafen and Oregon State guard Talia von Oelhoffen should make them even better. Given that they don’t pick up more unnecessary fouls, that is.