JuJu Watkins Goes Viral for Her Look After Teammate Calls South Carolina 'SC'
A single look from University of Southern California (USC) women's basketball guard JuJu Watkins during a recent team media scrum has gone viral on social media. In the clip posted to X by ESPN W, teammate Kennedy Smith, assessing the Trojans' next opponent, the University of South Carolina, said, "SC, they're a really good, high level program," applying the initials "SC" to the other school. Watkins immediately looked over at her with a clearly displeased expression, both players broke into giggles, and Smith corrected herself: "I mean, South Carolina is just a really high level program just like us."
According to EssentiallySports, Watkins' expression became the highlight of the clip, and fans flooded the comments. One wrote, "You better believe the whole country will be watching," a USC fan wrote that there is only one SC and it resides in California, and another joked that the look in Watkins' eyes was worse than the one she has for crosstown rival UCLA. ESPN W promoted the matchup as the battle of "The Real SC."
Both schools use USC as their institutional abbreviation, and the fight over the initials is long-running. South Carolina briefly adopted UofSC branding in 2019 before returning to USC in 2022. On the court, the teams meet in "The Real SC" series: in the first meeting, in November 2025, South Carolina won 69-52 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, after which South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said, "We are, yes, 'The Real USC.'" In the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, South Carolina beat USC again, 101-61.
The teams meet again on Sunday, November 15, the second scheduled installment of the series and their third meeting in 12 months. According to EssentiallySports, USC is ranked third in the country and South Carolina first, both teams are unbeaten so far this season, and South Carolina has won the previous four meetings between the schools. Watkins, a Los Angeles native, tore the ACL in her right knee in March 2025, missed the entire 2025-26 season, and has just returned this season.
Source: ESPN W
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: JuJu Watkins资料图（All-Pro Reels摄，2025年，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons；非事发现场图）
