JuJu Watkins drops 1-word reaction while cheering for USC vs Kansas State

Modified Mar 30, 2025 03:39 GMT

NCAA Womens Basketball: NCAA Tournament Second Round USC-Mississippi State - Source: Imagn

JuJu Watkins' USC Trojans booked their Elite Eight berth on Saturday after defeating Kansas State, 67-61. The guard was cheering for her team from the comfort of her home as she is sidelined with a season-ending ACL tear.

With Watkins out and Kiki Iriafen struggling, it was the freshman duo of Kennedy Smith and Avery Howell who stepped up for the Trojans as they combined for 37 points in the victory.

Sharing a picture of her TV playing the second half of the USC vs Kansas State game to her Instagram story, Watkins wrote:

"LFGGGG #FTFO ❤️."

JuJu Watkins supporting USC (Image Credit: Instagram/@jujuballin)

JuJu Watkins went down in the first quarter of the 2025 NCAA Tournament second-round tip-off against Mississippi State on Monday. She played five minutes with three points and two assists.

Watkins was carried off the court and to the locker room. It was later revealed to be an ACL tear, with the guard set to undergo surgery and rehabilitation soon.

JuJu Watkins wrapped her sophomore season averaging 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists. As a freshman, she led the Trojans to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1994. But USC lost to the UConn Huskies, who advanced to Final Four.

This year, the Trojans and the Huskies will have a rematch of last year's game as they are set to battle for the Final Four spot on Friday. UConn defeated Oklahoma 82-59 in the Sweet 16 game on Saturday.

USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb defends Bulldogs player after JuJu Watkins's injury

Mississippi State player Chandler Prater was subjected to online harassment as she was guarding JuJu Watkins during the unfortunate injury. Fans accused her of dirty play and intentionally fouling the guard.

During the pregame presser on Friday, USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb defended Prater.

"There was nothing to me that looked like it had any intent to hurt her. ... I mean, that's not a USC view at all," Gottlieb said. "It was a physical game. ... No one deserves online bullying in any realm, but certainly not a young woman in Chandler, who was trying to make a play, and unfortunately, our player got hurt."

Gottlieb addressed fans directly, saying:

"We have really passionate fans, and there's a lot of love for JuJu. I understand people being sad and hurt that she's hurt, but nobody in our camp feels like there was any type of attack on her and would not support any type of online bullying or things of that nature.

"She's a young person that was playing basketball too and I'm sure did not want any part of a negative situation that it turned out to be."

Watkins' injury has seen an intense output of support from many stars in the basketball community.

About the author

Ruth is a College Sports writer at Sportskeeda with over two years of experience reporting for multiple publications. Ruth values thorough research while reporting and leaves nothing for assumption, emphasizing the ethics needed to write about the human aspect of a player. She is an expert in profiling and giving fans a peek into their favorite players outside of the sport.

Ruth has reported for The Covai Mail and worked for Anandha Vikatan as a press correspondent. She has a master's degree in English, which influenced her journey into writing, and her love for sports was mainly due to watching it while growing up. Ruth enjoys college sports as much as the NBA and NFL because of the dedicated fan-following college programs have.

The South Carolina Gamecocks are her favorite college program, and she considers them the definition of rising from the ashes. Their coach, Dawn Staley, is Ruth’s favorite coach of all time because of how she built the culture in the program and the camaraderie in her squad. Jared McCain and Angel Reese are her favorite players for being unapologetically themselves. Ruth also admires Caitlin Clark for being one of the best and yet staying humble and holding herself high.

Ruth likes to watch interior design shows on Netflix or travel vlogs on YouTube when not reporting. Her favorite College Sports moment of all time was when Angel Reese blocked a shot with an untied shoe in her hand.

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Edited by Brad Taningco