A WBB Comparison -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Taking a Look at This Year vs Last

As the Louisville' women's basketball hiatus continues through at least Christmas, and maybe even the New Year, I felt it was a good time to look at how this team compares to last year's at this stage. Many people thought last year's team was good enough to contend for a national title. Many more people think this year's team has the chops. Let's take a look at how the two teams stack up against each other to this point. In an effort to maintain consistency, I'll be cherry picking the games from last year's schedule to try to get a representative sample that is comparable to this year. I can't just pick the first four games and call it a day because of the ease of the opening schedule. Similarly, I can't just pick the four games leading up to the conference season because then last year's team will have a month's worth of games as a head start. (Note from future Case: To be clear, I didn't look at any stats and barely at scores before selecting these games. They are selected based on comparison to schedule state and game-to-game comparability as noted below.)

The games I've selected from the 2019-2020 season for this comparison are Western Kentucky, Murray State, Oregon, UT Martin, and Syracuse. The first two are the opening two games on the schedule. Unfortunately, we didn't have a comparable early road game, so a home game against Western will have to do as the comparison to SEMO. Last year's Oregon team was quite a bit better than this DePaul team, but Louisville didn't play another ranked neutral site game last season, and the closest ranked team would be Kentucky. A rivalry game is comparable only to rivalry. UT Martin was a non-conference game following a ranked game (DePaul this year and Kentucky last), and Syracuse was the first conference game. The home/away split for UT Martin and the conference game are reversed for the years so I'd say they cancel out.

Both teams through our segment are 5-0 (2019-2020 team was 12-1 at this point with a loss at Ohio State following the big Oregon win), but the victories are very different. Louisville's average margin of victory this season is 15 points larger than last year's selected segment. Primarily, that is coming from Louisville's scoring, which is up nearly 20 points per game (89.8 in 20-21 vs 71.2 in 19-20). Of course, Louisville is shooting the ball a lot better this year across the board. The Cards are shooting 4% better in every category when compared to our sample from last year. 

Interestingly, Louisville's assist-to-turnover ratio is nearly identical year over year. The 2019-20 sample had an ATO of 1.18 with two negative games in the sample and this year's team has an ATO of 1.19 with two negative games so far. Even more interestingly, Louisville's assist numbers have risen by a couple of assists per game, while turnovers have been flat. This is likely best explained by an outlier ATO game against EKU (1.77) and an outlier turnover game against DePaul (22), but it is still interesting. 

The improvements do not stop at the offensive end, though. Louisville's rebounding margin has gone up by about 7 rebounds per game, as the Cards have really gotten after it on the boards this year. Their worst performance so far is an even rebounding game against Duke. The worst from last year's sample is also the first conference game, when Louisville was out-rebounded by 6 against Syracuse. Perhaps the biggest (and most telling) change (other than the scoring margin) from year to year is Louisville's comparative defensive performance. I didn't chart opposing field goal percentage (though I can add that in the future), but I did look at blocks + steals for Louisville and their opponents. In last year's sample, Louisville's margin in blocks + steals per game was just 0.2. They were negative against Oregon and even against both UT Martin and Syracuse. So far this year, that average is at 9.6. Louisville's worst performances in this metric have been a pair of +5 games against UT Martin and Duke. For a team that is nearly flat in turnovers per game, this means that Louisville's defense has stepped up significantly to protect the rim and force steals. 

In all, the jump in performance by this year's team appears to match statistically to what we've seen in the eye test. I'll be interested to see how this develops as the season goes on, and, in an effort to get a better representation of last year's team, I'll work in more of last season's non-conference games once this season's team gets more than five games under their belt. Seeing how Louisville performs when they come out of an extremely long break will be telling, but they look very good right now. From where I'm sitting, there seems to be plenty of reasons to be optimistic about a potential run in San Antonio.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

