JuJu Watkins injury update: USC star clears the air after limping scare in March Madness raises concern

There were a couple of scary moments for JuJu Watkins and the USC Trojans in their opening-round 71-25 victory over the UNC Greensboro Spartans this Saturday. While the game was never in doubt, Watkins came up gimpy, sounding the alarm for Southern California fans.

After the game, the Trojans’ star guard talked about her health and offered some soothing news to USC fans across the country.

“I don’t know (what happened). I think it’s the end of the season, (my) body’s a little banged up, but on to the next. Nobody really cares,” JuJu Watkins said (1:41).

The first injury concern came in the second quarter when she clutched her hand after a fall. Watkins did not leave the court and massaged her hand by herself while in the game.

Then, in the third quarter, JuJu Watkins appeared to roll her ankle while driving to the basket. The Southern Cal player would leave the court at that moment and missed the last three-plus minutes of the period before going back in at the start of the fourth.

She remained in the game until coach Lindsay Gottlieb pulled the starters with 6:18 left in the game. Watkins played a total of 28 minutes, seven below her season average. With USC off to such a large lead, there was no need to risk an injury.

The sophomore still finished the night with a game-high 22 points on 8-for-17 shooting. She added eight rebounds, two assists, and three steals for the Trojans.

JuJu Watkins, USC overcome shaky start

Despite the lopsided score, the USC Trojans struggled offensively early on against UNC Greensboro. The Trojans only scored 12 points in the opening quarter and ended up shooting 37.5% from the field and 21.4% from beyond the arc.

Part of the blame could be attributed to the long layoff between the conference tournament, which was played nearly two weeks ago, and the national tourney.

“I don’t think it’s frustration, it’s just knowing we could be better. Like Kiki (Iriafen) said, we had some rust to get off so hopefully that's all done with, and we can really head into this next matchup with our best versions of ourselves," JuJu Watkins said.

Watkins and Irafen (13 points) were the only USC players in double digits. However, the Trojans picked u the slack defensively, limiting UNC Greensboro to 13% from the field

Top-seeded USC will face the ninth-seeded Mississippi State Bulldogs on Monday for a spot in the Sweet 16. The Bulldogs defeated Cal 59-46 on Saturday.