USC HC Lindsay Gottlieb expresses feeling “disrespected” despite JuJu Watkins and co getting 1st seed on Selection Sunday

USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb voiced her frustrations over what she feels is a lack of respect for her team by the Selection Sunday committee. In the video posted by "We Need To Talk" on Monday, Gottlieb expresses that the Trojans' resume was not given the credit it deserves.

The University of Southern California was granted its second consecutive No. 1 seed for the first time since 1982-84. Gottlieb's question stems from the No. 4 overall stature of her program.

"I'd never thought I'd be a one seed and feel disrespected but I thought the committee had..," she said. "I thought there would be very little chance we would be the No. 4 overall No. 1. So, we got a big game here on Saturday against UNC G (Greensboro) and we'll handle it accordingly.

UCLA was granted the overall No. 1 spot while defending champions South Carolina and Texas took the remaining slots. The Trojans handed the Bruins their only two losses of the season but failed to do so in the conference championship.

Nevertheless, Lindsay Gottlieb also pointed a finger at USC's allotted bracket, questioning the fairness in the NCAA committee's decision-making.

"You tell me f you think that bracket that we got should have been the one that it was ... This was not on my bingo card to be a little bit frustrated after being a No. 1 seed. It's not an arrogance of any kind ... sometimes I don't understand people that make decisions in women's basketball and why they do what they do ... I would certainly love to ask questions."

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What's next for Lindsay Gottlieb and the USC Trojans?

USC might not have a desired spot on the bracket but they will be in front of local fans for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. They will first exercise the home-court advantage on Saturday against No. 16 UNC Greensboro Spartans.

Upon winning, Lindsay Gottlieb's team will play either No. 9 Mississippi State Bulldogs or No. 8 California Golden Bears at the Galen Center on Monday.

Southern California marked an Elite Eight appearance as a No. 1 bid last season, losing to Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies. The current bracketology can potentially pit them against Geno Auriemma's team once again. However, the team is better prepared this time around.

Alongside the heroics of JuJu Watkins, Lindsay Gottlieb added the consistency of forward Kiki Iriafen from the transfer portal in the 2024 off-season.