The USC Trojans earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA women's basketball tournament after going 28-3 this season. The Trojans finished the season as the No. 4 ranked team in women's college basketball after dropping the Big Ten championship game to rival UCLA
You might have thought USC would be happy with their seeding, but apparently not. USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb was visibly agitated when she addressed the media on Sunday saying she felt disrespected that the Trojans were the fourth No. 1 seed.
Lindsay Gottlieb was not happy with USC being the 4th overall No. 1 seed.
— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) March 17, 2025
“I never thought I’d be a 1 seed and feel disrespected,” Gottlieb said.
“Sometimes I don’t understand the people who make decisions in women’s college basketball and why they do what they do.” pic.twitter.com/hErcL8Dzw3
"For me, I never thought I'd be a one-seed and feel disrespected, but I feel the committee, I just thought there would be very little chance we would be the number four overall number one," said Gottlieb. "And so you know we've got a big game here on Saturday against UNCG and we'll handle it accordingly, but you tell me if you think that bracket that we got should've been the one that it was. I can't think for the players, I think they're excited to play, but this was not on my bingo card to be a little bit, you know, frustrated after being a one-seed and it's not an arrogance of kind. I think there's a lot of good teams and you've gotta play the first game in front of you and earn your way form there and that's what we'll do, but sometimes I don't understand people who make decisions in women's basketball and why they do what they do and certainly with this committee I would love to ask some questions."
Considering UCLA just beat USC a week ago, it would have been hard for the committee to move USC ahead of them, so obviously Gottlieb's real problem is with UConn or South Carolina, who both just won their conference tournaments and haven't lost a game in the last month.
Complaining about seeding and regions is one thing, but to feel disrespected as a top seed is on a whole other level. If USC doesn't at the very least win its region that's going to be a really tough video to look back on when the season ends.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as USC Coach Lindsay Gottlieb Makes Case That No. 1 Seed USC Was ‘Disrespected'.
