Women’s conference tournament briefing: Does USC deserve a No. 1 seed after Pac-12 thriller?

Throughout her college career, Caitlin Clark has made a habit of doing things no one has ever seen before. In the Big Ten quarterfinals against Penn State, Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder saw something completely new from her star guard. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her miss 11 3s in a row,” she said. “And that could probably include practice and everything else. I’ve never seen that.”

Yes, Clark, the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer, didn’t make a 3-pointer until 8:41 remained in the game. She missed her first 11 attempts. But of course, when Clark did hit her first triple, she made history. With 164 3-pointers, she has more treys in a season than any other NCAA scorer — male or female — passing former Davidson star Stephen Curry and former Liberty guard Darius McGhee.

Five Hawkeyes scored in double figures in Iowa’s 33-point victory.

Around the country, Friday’s slate was full of more intrigue, including a night cap in Las Vegas.

USC has earned a No. 1 seed

LAS VEGAS — At shootaround Friday, the Trojans coaching staff had the number 1 on the brain – not containing UCLA point guard Kiki Rice (who wears jersey No. 1), but whether the results of the day could put them in position for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. USC was the eighth overall seed in the latest Top 16 reveal, but Virginia Tech and Ohio State have both lost twice since then, and the Trojans just collected a top-five win — one that happened to come against their chief competitors for that spot.

In the Los Angeles rubber match, USC edged UCLA by the slimmest of margins, prevailing in double overtime despite trailing by four with a minute to play in overtime, not to mention blowing a 16-point lead in the first half. The Trojans and Bruins both have legitimate cases to be on the top line, but with the 80-70 victory, USC has won the season series over UCLA and has a chance to collect one more marquee win over Stanford in the Pac-12 championship game.

No. 5 USC tops No. 7 UCLA in 2OT thriller to advance to #Pac12WBB Tournament Champ Game ✌️ @Vegas pic.twitter.com/oFeh5DgLaF

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 9, 2024

Assuming the Cardinal have the best resume of any Pac-12 team for the NCAA Tournament, the Trojans and Bruins were also jockeying for regional location in this game. The top four teams in the conference have to be placed in four separate regionals, so if Stanford is the Pac-12’s best, it will get placed in the geographically-preferred regional of Portland. That means the second-place team – i.e., one of the L.A. schools – will get to play in Portland, while the other team gets sent to Albany. The decision isn’t set in stone; UCLA had a stronger nonconference schedule than USC, but the Trojans will end the season on a higher note with at least one victory over the Cardinal.

Winning the Pac-12 title game, a rematch of JuJu Watkins’ 51-point tour de force, would absolutely assure USC of a No. 1 seed. However, even with a loss Sunday, the Trojans have done enough to make their case. — Sabreena Merchant

Turnover issues? Lack of effort? Or just a coach’s rant?

Louisville coach Jeff Walz was ejected in the final minute of the Cardinals’ 77-68 loss to Notre Dame in the ACC tournament quarterfinals on Friday. His postgame comments were, let’s call it, animated. After Louisville committed 20 turnovers, he ripped into his players’ effort.

“If you don’t give a sh— then it’s hard,” he said. “We think of new ways to turn the ball over. We have turned the ball over five straight games on an inbounds pass after a made basket. It’s special.” He facetiously suggested that fining a player $500 per turnover could lead to changes. “I’ll guarantee you we wouldn’t turn that thing over one time. They’d care,” he said. “But they get all this good stuff, it’s all great, but let’s make it pay for play. The game will get cleaned up, I promise you. Our game will get better.”

Cardinals players at the post-game news conference agreed on the importance of ball control — and playing with more spirit. “If we want to go deep in March, we know what we have to do,” guard Jayda Curry said. “We have to have some personal pride, some team pride, and listen to our coaches.”

After Louisville’s 77-68 loss to Notre Dame in the ACC Women’s Tournament Jeff Walz didn’t hold back when he was asked about his teams 20 TO’s…. many of those coming in the first half. @WHAS11 pic.twitter.com/FNa7YHXGCL

— Kent Spencer (@WHAS11Kent) March 8, 2024

One of the interesting facets of his rant is that Louisville, on the whole, isn’t turning the ball over that much more than it had in recent seasons. Throughout the regular season, the Cardinals averaged 15.5 turnovers per game and an 18.4 percent turnover rate — both just over the national average. Last season, Louisville averaged 14.9 turnovers per game and recorded a 17.8 percent turnover rate. During the Cardinals’ recent run of success, they’ve experienced seasons, when they were among the nation’s best at not turning the ball over. In 2018-19, they ranked 12th nationally, averaging 12.1 turnovers per game. But even in 2017-2018, when Louisville advanced to the Final Four, the Cardinal averaged 13.6 turnovers per game, ranking 60th nationally.

Perhaps all of that is why, despite their 20-turnover, 9-assist performance on Friday, Walz added that he thought this season’s team could still reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. He’s coached the Cardinals since 2007, leading them to the Sweet 16 or beyond in 12 seasons. Louisville (24-9) is projected as an NCAA Tournament lock, possibly drawing a No. 6 seed.

