Louisville WBB Sweet Sixteen... Softball Visits Duke -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Sweet Sixteen vs Stanford

Today is the day!  Pack your coffee and a sleeping bag because it's a late one.  Women's basketball faces Stanford in Lexington tonight at approximately 9:30.  Paulie enlightened us yesterday with Stanford basketball and what to keep an eye out for.

"what do you mean 'late game'?"

Jeff Walz was more concerned with the decision to play a late night game.  During Thursday's presser our commander-in-chief spent some time showing his displeasure.

When asked about his thoughts on playing 60 miles away from home Walz voiced his opinion:

"It's great.  We were really excited about it until they came up with a 9:45 tip time.  We're expecting snow tomorrow night, so it's going to cut down on a ton of our fans that want to drive back and forth. But it should increase the viewership, which is great, because that's what we're trying to do. I think it'll increase TV viewership. But the actual in-person, it's going to have a huge effect on.

You know, I'm still -- I know what they're going to tell me, and this is the standard line, you're the feature game on ESPN, all that good stuff. It's what you hear all the time. We never tip a game at 9:45 eastern standard time all year. Why would you do it in the NCAA Tournament? I just don't understand. I thought this was about the student-athletes.

But I mean, if we played at a normal -- if we play at 9:45 during the year, that's great, and I know it's listed as a 9:00 tip. The first game starts at 7:15. It will take two hours; they all do. So now you're looking at about 9:15, then they're going to put about 26 minutes on the clock, so you're talking about a 9:45 tip.

Rupp Arena seating chart

I'm not worried about the players, I just feel bad for the fans. I feel bad for the fans that want to come and support us and have a great environment. What player doesn't want -- when we go play at Notre Dame, they're not cheering for us, but golly, what an awesome experience to have a packed house. That's what it's all about. In '13 when we played at Oklahoma City in the regional and we're playing Baylor, I mean, it was all Baylor fans, but it's the environment that these kids remember.

You know, I can go back to '09, our first year we go to the Final Four, we play Maryland in Raleigh, and there was nobody there. There was maybe 2,000 people that were at a regional championship game. I'd much rather play in front of people.

So unfortunately, the times are just awful, and I hope it's something that we can look and try to adjust for the future, just for the fans. You know, I understand if I'm sitting in my house in Louisville and I'm watching a game that's taking place on the West Coast and it's starting at 10:00 my time. Hey, I understand that; it's 7:00 out west. But to be starting a game at 9:45, it's just sad to me. And it's not for the players; the players are going to be fine. I'm not worried about that at all. They're not going to be tired, they're not going to be anything. They're going to be excited to play. It's we're trying to grow our game, and I think we just had a huge turnover."

EDITOR NOTE: Fortunately, the chance of snow is gone. A chance of rain moving in after 9 p.m. and temps in the 40's. 

Asia Durr, Myisha Hines-Allen, and Jazmine Jones carried themselves well during the interviews as well, but then again, our Cardinals always present themselves with class.  The common theme all three mentioned was the chemistry this team has both on and off the court.  Juniors and seniors have taken roles as leaders while the younger classes have been open and willing to learn.  As a whole, the team has become close and the entire roster is a strong friend group.  Doo-Blay complimented the freshmen on the team.

To stay updated with the Baylor vs Oregon State game make sure to follow Paulie on Twitter (@cardinalcouple) and as always, he will be on top of things when the Cards take the court.  I will be on the court with my handy-dandy camera and will do my best to get some pictures up before the night is over.

LINK TO THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW: http://thecrunchzone.com/transcript-walz-hines-allen-jones-

durr-prior-to-sweet-16/  Thanks to our buddy Daryl Foust for posting it and you'll get to hear her and Swish Appeal's Paige Sherrard on The Couple Couple Radio Hour with Paulie and Worldwide Jeff Saturday morning (and on Facebook Live, too) at 11 a.m. on WCHQ 100.9 FM plus streaming throughout the Universe on the WCHQ app and at www.wchqfm.com.

Should be a good one with Delightful Daryl and Precious Paige. Plus the two old guys.

I wonder what they'll talk about?

Let's hear from you! What are your thoughts about the "late one in Lexington"? The city will probably be in a salty mood after the UK Wildcats men's basketball team fell out of the NCAA Tournament after a upset loss to the Kansas State Wildcats late last night. Give us your thoughts in the comments section. After all, YOU are Cardinal Couple and WE never forget that.

Ladies of the Diamond Visit Durham, NC

Sandy Pearsall

The first weekend of ACC play did not go as planned when Notre Dame swept the Cards.  They hope to turn things around today and tomorrow.  Today's games are set to be played at 3:00 and 5:30 (double header) with Saturday's session starting at 1:00.

The biggest concern right now is the status of Nicole Pufahl.  The Puf went down last weekend after chasing down a fly ball.  Her foot found a hole in the grass and she went down with an ankle injury.  Puf sat out the final game of the series.

Duke sits at 16-12 on the year and is 3-3 in conference play.  The Blue Devils swept Boston College, but fell all three games against UNC.  They ride a two game losing streak (South Carolina and East Carolina) into the weekend.

Their team batting average is .276 and the offense averages roughly four runs per game.  Defense has been a struggle for Duke, which has committed 41 errors on the year for a .955 fielding percentage.

This series could get ugly with errors on both sides of the ball.  Louisville holds an edge on offense IF the bats can get hot.  The Cards have power and speed.  They will have ample opportunities to put runs on the board so it is all about capitalizing with runners on base.

Tennis Visits BC

The women's tennis team has had a hot start to the first half of the season and they sit in the Top 50 in the rankings currently.  They visit the Eagles of Boston College today at 2:00.  If you have not made it to Bass-Rudd this season they do have a pair of home matches remaining coming up soon.

I hope to see many of you in Lexington tonight.  Do not be afraid to say" hi" or ask for a picture (we would love to feature pics of our wonderful readers) if you see me.  I am the tall, lanky guy with glasses on.

Happy Friday and Go Cards!

Jared