Last week, we added Daryl to the mix for the first time since we left the radio station. This week, the Skype call will be even more full (and my audio normalization will be even more tested) as we bring Jared back in as well. With the team still on hiatus, we won't have as much basketball to cover, but we'll still do our best to bring you the joy and excitement of UofL women's athletics. Plus, it's Christmas Week! We'll talk about some of our Christmas favorites as the holiday draws near. Tune in to the Cardinal Couple YouTube channel at 11AM EST for the live show, or check out the recording after we wrap up around noon. You can also check out the podcast here, where you can listen via anchor in your browser or find the link to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform to have the show pushed directly to your device when it posts.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Jones, Shook Teleconference today -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WNBA DRAFT HOPEFULS TELECONFERENCE AT 2 P.M.

The WNBA Draft occurs Friday night. It'll be at 7 p.m. and shown on ESPN.

This 2020 Draft is going to be quite a bit different that what we've seen over the years, because of the CoronaVirus, it'll be a virtual draft. No players, media or attendees will be in seats waiting to hear the names called and teams assigned. 

When the WNBA will actually start playing games is unknown as well as we go into this draft. Once again, COVID-19 is making this unpredictable. Drafted players will take part remotely, via teleconference. No "war room" for team officials to strike deals, trades and negotiate on picks. 

Two University of Louisville seniors, Kylee Shook and Jazmine Jones, are expected to be taken by one of the 12 WNBA franchises. Just where they'll go as been a matter of speculation. This is a very unpredictable draft this year, especially after you get past the first couple of selections. 

Many organizations are posting their draft pick suggestions and predictions. For Jones and Shook, the majority of these publications have both Jones and Shook going in the third round. The New York Liberty seems to be the "wise guy" pick for Shook. For Jones, it's the Connecticut Sun.

We won't know, obviously, until the selections start rolling in. When we interviewed Jazmine Jones last week, she told us she hadn't really been following the talks and speculations -- concentrating instead on her strength and conditioning.  And, that's probably the wisest thing to do. It's like trying to pick the order of finish in the Kentucky Derby. 

On a personal level, I think the third round is a bit low for both Jones and Shook, and I am disappointed that no media speculation or listing is mentioned for two other very good graduating Cardinals -- Yacine Diop and Bionca Dunham. All this love for four Oregon players, and three of them (Hebard, Ionescu and Sabally) in the first round. Did I just imagine, or have a dream that the UofL women's basketball team BEAT Oregon in the Virgin Islands early in the 2019-20 season? I truly do not get all the Oregon 'superstar' hype. 

A lot of the media looks for "darlings" and strives to be trendy and go with a "hey, look at me" mode of operation and a attention-seeking bent. I'll say this:

Give me Jones, Shook, Diop and Dunham and, if the pandemic wasn't an issue, let's play a little "four on four" against Ionescu, Sabally, Hebard and Minyon Moore. And let me put a wager on who w-ll win. I'll clean up, probably at good odds, on the UofL WBB four. Oh, you say we need to add a fifth player? Sure, no problem. I'll choose Dana Evans for Louisville. Who do you want, Ducks? 

(I never was a trendy or fashionable kind-of-guy, though.) 

We'll listen in to the teleconference, record it and have it here for you at the site later today. Jared Anderson will have observations and his thoughts on the teleconference tomorrow and maybe a better version of it than mine. 

Note: Kylee was unable to join the teleconference, so we have Jazmine Jones' portion of it below for you listening pleasure. 



LINK:   JAZZ TELECONFERENCE. 



LINE OF THE DAY? 

Heard this one on the radio this morning, in regards to the government sending out checks to everyone and moving the tax filing deadline: 

"Not only can our government stimulate you, but they can also extend you." 

Oh, my...

Stay well and, remember....to quote our Governor Andy Beshear...we are all in this. We are all in this together. 


paulie
xxxxx

2019 Concludes -- Favorite Moments -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

MOMENTS AND MEMORIES FROM JARED


There's not much to cover in the final day of the calendar year over here.  Women's basketball played their final game of the year Sunday.  They will be the first sport to kick off the 2020 year when they visit Clemson on Thursday.

