Iowa Legend Lisa Bluder picks JuJu Watkins' USC over Lauren Betts' UCLA for Big Ten glory

Legendary Iowa women's basketball coach Lisa Bluder picked the JuJu Watkins-led USC over Lauren Betts and the UCLA for the Big Ten Tournament title. Bluder made the pick in an interview with NBC Sports' Ellie Whittington before the Iowa-Wisconsin first-round clash on Wednesday at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The Hawkeyes coaching legend, who guided the team to two national championship final appearances in 2023 and 2024 along with NCAA Division I all-time scoring leader Caitlin Clark, stressed that the JuJu Watkins-led squad is the best team in the conference.

"I have to go with USC," Bluder told Whittington. "I know that's kind of a boring one, but I mean, just because I think that's who everybody's picking. But I do think they're probably the best team."

Bluder, who has a Division I coaching record of 716-359 (per sports-reference.com), may have likely based her pick on USC's success over UCLA this season.

The Women of Troy (26-2, 17-1) were the only team to beat the Bruins (27-2, 16-2) this season and both of their victories were by double-digit margins, negating the Lauren Betts-led team's superiority this season.

JuJu Watkins was unstoppable during those wins, averaging 34.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 5.5 blocks.

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Iowa legend Lisa Bluder admits missing coaching

Iowa legendary coach Lisa Bluder admitted she misses the coaching profession, especially at this time of the season, where teams are battling hard to make it to the NCAA Tournament.

"It's very strange. I got through the year really well," Bluder told Ellie Whittington. "But being here and the adrenaline of a tournament and what that means and this, you know, it's March and that time of year, everybody loves that time of year. So it just makes you miss it a little bit."

The Hawkeyes icon, who was in the arena to watch the Iowa-Wisconsin Big Ten Conference first-round duel, is picking her former team to win over Wisconsin due to their winning record against the Badgers and how the team is performing under the leadership of new coach Jan Jensen.

"It's going to be fun to watch Iowa. I'm so happy for Jan and everything that she's doing with the team. And you know. I recruited these women, so I want them to do well," she said.

The winner of the Iowa-Wisconsin duel will meet sixth-ranked Michigan State on Thursday night right after the game between Illinois and Nebraska.