ONE-TWO PUNCH Trojans' No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament is their first since 1986
No. 2-seeded Bruins to host Cal Baptist in NCAA Tournament
LOS ANGELES >> Lindsay Gottlieb gripped Rayah Marshall's shoulder as they watched the live feed of ESPN's NCAA Tournament bracket coverage Sunday, visibly white-knuckled, freshman JuJu Watkins a few seats down bouncing her legs anxiously.
“I'm so nervous,” Gottlieb told Marshall.
“I was like, `Geezy, relax!'” Marshall said. “You that girl.”
And then USC's name was announced as a 1-seed on the television in front of them, and a watch party at the Galen Center erupted, chills racing across center Marshall's body.
“I was just like, `Oh my gosh,' ” Marshall said, smiling. “`This is real.' ”
Fitting, truly, that Gottlieb would
LOS ANGELES >> The UCLA women's basketball team was awarded a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, the highest seed in program history.
“We would have of course loved to have been the No. 1 seed, but being a No. 2 is the highest seed in program history,” coach Cori Close told reporters after the bracket reveal. “So just wrap your mind around that. And we're still a very young team in a lot of ways. And so I feel thrilled.”
The Bruins will host No. 15 seed Cal Baptist in the first round of the Albany Regional 2 on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion. The Lancers are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
UP NEXT USC: vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Regional 3in Portland, first round at Galen Center, Saturday, 1:30 p.m., ESPN UCLA: vs. Cal Baptist, Regional 2in Albany, first round at Pauley Pavillion, Saturday, 6:30 p.m., ESPN2 Inside: Men's and women's NCAA Tournament brackets and more March Madness coverage.