USC women's basketball wasn't spectacular but did more with less
Without JuJu Watkins, it was always going to be hard for USC to make a deep March run. A second-round result is very good, all things considered
No team -- in basketball or any other sport -- begins a season believing it can't do something big. There is a realistic awareness of what is likely, but every team tries to shoot for the moon. You never know when a last-place team in one year might somehow catch fire the next season and surprise everyone.
It has happened. USC women's basketball didn't want to limit itself entering a season without JuJu Watkins. Where could this team go?
Early wins over NC State, Cal and Washington offered hope that maybe this team could surprise everyone. It seemed for a period of time -- especially after the Washington win and then the Nebraska win a few weeks later -- that USC might transcend preseason expectations. However, we all knew -- and the coaching staff knew -- the margin for error was slim to none.
Any small -- or big -- inconvenience could gum up the works. Sure enough, Kennedy Smith missed three games in the middle of the Big Ten season. USC lost those games.