UCLA players send well wishes to rival JuJu Watkins while preparing for Ole Miss in March Madness

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SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — As top overall seed UCLA and star center Lauren Betts prepared for a Sweet 16 meeting with Mississippi, the Bruins’ thoughts were also on a familiar foe.

UCLA won’t get a rematch against JuJu Watkins further down the line in the NCAA Tournament because the Southern California star suffered a season-ending knee injury in the second round.

“I watched it live. It was just so hard to watch and I feel so sorry for her,” the 6-foot-7 Betts said. “And I feel so bad for that team and that program, to be honest. I know she’s such a crucial part of that program. I feel for her as a person and that’s not something that’s easy to come back from, but I know she’s going to be OK.”

UCLA (32-2) plays fifth-seeded Ole Miss (22-10) on Friday night for a chance to advance to the Elite Eight, facing the winner of Friday’s earlier game between third-seeded LSU and No. 2 seed N.C. State.

The Bruins earned the trip north with a second-round 84-67 victory over Richmond in Los Angeles. Betts had 30 points and 14 rebounds.

Mississippi defeated Baylor in Waco, Texas, to reach the Sweet 16 for the second time in the past three years. In 2023, the Rebels upset Stanford in the second round before falling to Louisville.

This time, the Rebels aren’t just happy to be here.

“The difference is, I think, we’re hungry. I mean, to be honest, back then we were just happy to do something that hadn’t been done in a very long time,” guard Madison Scott said. “But now we’ve done it again. So we’re not complacent, we’re not satisfied. We want to keep going. We want to keep dancing.”

UCLA’s only two losses this season came against Watkins and the Trojans before the Bruins got their revenge in the Big Ten Tournament, beating USC 72-67.

The Trojans will also play in Spokane, facing Kansas State on Saturday. It will be their first full game without Watkins, who tore the ACL in her right knee during the first quarter of a 96-59 victory over Mississippi State.

Watkins planted her right leg awkwardly as she drove to the basket between two defenders and crumpled to the floor, wincing and as she was carried off. USC later said she had season-ending surgery as the Trojans look to win their first national title in 41 years.

Should USC get past the Wildcats, it will face either Paige Bueckers and UConn or Oklahoma in the Elite Eight.

There’s still a chance for a rematch between the two Los Angeles rivals in the Final Four, but if it happens, it will be without Watkins.

“To see, even a competitor, but someone who is a face of the sport, too, to just have her season end just like that? It sucks,” UCLA guard Kiki Rice said. “I mean, obviously we play against each other and it’s a rivalry, but you hate to see anyone go down with an injury like that. And she’s a great player, a great person.”

We meet again

LSU and N.C. State met earlier this season in a very different setting: the Bahamas. Then-No. 7 LSU won, 82-65.

But anyone looking to that game as an indication of how Friday’s Sweet 16 meeting might play out would be mistaken, according to players on both sides.

“I think we’re a much different team. I think at the beginning of the season, we were still trying to get a feel of each other,” Wolfpack senior guard Saniya Rivers said. “Obviously we have a lot of returners, but I feel like with the freshmen coming in, and obviously people playing out of position, we just weren’t very comfortable and confident. So as the season went along, we started putting pieces together.”

N.C. State reached the Final Four last year before falling to eventual champion South Carolina. The Wolfpack (28-6) advanced this year with a second-round victory over Michigan State.

The Tigers (30-5) routed Florida State 101-71 in the second round.

LSU coach Kim Mulkey also said the Nov. 27 meeting with N.C. State was irrelevant.

“To look at the previous, game, we just think that we’re both trying to advance to an Elite Eight and we don’t really even think about that game,” Mulkey said. “We talked about it once or twice, we’ve looked at some film, but they’re better. We’re better. They’re ACC champs. We finished third in the SEC. They’re supposed to win, they’re the two seed, we’re the three seed.”

Mulkey’s players agreed that Friday’s opponent was a different team. While LSU (30-5) thrives on post play, N.C. State plays four guards at times and has a strong perimeter game.

“I’m sure their their posts have developed and are better, but they have four outstanding guards and they’re not going to change their philosophy and all of a sudden become a post-dominant team,” Mulkey said. “So we know what their strengths are. We know what their improvements are. And we’re going to try to win one more game.”

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