“Once you get (to the Sweet 16), anything can happen,” Walz said. “Anything can happen. It’s who’s playing the best that night and then what crew you’ve got on the game.”  — Ben Pickman

What’s Virginia Tech’s ceiling without Kitley?

Virginia Tech, the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament, overcame the absence of star center Elizabeth Kitley to beat Miami 55-47 in the quarterfinals.. But the Hokies looked drastically different with Kitley sidelined due a knee injury.

Leading up to Friday’s game, coach Kenny Brooks said Virginia Tech had to figure out what to run offensively. He estimated around 75 to 80 percent of the Hokies’ plays involve the three-time ACC Player of the Year. Without her, even more of Virginia Tech’s offense revolved around star guard Georgia Amoore, who struggled in the first half before scoring 23 of her 27 points in the final 20 minutes. Virginia Tech took just eight shots at the rim, per CBB Analytics, four fewer attempts than it averaged in the regular season. The Hokies struggled in the paint, making only 5 of their 14 attempts. Shooting 5-of-26 from 3-point range again — that’s unlikely to occur again with or without Kitley —didn’t help either, but without her against Miami, the Hokies unquestionably missed the post threat

Brooks said that Kitley will miss the remainder of the conference tournament, but he noted that her rehab is going well. He said she will be evaluated next week, which will help determine her availability for the NCAA Tournament. Virginia Tech is focused on making an NCAA Tournament run — like last season’s Final Four campaign — more than the ACC tournament, Brooks said. But their outlook will shift dramatically if Kitley is inactive or not close to 100 percent. Virginia Tech plays Notre Dame on Saturday at noon ET. — Ben Pickman

How far will Ohio State fall?

When the NCAA Tournament selection committee’s late February ranking came out, Ohio State had just rattled off its 15th-consecutive win and secured the outright Big Ten regular season title. So, it wasn’t a huge surprise to see the Buckeyes as the No. 2 overall seed behind South Carolina.

Since then? They dropped their regular-season finale at Iowa and lost their opening Big Ten tournament game to Maryland. So, they’re going to drop on Selection Sunday. The only question is, how far?

Certainly, off the top line. Ohio State definitely won’t fall out of the top 16 overall seeds, so Buckeyes’ fans can rest assured they can head to The Schott two more times this season. Ohio State is ranked seventh in the NET ratings and has the nation’s 20th best strength of schedule. The Buckeyes lost only five games this season — three to opponents ranked in the top 15 of the NET — and only two of those losses came by 10 or more points.

Other conference tournaments still need to shake out. But I predict we see Ohio State receive an overall seed between seven and nine — a lower No. 2 seed or higher No. 3 seed, which ultimately, is splitting hairs in terms of bracket placement and path to the Final Four. But maybe with this extra fuel added to their fire, the Buckeyes might look even more ready to make that run than a week ago.  — Chantel Jennings

Numbers to know

20: Georgetown beat Xavier 62-40 on Friday in the first round of the Big East tournament. The Hoyas, who finished the regular season in the 91st percentile of defensive rating (up from the 61st percentile last year), held the Musketeers to only 2 points in the third quarter to blow open the game. With the win, the Hoyas picked up their 20th victory on the year — the first time since 2011-12 that they’ve hit that mark. The Hoyas have struggled in the decade-plus since, recording just three winning seasons.

Because of their nonconference resumé, the Hoyas will almost certainly need to win the Big East tournament to make the field of 68. But they have taken major strides forward this season. They’ve done so in a season that began after coach Tasha Butts died of breast cancer, and the Hoyas showed incredible resilience and a motivation to honor her. Georgetown will play St. John’s on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. ET.

15: In the 22 total Pac-12 tournaments, Stanford has won 15. Only one other program in the conference, Oregon, has even won two titles. Now, the Cardinal have a chance to capture their 16th — and potentially final — Pac-12 crown. They made it this far, fittingly, by erasing a 16-point first-half deficit against Oregon State in the tournament semifinal.

Upcoming

Games to watch on Saturday:

UConn vs. Providence, Big East quarterfinals | 12 p.m. ET | FS1

Notre Dame vs. Virginia Tech, ACC semifinals | 12 p.m. ET | ACCN

TCU vs. Oklahoma, Big 12 quarterfinals | 2:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+

Tennessee vs. South Carolina, SEC semifinals | 4:30 p.m. ET | ESPNU

Iowa vs. Michigan, Big Ten semifinals | 4:30 p.m. ET | BTN

Stanford vs. USC, PAC-12 finals | 5 p.m. ET Sunday | ESPN

Required Reading

• Sabreena Merchant writes about the Pac-12’s sendoff and lasting memories.

• After bowing out of the SEC tournament, Mississippi State might find itself outside the field of 68.

• Colorado fell to Oregon State in a double-overtime thriller and now may no longer host an NCAA Tournament game.

(Photo of McKenzie Forbes: Candice Ward / Getty Images)