NCAAW: USC-Ole Miss, UCLA-Louisville begin season in Paris

The NCAAW is kicking off the 2024-25 season with some interesting tournaments and events.

This is why UCLA and USC, two West Coast teams, will begin their season in Paris, France, participating in the second Aflac Oui-Play event. (Wow, I see that regional competitiveness is definitely out the window nowadays.)

Both Southern California juggernauts will be favored in their games, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be an easy trip to Europe. No. 3 USC will face No. 20 Ole Miss at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN, while No. 5 UCLA will take on No. 17 Louisville at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN 2. These games are a great opportunity for Louisville and Ole Miss to surprise these top-five teams and a chance for USC and UCLA to cement themselves as title favorites.

It starts with JuJu Watkins

USC is top-ranked team that can threaten to take down South Carolina for the national title. There are many reasons why the Trojans could be the nation’s best team. Two of the biggest are their new players; they have Stanford transfer and senior forward Kiki Iriafen joining the team, along with Oregon State transfer and graduate guard Talia von Oelhoffen. Their arrivals raise Southern Cal’s ceiling exponentially, but ultimately, they’ll go as far as sophomore JuJu Watkins takes them.

In this contest, priority one, two, and three for Ole Miss should be making Watkins’ time in Paris as frustrating as possible. They must deny her the ball, double team her and force her into tough shots. Make one of the new transfers beat you. But whatever Iriafen or von Oelhoffen may do, the Rebels must stop this game from being the JuJu in Paris extravaganza.

Madison Scott should help with that. She averaged 12.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists for Ole Miss last year and is expected to have a similar load this season. If the Rebels can get off to a good start, perhaps they can make things difficult for the Trojans as they adjust to their new roster on the fly.

UCLA has something to say

USC is gaining many headlines thanks to Watkins’ superstar power, but make no mistake about it: UCLA is just as good. Led by dominant junior big Lauren Betts, the Bruins match up well against most opponents. Not only does Betts give them an inside presence, but their backcourt of junior guard Kiki Rice and Washington State graduate guard transfer Charlisse Leger-Walker also gives them weapons all over the floor. This season, they should have a top offense and defense, overwhelming most teams on both ends of the court and leading to many wins.

For Louisville to avoid that fate, they’ll have to dominate the glass and have a big game from Ja’Leah Williams, a transfer guard from Miami.

Game information

No. 20 Ole Miss (0-0) vs. No. 3 USC (0-0)

When: Monday, Nov. 4 at 12 p.m. ET

Where: Adidas Arena in Paris, France

How to watch: ESPN

No. 17 Louisville (0-0) vs. No. 5 UCLA (0-0)

When: Monday, Nov. 4 at 2:30 p.m. ET

Where: Adidas Arena in Paris, France

How to watch: ESPN 2