JuJu Watkins pulls ahead in Player of the Year race as regular season ends

The GIST: If the regular-season finale were a movie, it would have won an Oscar for Best Drama last night. Several Sunday upsets shook things up as teams made their last postseason pushes before conference tournaments tip off this week.

No. 4 USC’s JuJu Watkins shines in Battle for LA: The sophomore phenom had a weekend for the ages. Not only did she drop 30 on crosstown rival No. 2 UCLA on Saturday to complete the season sweep, but the 80–67 win clinched the Big Ten regular-season title for the Trojans in their first season in the conference. They came, they saw, they conquered.

• This is notably USC’s first title since the Lisa Leslie era in 1994. Watkins made waves when she committed to the Trojans, whose glory days were long behind them — but in two short years, the sophomore has brought them back into the national conversation. A true game-changer.

• Speaking of, Watkins also outshone UCLA’s Lauren Betts, whose double-double wasn’t enough to avenge the Bruins’ February 13th loss at USC. The showing placed Watkins way ahead of Betts — and everyone else — in the Player of the Year race. She may not wear hats, but she does lift trophies.

SEC and ACC titles split: The SEC saw its fair share of turbulence yesterday, but ultimately, the big dogs still came out on top: No. 1 Texas and reigning national champ No. 6 South Carolina tied for the regular-season crown. These teams also split wins in their two matchups this season, so seeding for this week’s tournament came down to the world’s most awkward coin toss, which SC won.

• Elsewhere, the ACC was No. 3 Notre Dame’s to lose…and they almost did, halting their two-game skid with yesterday’s 72–59 win over No. 25 Louisville to salvage a shared ’ship with No. 9 NC State.

No. 10 TCU seals Big 12 in winner-take-all showdown: The Horned Frogs won a wire-to-wire defensive battle with No. 17 Baylor 51–48 last night to snag the No. 1 seed, largely thanks to a monster performance from center Sedona Prince, who continues to start for TCU despite domestic and sexual abuse allegations. Sigh.