This post was updated March 7 at 2:13 a.m.

No. 2 seed UCLA women’s basketball (27-2, 16-2 Big Ten) will enter its first Big Ten tournament after defeating every team it has played this season – except for No. 1 seed USC. The squad will bypass the first two rounds of the tournament and will meet No. 7 seed Illinois, No. 10 seed Nebraska or No. 15 seed Rutgers in the quarterfinals at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Ava Abrishamchian
Daily Bruin staff
Prediction: Loss to USC in semifinals

I’m not easy to surprise.

And as the Big Ten Tournament approaches, I don’t think I will be. UCLA women’s basketball is facing the same uphill battle it has always had against one formidable opponent: crosstown rival USC.

The Bruins have primed me for disappointment.

In its last meeting against USC, the squad was thoroughly outplayed after only the first half. The Trojans outdid them in nearly every category, shooting 47.4% from the field, while the Bruins languished at a dismal 36.7%. And if that wasn’t enough to signal trouble, UCLA’s play allowed for a sloppy 11 turnovers in the first half alone, just shy of its average of 15.1 per game.

That’s not championship-winning basketball.

But, I have to give credit where credit is due. The Bruins don’t fold lightly.

Junior center Lauren Betts has been the team’s knight in shining armor. In the Bruins’ first rivalry matchup of the season, it was Betts who tried to spark a comeback for UCLA, leading the team on a 10-point run in the third quarter.

The Defensive Player of the Year has a few tricks up her sleeve, but USC has one of its own.

Enter the Big Ten’s leading scorer, guard Juju Watkins. The all-time national freshman score record holder is great on her bad days and unstoppable on her best. And Watkins doesn’t have many bad days. Watkins scored 38 points in the first matchup this season and 30 in the second. The Trojans have a level of caliber that has not faltered, even away from home.

The rivals went head-to-head twice during the regular season, and in both matchups, it was the Trojans that had the upper-hand.

USC has shown time and time again they have an edge that UCLA does not posses.

However, I wouldn’t mind being surprised.

J. Spencer Brown
Daily Bruin contributor
Prediction: Win in championship game and revenge against USC

UCLA has smashed nearly every program record in its inaugural Big Ten season.

The Bruins only need three more victories to add a Big Ten tournament championship to their list of accomplishments.

After starting the season with a perfect 23-0 record, UCLA earned the No. 1 spot for 12-consecutive weeks to break the Big Ten record for longest stint on top.

But with its only two losses being to USC, one looming question remains: How can the Bruins stop Watkins?

Watkins has scored 30 or more points in her last four games against UCLA. The Big Ten Player of the Year’s record breaking numbers – including a 38 point, 11 rebound, eight block and five assist performance in the teams’ first matchup of the season – have left the Bruins without answers.

Sitting atop opposite sides of the Big Ten Tournament bracket, the Los Angeles rivals are the most likely candidates to face each other in the championship game.

And while USC has had consecutive successes against UCLA this season, the Trojans will once again need to encounter the 6-foot-7 stalwart on the opposite side of the floor.

Averaging 19.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, Betts provides an omnipresent threat in the paint for the Bruins. The Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year has also etched her name into the UCLA record books with a program-high 73 blocks this season.

Through two meetings, USC has hindered Betts’ dominant nature and physical play style. In UCLA’s two losses, Betts managed just 18 and 11 points on 38.5% and 45.5% shooting, respectively.

The National Player of the Year-level talent hasn’t shown the Trojans all that she is capable of.

And when she does, it’s over for the team across town.

Sam Garcia
Daily Bruin staff
Prediction: Loss to Ohio State in the semifinals

Ending the regular season with a second loss to their crosstown rivals on their sold-out home court means one of two things.

The Bruins will either be fired up by the loss, or they will enter the postseason with their heads hanging low.

USC was the only team to defeat the formerly No. 1-ranked team in the nation. But after the Bruins’ first loss to the Trojans, the team struggled to find the dominance they had for their first 23 games of the season. UCLA nearly scraped by against then-No. 22 Michigan State and unranked Iowa on its way to a rematch against USC in Pauley Pavilion.

Facing the Spartans just three days after tainting their perfect season, the Bruins narrowly avoided back-to-back losses, beating Michigan State by a mere six points. At the time, that was the smallest score margin for UCLA this season. But a week later, the Hawkeyes came within a basket of the Bruins.

Both Iowa and Michigan State are potential opponents for UCLA in the semifinals. Michigan State barely squeezed by Iowa in the team’s latest matchup, winning 68-66. The chance for a rematch could fuel the Hawkeyes with momentum to conquer the Spartans.

But beating No. 3 seed Ohio State in the quarterfinals might be too big of a task for Iowa to complete. Although the Hawkeyes tied the most recent game between the teams with three seconds left on the clock, the Buckeyes ultimately held them off in overtime, winning 86-78.

Ohio State has not faced a defeated version of UCLA this season. If coach Cori Close cannot ignite a fire under her team, the Buckeyes may become the second NCAA team to take down the Bruins this season.

Noah Massey
Daily Bruin staff
Prediction: Losing a second consecutive Big Ten title to USC

Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice, shame on me.

UCLA women’s basketball won’t fool me again.

Simply put, it cannot win the Big Ten championship if it faces USC and Juju Watkins.

When UCLA entered the Galen Center undefeated, it was hard not to ride the high of victory and believe the team would continue its dominant 23-game stretch. But Watkins stopped the Bruins in their tracks with a 38-point effort and an additional eight blocks en route to an 11-point victory.

UCLA came home last weekend to take on USC again.

The teams split their final Pac-12 series last season, with each team victorious at home. It was easy to predict a similar outcome and hard to believe that Watkins could pull off another magical performance with three sub-30-point performances in between the two meetings.

Yet the final regular season match came, and she did it again, scoring 30 points as the Trojans took an early lead and never relinquished it.

The Bruins’ two worst defensive performances, and their only two losses of the regular season, came at the hands of their crosstown rivals.

While UCLA has shown that it can defeat every other Big Ten opponent, USC will break UCLA hearts for the second time in a little more than a week, ripping both the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships away from them in one fell swoop.

Sabrina Messiha
Assistant Sports editor
Prediction: Loss to Ohio State in the semifinals

I am a pessimist when it comes to UCLA women’s basketball.

I have written about the team for two years now, and I have seen the Bruins struggle to balance mental fortitude with the talent and skill of their squad – a harmony it must master in order for them to succeed.

While they are incredibly skilled – with junior center Lauren Betts being unanimously named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and junior forward Janiah Barker being named the Sixth Player of the Year – the Bruins have a reputation for choking.

Before UCLA even gets the chance to rematch USC in the Big Ten finals, I believe that the squad will fall to No. 3 seed Ohio State in the semifinals.

UCLA will scrape by the quarterfinal round against No. 7 seed Illinois, No. 10 seed Nebraska or No. 15 seed Rutgers. These are teams that the Bruins can overcome even if they are not playing at their best.

But as Troy Bolton said, the team needs to get its head in the game.

And if they don’t, it’ll be the start of something new – but not in the way Close wants.

The loss to USC at home to finish its regular season clearly took a toll on UCLA’s mental strength. Close said her team wasn’t in the right headspace, adding that its performance simply was not its best.

An intense and outright embarrassing loss, as Close said, leaves a scar on the Bruins. They are now presented with an uphill battle to get back to the dominant team that held a 23-game undefeated streak and spent 12-weeks ranked at No. 1.