By KDA Sports
March 25, 2025, 9:41 AM
The Kansas State women’s basketball team is set to join a group of traditional powerhouses at the Spokane Regional this weekend as the Wildcats continue their impressive run in the NCAA Tournament. The No. 5 seeded Wildcats will take on No. 1 seed USC at 7 p.m. on Saturday in a Sweet 16 matchup that will air nationally on ESPN. The victor will then face either No. 3 seed Oklahoma or No. 2 seed UConn for a chance to advance to the Final Four.
Despite being considered underdogs as they prepare to compete at Spokane Arena in Washington, K-State finds itself in a promising position. Regular-season standouts such as UConn, USC, and Oklahoma all finished inside the top 15 of the national polls. Fans are eagerly anticipating the performances of star players including UConn guard Paige Bueckers, Oklahoma center Raegan Beers, as well as Kansas State’s own guard Serena Sundell and center Ayoka Lee.
However, USC’s roster will be missing a key player, as star JuJu Watkins suffered a severe knee injury during their second-round win over Mississippi State, forcing her to miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. Despite Watkins’ absence, USC managed to overwhelm the Bulldogs with a 96-59 victory. Kansas State, meanwhile, will lean on a deep and talented roster—highlighted by Kiki Iriafen, who exploded for 36 points against Mississippi State—as they aim to pull off an upset against USC on Saturday night.
While expert models favor USC by 7.5 points when at full strength, sportsbooks are still adjusting their lines to account for the impact of Watkins’ injury; no official betting line was available as of Tuesday morning. In a separate matchup, UConn is favored by 13.5 points over Oklahoma.
This season has been a remarkable one for the Wildcats, who have won 28 games and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2002, following key victories over Fairfield and Kentucky in the opening rounds of the tournament.