Football was the final UofL team to play in 2019, as they defeated Mississippi State in the Music City Bowl.  Congratulations to Scott Satterfield and his team.

I'd like to reflect on some of my favorite moments of 2019 and ask that you contribute yours too:

Louisville defeated UConn in front of a massive crowd on January 31.  Jeff Walz and Asia Durr embrace each other during an on-court postgame interview on ESPN. .

On Senior Night on February 28, Asia Durr went off for 47 points as the team cruised to a win against a tough NC State team.

Walk-off! In a back-and-forth game on April 17, softball took down Kentucky on a walk-off.  The team celebrates in the background as Funke beats the tag home.

On an April 8 Monday night prime-time game on ESPN, softball shocked Florida State on a... you guessed it... walk-off hit.  The Cards claimed the series over the Seminoles, who had not dropped a conference series in several years.  The sky over campus was one of the best we'd see all year.

Soccer had a historic season including some major upsets.  The team celebrated the lone goal on Emina Ekic's penalty kick to defeat Vanderbilt on September 15.

Although Lacrosse is still in a rebuilding period, they did have bright moments on the year.  A blowout victory over Mercer on February 23.  Ally Hall made her way through multiple defenders to go airborne for a goal.

Field hockey is another team that had a historic season.  They also knew how to keep us on the edge of our seats.  This goal with no time remaining in regulation led to an eventual overtime victory over Iowa on October 20.

Volleyball has a strong rivalry with Notre Dame so when the Cards got the sweep on November 22 the sold out crowd in attendance was ecstatic.  A powerful block by Piper Roe in the second set fueled a run.  The Cards went on to be another team with a historic season.

Outside of sports, I do like to do a little bit of other work.  Many student-athletes have been my biggest supporters so it meant a great deal when a few members of the soccer team approached me for a preseason shoot.  Can you name all four?

Everyone have a safe and Happy New Year!  If you choose to partake in any adult beverage consumption make sure you have a ride home or a place to stay.


Not only will I see all of you next year, but also next decade!  And my 2020 vision says that it's going to be an excellent year to be a Louisville Cardinal!

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared


EDITOR NOTE: 

These are just several of the thousands of wonderful pictures Jared Anderson took in 2019. CARDINAL COUPLE is so fortunate to have someone who has such a keen eye for "getting the shot they'll talk about" at UofL women's sporting events. The pledge here is to bring you more of Jared's work in 2020. 

He also writes some very good articles for us. 

I love this picture he caught of me interviewing softball's Celene Funke after a game this spring. It may be the only photo that exists where the talented hitter/outfielder isn't running, jumping, cheering or generally creating craziness. 

"Smile, you're on Jared camera" !!

paulie
xxxxx

Louisville WBB squeezes out Orange 62-58 -- MONDAY CARDINALCOUPLE

FRANTIC FOURTH FALLS CARDS WAY IN FOUR-POINT WIN

Louisville women's basketball returned to the KFC YUM! Center Sunday and battled a tough, physical Syracuse squad for 40 minutes before finally gaining their first ACC win of the season in front of 10084 fans.

This one was expected to be close, and was.  Jazmine Jones stepped up huge for the 12-1 Cards with 24 points to give Louisville the win in their opening ACC tilt. 

The 'Cuse led 20-19 after one, thanks to 7-13 shooting (53.8%) and hitting the three-ball (3-6). Syracuse forward Digna Strautmane nailed two from the deep and had eight points in a 10-minute session where the visitors grabbed a 8-2 opening lead, allowed Louisville to go on a 8-0 run to tie it at 10-10 and weathered a eight-point first quarter from Jazmine Jones.

Coach Walz demonstrates the "self fist bump" to Dana 

Defense ruled in the second quarter, with neither team shooting better than 22.7%. Louisville gained a 31-25 lead late in the second quarter, Jones and Konno doing the scoring, but Syracuse battled back and cut it to one at 31-30 on a three with 30 seconds left in the half. It stayed that way as the teams went into the break.

