LAS VEGAS – When JuJu Watkins makes her long-awaited return to the court in November, she’ll also be returning to the same arena where she made her USC debut
It was officially announced on Tuesday that USC would open its season against UNLV on Nov. 2 at the Hall of Fame Series at T-Mobile Arena, the same event and location where Watkins played her first regular season colleigiate game in November 2023 against Ohio State.
November 2nd 2026: The Return of JuJu Watkins https://t.co/s8pAn3uWsv pic.twitter.com/KlIlv1smXo
— Watkins Report (@JWatkinsReport) February 25, 2026
Ranked No. 21 in the preseason poll, USC surprised eventual first-round pick Jacy Sheldon and the Buckeyes with an entertaining 83-74 victory that was nationally televised on TNT. USC, of course, would emerge as one of the nation’s best teams over the course of the 2023-24 season, winning the final Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament, also held in Las Vegas at MGM Grand Garden Arena, before falling to UConn in the Elite 8.
Watkins was the consensus National Player of the Year as a sophomore and led USC to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament before suffering a torn ACL in the second round against Mississippi State that has kept her sidelined for the 2025-26 season. USC has largely struggled through its gauntlet of a schedule without Watkins, but the performance of five-star freshman Jazzy Davidson sets up an intriguing 1-2 punch for the Women of Troy next season. Add in the likely transfer haul that will coincide with Watkins’ expected return, and USC should be right back to where it was before the star of the show was sidelined.
The Other Teams
After four consecutive seasons taking home both the Mountain West regular season and conference titles, Lindy LaRocque‘s UNLV Lady Rebels are having a down year (by their own standards). It’s not necessarily a down year in reality, as UNLV is still 13-4 in Mountain West play, but on the other hand, the Lady Rebels only had five conference losses in the previous four seasons combined. While UNLV will now surely be entering its season opener as a substantial underdog, the Lady Rebels also have the chance to start their season with a statement, even if they just manage to hang around and play USC competitively.
Hall of Fame Series returns to Las Vegas for Opening Night on November 2 at @tmobilearena.#HOFSeries | #HoophallU pic.twitter.com/U7WnaELjZJ
— Hall of Fame Series (@hofseries) February 25, 2026
The other women’s game features Arizona against Stanford, which is ironically LaRocque’s alma mater. The men’s side of the Hall of Fame Series slate is once again stacked, featuring Arizona, Gonzaga, Purdue, and UCLA. If you’re out of the loop, three of those four teams are currently ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll. Florida and Arizona faced off in the 2025 edition of the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas, highlighted by Koa Peat’s electric debut, and was headlined by the BYU debut of freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa against Villanova.
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