BEATDOWN GOES ON

The Huskies again trounce a Trojans team playing without its star Watkins

- BY RYAN KARTJE

When USC and Connecticut met in the Elite Eight, in the immediate wake of JuJu Watkins’ devastating knee injury last March, it didn’t take long to see how much USC missed its superstar.

As hard as the Trojans fought, the Huskies were simply too much to handle without Watkins.

That thought, nine months later, hadn’t been given much serious credence at USC through a solid 7-2 start. At least, not until Saturday, when the top-ranked Huskies offered a rude reminder by totally trouncing the 16th-ranked Trojans, 79-51, in their home arena, where they had yet to lose this season.

Connecticut, though, has yet to lose a game since early last February. Coming into Saturday, it had won its first nine games by an average of 39 points, dominating wherever it went.