USC women’s basketball sees an uptick in crowds

Average attendance for USC men’s basketball is down over 13.1% this season while average attendance for women’s basketball is up over 25.5%, according to USC Athletics. This change has been reflected on the court.

With the college basketball season well underway, both USC teams are on the edge of making or missing the NCAA Tournament. ESPN’s Bracketology has the USC men’s team as one of the first four teams to miss the tournament but have the women’s teams slotted into an eight seed.

“I feel like women’s basketball in general just doesn’t get as much attention as the men’s do, so I think that’s really cool that they’re doing so well,” sophomore business student Karina Greer said. “It’s really exciting … [and] if [they] continue to do really well, I’ll go to a few more games down the line.”

In recent years, the men’s team has been more successful than the women’s team, but this year, it is the other way around. The men have made the tournament four of the last six seasons, while the women’s team has not made the tournament in nine years. But the exceeding of expectations, or lack thereof, has contributed to the changes in attendance for home games and overall attention some students give to the respective teams.

“If the [men’s team] can get into the tournament and do as well as they did last year, that’d be awesome,” senior history student Izzy Goihman said. “I don’t know if that’s a possibility; I haven’t really been keeping up as much as I did last year, just because they were so much better last year.”

The men’s and women’s teams have had success at Galen Center this season, with the men posting a 12-1 home record and the women a record of 13-2. Both have had signature home wins this season. In January, the women’s team beat then No. 2 Stanford, snapping the Cardinal’s 14-game winning streak against the Trojans. And the men took down crosstown rivals then No. 8 UCLA by 13 points.

At USC, students are accustomed to winning championships and seeing their teams blow opponents out of the water. And it makes sense, considering out of every Division I school, USC has the third most NCAA championships, with 111 in school history. With attendance numbers decreasing for men’s basketball this season, students feel that the team underachieving may have something to do with it.

“I haven’t been to any games myself,” freshman astronautical engineering student Eli Goldenberg said. “It feels like it’s not advertised as much as it is at other places. I’ve never felt the need to go, and I barely really know when games are going on.”

Men’s basketball currently sits in fourth place in the Pac-12 standings with Utah, Arizona and UCLA in the top three spots. Currently, the Trojans have a 17-8 record and are on a two-game losing streak after losses against Oregon and Oregon State. USC’s loss against Oregon State was particularly disappointing to fans as the Beavers currently have a 10-16 record and are second-to-last in the Pac-12.

Compared to last season, men’s basketball in the 2021-2022 season won the first 13 games of the year and did not lose their first game until January 11 in a close home loss against Stanford. With two consecutive home games approaching, USC will prepare for Pac-12 rivals Stanford and Cal as a potential NCAA tournament spot is on the line, with just six regular season games remaining.

On the other side, women’s basketball is on a roll, as they have won their last two games and are winners of eight out of the last 10 matchups. For students unfamiliar with the women’s previous records, the success of this year’s team has been crucial to increasing attendance numbers.

“Personally, I think it would be pretty crazy to go to the tournament,” junior health promotion and global medicine student John Tran said. “I know next year we’re going to have the number one ranked player come play and I feel like rivalry games will always be big.”

The Women of Troy will finish this year’s regular season with a winning record for the first time since the 2019-2020 season when the Trojans had a 17-14 record. As attendance for women’s basketball games increases, USC will likely build on their success next year, as the Trojans will welcome the addition of Juju Watkins, the number one ranked player in the high school class of 2023.

As the regular season comes to a close, both men and women’s basketball will look to secure spots in the NCAA tournament and make a push for a championship.