Is Kiki Iriafen playing tonight? Exploring USC star’s availability vs UCLA (March 1)

Kiki Iriafen is one of the key offensive contributors for the No. 4 ranked USC Trojans. Iriafen is a do-it-all forward who can get the ball into the basket at a startling clip. She's averaging the most points on the team after JuJu Watkins.

Iriafen has been sensational in her first season with the Trojans, and she's looking to close out her collegiate basketball career with a national championship. However, first she must help her side to a win over a stacked UCLA Bruins team.

With that in mind, let's see her availability for Saturday's must-win game.

Is Kiki Iriafen playing tonight?

Kiki Iriafen is playing in Saturday's game against the UCLA Bruins. The star forward enters tonight's matchup without an injury designation.

Hence, barring any unfortunate occurrences, Iriafen will start in the frontcourt for the Trojans. The only way she'd miss tonight's game is if she suffers an injury in the warm-up for the contest.

Iriafen has been there for the Trojans since she transferred from fellow collegiate basketball powerhouse the Stanford Cardinal. She has appeared in all 27 games this season as a starter.

What to expect from Kiki Iriafen and the USC Trojans vs the UCLA Bruins

The USC Trojans recruited Kiki Iriafen hoping she'd level up their front court offense, and the LA-born star has done just that. Iriafen has proven to be an asset on defense rather than a mere offensive cornerstone.

Iriafen is averaging 18.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 29.3 minutes of action. She is doing this as the clear second option scorer behind NCAA superstar JuJu Watkins.

Hence, expect Iriafen to enter tonight's game with a chip on her shoulder. She'll want to secure the Big Ten title with the W and enter the postseason with loads of confidence.

As for the game's outlook, expect both teams to give it their all. There will be an array of WNBA lottery caliber players on the hardwood including but not limited to Iriafen, Watkins and UCLA star center Lauren Betts. Tonight's game has all the makings of a regular season classic.