NCAAW: Will JuJu Watkins take USC to the Big Ten Tournament title?

It’s March, and that means it’s time to go dancing. Before the big tourney begins, we first have to take care of conference tournaments, and the Big Ten Tournament kicks off on Wednesday, Mar. 5 in Indianapolis at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Conference realignment introduced new teams, rivals and competition in the Big Ten. In the end, five teams finished the regular season ranked in the AP Top 25, and USC won the regular season title, defeating UCLA in the final game.

With USC ending up as the No. 2 ranked team in the country, thanks largely to the play of Big Ten Player of the Year JuJu Watkins, and UCLA sitting at the No. 4 spot due to the dominance of Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Betts, they will be the teams to beat this weekend. So far, the Bruins have only lost to the Trojans, and USC’s sole conference loss came at the hands of Iowa.

Before we get to see these two contenders get put to the test, we have to go through the opening rounds of action to see who they’ll be up against.

Can any team prevent an all-LA title game?

Given the single-elimination nature of tournaments, surprises can happen, and maybe one or two teams will shock us and eliminate the Los Angeles juggernauts. The best candidates for this are the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Maryland Terrapins.

Ohio State ended the year with a 13-5 conference record and is ranked No. 13 in the nation. Maryland is the No. 4 seed in this tournament and the last team given a bye for the first two rounds. They also went 13-5 in the Big Ten.

Big Ten Tournament schedule

All games will be played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN.

First round — Wednesday, Mar. 5

Game 1: No. 12 Washington vs. No. 13 Minnesota, 3:30 p.m. ET (Peacock)

Game 2: No. 10 Nebraska vs. No. 15 Rutgers, 25 minutes following Game 1 (Peacock)

Game 3: No. 11 Iowa vs. No. 14 Wisconsin, 25 minutes following Game 2 (Peacock)

Second round — Thursday, Mar. 6

Game 4: No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 9 Indiana, 12 p.m. ET (BTN)

Game 5: No. 5 Michigan vs. Game 1 winner, 25 minutes following Game 4 (BTN)

Game 6: No. 7 Illinois vs. Game 2 winner, 6:30 p.m. ET (BTN)

Game 7: No. 6 Michigan State vs. Game 3 winner, 25 minutes following Game 6 (BTN)

Quarterfinals — Friday, Mar. 7

Game 8: No. 1 USC vs. Game 4 winner, 12 p.m. ET (BTN)

Game 9: No. 4 Maryland vs. Game 5 winner, 25 minutes following Game 8 (BTN)

Game 10: No. 2 UCLA vs. Game 6 winner, 6:30 p.m. ET (BTN)

Game 11: No. 3 Ohio State vs. Game 7 winner, 25 minutes following Game 10 (BTN)