Imagine a half where your top two scorers have no points. Evans and Shook were held scoreless in the first 20. Jaz was on fire, with 18 points on 7-9 shooting but Syracuse had a "three grab" lead in rebounds and this contest was far from settled. 

Louisville went to work on gaining some separation in the third period.

A Shook three with 5:58 left in the quarter pushed Louisville out to a 43-35 lead and a Evans three gave the Cards their biggest advantage of the night at 48-37 with three minutes left in the quarter. Things were looking promising after 30 minutes and UofL held the 50-43 edge. A 19-13 quarter for the Cards, six different players had scored and Louisville had forced six turnovers in the first ten minutes of the second half. I was hoping for a dominating, pull-away-from-the-foe fourth quarter, but...

Syracuse refused to go away. 

Back-to-back threes from the Orange's Teisha Hyman knotted the score up at 54-54 with 5:23 to play. After the media timeout, the Cards got a huge three from Evans and retook the lead at 57-54. Syracuse responded with two baskets and held their first lead since midway through the second quarter at 58-57. 

Coach Walz spoke of chopping wood at his Friday presser. On Sunday, "Q" team was doing the chopping late and they were in a serious position of being able to yel "timber" by knocking down the #7 Cards. 

2:37 remained and Louisville was without Jones, who was having a cramped muscle attended to on the sidelines. 

JJ. re-entered a minute later and drew a foul off Gabrielle Cooper. Jones sank both attempts. After Balogun missed two free throw attempts with 31 second left, "E" wisely pursued the last free throw miss, got the rebound and connected with a two-pointer inside.

61-58 Cards.

 "E " would get two more free throws awarded with 12 seconds left and sank one for the 62-58 final score. A final Syracuse three missed the mark and the Cards had survived a Sunday afternoon thriller. 



FRED REPORT

FREE THROWS -- The Cards went 14-20 from the free throw line (70%) and that's the standard we (at least) want to see. Jaz was automatic on them, making seven of eight. Five out of eight in the decisive fourth quarter, while Syracuse attempted zero in the final ten minutes. I'll give the lower case "f" as the letter assignment. 

REBOUNDING -- A rare night where the Cards were actually out-rebounded 43-37. No one accumulated more than six (Diop and Dunham). The Cardinal centers were responsible for just six combined. A stronger boards effort (besides Dunham hard work) was needed and I'll assign no letter here. 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Louisville committed just five turnovers and Coach Walz will take that any night. Three point-shooting still needed a boost (4 for 14) but a points-off- turnovers domination (16-3) and Jazz's spot-on efficiency from the floor (8 for 12) led to a Cardinal win and that deserves a capital "E". 

DEFENSE -- It was a strong defensive effort for UofL when you consider the visitors scored just 58 points, shot just 35% and committed 17 turnovers. Syracuse star Kiara Lewis was held to 14 points on 5 for 14 shooting and the Orange took just 23 threes, about 12 less than their average. I'll gladly award a capital "D" because solid defense was a huge key in the win. 

FINAL FRED TALLY:   f-_-E-D


THEY SAID IT

Post-game Quentin Hillsman link:   https://youtu.be/Z_XUyBANPCk

Post game Jeff Walz, Jazmine Jones and Bionca Dunham. LINK:  https://youtu.be/kmVisGRrEF8


SO...

The third win in a row where the Cards have played to the level of the foe. Coach Walz warned us in the post game presser we can expect more of these nail-biters and, as long as they results in "W"s...I'll take my blood pressure pill and deal with it. 

A game where the two "dependables" didn't launch until late and an afternoon where Jaz returned to early season form. Louisville struggled early, got it under control but then watched as Syracuse battled back into the contest. 

It's a nerve-wrecking way to get wins, although exciting at times. If this is the way Louisville is going to continue to rack up "W"'s , I'm recommending Pepto-Bismol. Rolaids and stress relief massages be offered in the concession stands and the media room. 


