On March 24, two rounds into March Madness, award-winning guard JuJu Watkins sustained a season-ending ACL tear. Watkins, recipient of the 2025 Naismith and John Wooden Award, and first-team All-American, led the University of Southern California (USC) to the tournament as the number one seed; . However, in the final minutes against Mississippi State, Watkins’ injury catapulted into a devastating and unexpected loss for the USC Trojans in the Elite Eight round.