BLACKSBURG, Va. — Friday's women's NCAA tournament matchup between Southern Cal and South Dakota State is a battle of teams that really couldn't have less in common.
The Trojans play in Los Angeles. The Jackrabbits are from Brookings.
USC has won the third-most Division I national championships (135) in the history of American college athletics, while SDSU has only been a member of Division I for 20 years.
And while the Women of Troy are appearing in the NCAA tournament for just the fourth time since the turn of the century, SDSU is making its 11th NCAA tournament appearance in the last 15 years.
Still, they're apparently evenly matched given that USC earned the 8-seed and SDSU the 9-seed. Here's a closer look at the game, which tips off at 7 p.m. at Cassell Coliseum:
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RECORDS: USC 21-9, 11-7 Pac-12; SDSU 28-5, 18-0 Summit
HEAD TO HEAD: 1-1. USC won in L.A. in 2004; SDSU won in Brookings in 2006.
COACHES: USC — Lindsay Gottlieb (2nd year, 33-25); SDSU — Aaron Johnston (23rd year, 570-184)
ROAD TO THE DANCE: USC — at-large; SDSU — won Summit League tournament.
NCAA TOURNAMENT BERTHS: USC — 17; SDSU — 20 (11 in Division I)
LAST NCAA APPEARANCE: USC — 2014; SDSU — 2021
RECORD IN THE TOURNAMENT: USC — 29-14; SDSU — 4-10
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: USC — 2; SDSU — 1 (Division II)
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TOP WBB ALUMS: USC — Cheryl Miller, Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper; SDSU — Megan Vogel, Macy Miller
LEADING SCORERS: USC — Kadi Sissoko (15.6); SDSU — Myah Selland (15.7)
STARTING FIVE: USC — G Kayla Williams (5-7, Jr.), G Destiny Littleton (5-9, Gr.), G/F Okako Adika (6-0, Gr.), F Kadi Sissoko (6-2, Gr.), F Rayah Marshall (6-4, So.); SDSU — G Paige Meyer (5-6, So.), G Haleigh Timmer (5-11, So.), G/F Myah Selland (6-0, Sr.), F Paiton Burckhard (6-0, Sr.), F Tori Nelson (6-1, Jr.)
OFF THE BENCH: USC — G Taylor Bigby (6-1 Fr.); SDSU — F Kallie Theisen (6-1, Jr.)
ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS: USC — 3; SDSU — 4
TEAM OFFENSE: USC — 64.5 ppg, .381/.329/.732; SDSU — 79.4 ppg, .480/.355/.718
TEAM DEFENSE: USC — 54.8 ppg; SDSU — 60.3 ppg
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