Bionca Dunham puts on her hard hat and does work every time out. Not much of it is flashy or eye-popping, but she's rapidly turning into this year's Sam Fuehring type of ballplayer. Elizabeth Balogun showed some flashes of brilliance Sunday like the ones that got her the ACC Freshman of the Year award last season. Her continued jelling into this team's style and mode of operation. 

Syracuse just may be the best 6-6 team in the nation. There is no quit in them and, let's face it, the record books don't list emotional or psychological wins, but the Orange probably got both Sunday. They'll be fine in the ACC, no need to fret over them. 

Everybody Clap You Hands ! (clap clap clap clap clap...)

One game at a time. One win at a time.

Nothing spectacular or domineering counts just as much in the "W" column as a 30-point blowout. We'll accept these Cards we've been dealt and hope they continue to win games. 

ACC. Always Competitve Conference


PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON


paulie
xxxxx

L's UP in Rupp -- UofL WBB 67 - UK 66 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS PREVAIL IN ONE-POINT SUNDAY THRILLER

"Hey, ref

Head Louisville women's basketball coach Jeff Walz will tell you that the objective is to win games in the coaching world. Mission accomplished yesterday in  a packed, noisy Rupp Arena where 11,256 predominately blue-clad fans witnessed the exciting 67-66 UofL win. 

Matthew Mitchell, skipper of UKWBB, described it as finishing one play short of the objective. He was correct as well, UK with a chance to take the lead on the final possession and falling just short of the goal. You can't blame one player for a loss...ever...but either the shot goes in or it doesn't. Thankfully, it missed. 

A great view of Matty's bald spot in the coaches pre game chat. 

If this game didn't thrill you, have you on the edge of your seat and raise the pulse and emotional level in you yesterday...head to the doctor and see if you are human or cyborg. The annual UK vs. UofL yearly rivalry game felt like a regional final or, dare I say it, a Final Four type of contest instead of a pre-conference tilt between two top 15 squads who had one loss between them prior to the contest. The pre-game aura was electric, an anticipation (correctly so) of a contest that all wanted and thought might be exciting.



The battle of the Bluegrass, hoops style, began with the Cards jumping out to an early 8-3 lead after four minutes of action. Three different Cardinals scoring and Louisville avoiding what most Cardinal fans hoped they would -- a slow start. UK devised their own "comeback Cats" strategy, though, and it was centered around two players -- powerful Rhyne Howard scoring from everywhere and KeKe McKinney dropping threes on the Cardinal defense. The Cats grabbed a 16-15 lead with 2:10 left in the first but Louisville went on a 6-0 run to finish the quarter, Liz Dixon and Dana Evans leading the charge to give Louisville a 21-16 lead after one. 

UK was not backing off, though. Howard went on a second quarter, seven-point opening run to tie the contest at 25-25. Sabrina Haynes buried a deep three and drew a foul from Jazmine Jones to give the Cats a four-point edge halfway through the second quarter, and the media timeout couldn't have come at a better time for the Cards -- UK was on a 13-4 run in the quarter and led 29-25. The Cards managed to stay just four points behind until the final 106 seconds. Then, a half closing, Howard-led, 7-2 run changed a 33-29 score into a nine-point UK jaunt that had Louisville on their heels 40-31 at the intermission. 

A 24-10 quarter for Big Blue, Howard had 15 of the second quarter points and 20 overall in the game on 7-15 shooting. Dana led Louisville with 11 points but the Cards, simply put, had to find a way to shut down the superb sophomore 

They accomplished the task.

Howard was held to two made free throws in the third quarter, Louisville went on a 13-0 run that spanned the final three minutes of the third and turned a 55-45 deficit into a 58-55 lead. Yacine Diop exploded for six crucial points in the run. Louisville shot 64.7% in the session after halftime. Howard got just one look and missed it. Kylee Shook nailed two threes in the quarter and Dana added seven points to turn this one around in Lexington and the elated UK crowd had been partially silenced. The Cards led by three with ten minutes to go. Diop, Dunham, Jones and Shook had silenced the threat. Could they hang on, though? 

