“I’m all right. Don’t worry.” That’s what Juju Watkins said just days ago after shaking off an ankle scare in USC’s dominant 71-25 win over UNC Greensboro. But today, everything was far from alright. In the second round of March Madness, against Mississippi State, the unstoppable force of USC basketball met an unthinkable moment. One second, Watkins was flying down the court on a fast break; the next, she was crumpled on the hardwood. The Trojans’ title hopes rested on her shoulders—now, they hang in the balance.
According to a post on X by CJ Fogler, “Hoping this JuJu Watkins injury is not serious, this is the full-speed live cam.” The footage captured the devastating moment in real time—Watkins driving hard to the basket, Chandler Prater, #5 from Mississippi State stepping in, and a collision that sent her to the floor. The impact was immediate. Watkins clutched her right knee, pain etched across her face as teammates and medical staff sprinted to her side. The Galen Center, buzzing just seconds ago, fell deathly silent—its energy snatched away in an instant.

However, a foul was called on Prater with 4:43 left in the first quarter, and USC held a commanding 13-2 lead. But suddenly, the score seemed irrelevant to the USC faithful, who booed the rival team for the rest of the game. Watkins, the heartbeat of the Trojans, was carried off the floor, unable to put weight on her leg. She sat out for the rest of the game, leaving USC fans holding their breath. “JuJu Watkins was carried off the court just five minutes into the Trojans’ second-round game,” ESPN noted. Do you see the abruptness of it all?

USC’s official statement came swiftly at halftime: “

JuJu Watkins is being evaluated by USC Keck Medicine staff and will not return to competition in tonight’s NCAA Second Round game”. And post that, ESPN’s Holly Rowe delivered an update that’s mostly not a good sign: “We did see JuJu Watkins being wheeled out of the building. We’re believing she’s going to a tech medical center for further MRI imaging.” No MRI machine at Galen Center meant an off-site trip.

The night didn’t get any easier for the Trojans. In the second quarter, another scare rattled the team when guard Malia Samuels took a brutal fall on a layup attempt, her shoulder and head slamming against the court. Medical staff rushed over, and for a moment, it looked like USC’s night was about to go from bad to worse. Samuels signaled she was fine, disappearing into the locker room before making a gritty return minutes later.

On the court, the Trojans rallied, closing the first quarter with a 28-8 lead. But the mood remained somber.

“She’s getting seen by our great medical team,” Gottlieb told ESPN at halftime. “JuJu is the toughest kid I know and she’s gonna be good one way or another.” And that’s certainly true.

JuJu Watkins: Heavy minutes, injury history, and a March madness nightmare for USC

JuJu Watkins has been USC’s workhorse all season, averaging at least 34.8 minutes per game, according to ESPN. Before the match began, Holly Rowe had shared a positive update on the player who was expected to lead the charge while dealing with some minor injuries from before. “I’m happy to report that JuJu did everything in practice yesterday in a 90-minute practice, and she did everything today in shoot-around,” Rowe said. “She looks great. She’s ready to rock against Mississippi State.” Fans breathed a collect,/pive sigh of relief. Well, little did they know.

There are no ifs and buts about the fact that she has been pushed a lot this season. After her previous ankle scare against UNC Greensboro, head coach Lindsay Gottlieb acknowledged the same, saying, “We’re fortunate that we were able to sit everybody, all the starters, down with about 6:30 to go…JuJu probably hasn’t played under 30 minutes in about a month and a half, or whatever, because the Big Ten season is hard. So I think we earned the right to be in a game where we can rest some people somewhat.”

Yet, she still led the game with 22 points and eight rebounds in just 28 minutes- seven fewer than her season average of 35. Postgame, she shrugged the injury off, saying, “You know, the end-of-the-season knickknacks. Small things, maintenance things, but regardless, nobody cares, so just continue to do what I do.” That’s JuJu—tough as nails, who ripped off her wrist wrap mid-play after missing a layup attempt.
While Watkins has largely avoided major injuries this season, she did suffer an ankle roll in USC’s commanding 88-30 victory over Elon University in December 2024. In total, she’s faced three minor injury scares this year. But this latest knee injury? This one feels different. With USC on the verge of a deep March Madness run, the Trojans now face a brutal reality: their championship dreams could be slipping away at the worst possible time.