Iowa star Lucy Olsen excitedly looks forward to "crazy" matchup between the Hawkeyes and JuJu Watkins' USC

Iowa women's basketball star Lucy Olsen expressed her excitement of a potential rematch against JuJu Watkins' USC in the NCAA Tournament. She talked about a rematch of the Hawkeyes' 76-69 upset win over the then-fourth-ranked Trojans in February on a podcast shared on Instagram by We Need to Talk.

Both teams are in the same region and won't be able to face each other until the Elite Eight, one step from the Final Four.

"Yeah, there are so many teams that made it to the tournament. USC, that would be exciting. I mean, that was a crazy game in general. So to play them again would be really cool," Olsen said.

Olsen led the scoring for Iowa, recording a game-high 28 points, shooting 10-for-18 on Feb. 2. She added four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Watkins finished with 27 points on 8-for-22 shooting, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Trojans from enduring their first loss in Big Ten play and their second defeat of the season.

The day also marked former Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark's No. 22 jersey retirement ceremony. Clark led the Hawkeyes to two back-to-back NCAA Tournament championship games. A three-time All-American, she won Naismith College Player of the Year, the Wooden Award and AP Player of the Year twice.

Lucy Olsen recalls what it's like to guard UConn's Paige Bueckers

Lucy Olsen is regarded as one of the best players in women's college basketball. Since transferring to Iowa for her final collegiate basketball season, Olsen has established herself as one of the most reliable players to get the job done for the Hawkeyes.

However, the former Villanova player is familiar with another Big East superstar: UConn's Paige Bueckers. In a Wednesday interview with USA Today Sports, Olsen discussed what it was like guarding Bueckers.

"She's definitely really good," Olsen said. "She was injured my first few years there. I feel like I only really played against her last year. She's really tough. I mean, they're a tough team in general, and, yeah, she's hard to guard."

Bueckers and Olsen faced off twice in the 2023-24 season, with UConn winning both games.

During their first matchup on Jan. 31, 2024, Bueckers scored 21 points, while Bueckers scored 15 in UConn's 81-60 victory. Their second encounter was on Feb. 28, during which UConn won 67-46. Bueckers scored a game-high 31 points, while Olsen only scored six, which was her lowest in the entire season.

Meanwhile, both players are expected to lead the charge for their teams in the NCAA Tournament. They are playing their final NCAA seasons before going pro.