The fourth started and three minutes passed before either team could add to their point total. UK reserve Jaida Roper was fouled on a three-point attempt and sank two of her three free throw attempts to draw the Cats within one. A huge blocked shot by Kylee Shook (she had five in the game) got the ball to Louisville and Diop scored her final bucket to push the lead back to three. 45 seconds later, Jaz pulled up for a jumper and sent Cardinal fans and the UofL bench into a frenzy when it went through the net. 

Here came UK again, though. KeKe drained another three and suddenly it was 62-60 Cards and 4:52 showing on the clock. The Cards were trying to hang on and over a minute and a half of frantic hoops passed before the next points -- Howard bullying her way into the paint for two and a potential lead-changing free throw. The "gimmie" wouldn't drop, however and with 2:37 remaining, Diop found Shook for a jumper that put the Cards up 64-62. After a Howard bucket to tie it again , the possible play of the game occurred when Evans spotted Kylee alone past the three-point line, rlfled a pass to her and she played string music to set the score to 67-64 Cards. 

1:51 remained. 

Another costly UofL blunder had them fouling Haines on a three point attempt. She tanked the first but connected on the other two and it was 67-66 Cards. It stayed that way the rest of the way, a couple of turnovers and missed shots filling the time and leading up to final 11 seconds. 

Tatyana Wyatt corralled a missed, potential Dana dagger from beyond the arc three. Wyatt advanced the ball to Howard and she drove down the right side of the court. She decided to launch a three instead of driving to the hoop. Three seconds on the clock. Howard soared to take the shot over the defending Bionca Dunham, my heart skipped a beat as the shot approached the rim and...it drew iron but did not go in. Jaz corralled the miss, the buzzer went off and a joyous UofL bench stormed the court to celebrate and congratulate their victorious teammates on the floor. 

A nail-biting thriller had ended in Lexington. Louisville 67- UK 66. Four straight in a row for the Cards over UK. Yes, the joy and excitement of Louisville women's basketball came to fruition. I watched with pride and admiration as the Cards made their way off the court to the tunnel leading to the locker rooms. 

Breathe, Cardinal fans. It's over. The epic battle had ended and pandemonium reigned for the Louisville contingent. A game I'll remember for quite some time. Two heavyweights standing toe-to-toe slugging it out. Louisville getting the decision.


THE FRED REPORT

Fred G. Sanford. "Lamont, you got to get us
tickets to watch those Cardinal women ! 

FREE THROWS -- Louisville got four free throw chances in 40 minutes. No, this isn't a misprint. In one of the weirdest, one-sided calls by the officiating crew I can remember in recent memory. UK attempted 15 "free ones" and made 12. A 19-9 fouls called discrepancy -- the Cats being the huge benefactor -- but Louisville made all four attempts. Three for Dana, one for Diop. We'll award a capital "F"...any less of a effort, if humanly possible, and the Cards go to overtime or worse. 

REBOUNDS -- A clear 37-17 advantage to Louisville. Kylee reigning supreme with 13 grabs. No UK player gathered more than five. Diop's six rebounds off the bench in just 18 1/2 minutes was huge, as well. I break out the capital "R" for boards dominance. 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- 15 turnovers for the Cards, not a bad number, considering the intense UK pressure. An eye-popping 10 assists for Dana. The Cards won the second chance points stat 11-6 and shot 51.8% from the floor (29-56). Yep, a capital "E" here. 

DEFENSE -- A gutsy Cardinal effort on defense. Six blocks, and shutting down Howard to just six second-half points in 20 minutes. Hanging in there at the end with both Dana and Jaz sporting four fouls. The 13-0 run in the third, after the media timeout when Louisville held UK to 0-4 shooting with Diop and Shook turning up the intensity pressure to"11" was the key for me. Let's close it out with a capital "D" 

FINAL FRED TALLY:  F-R-E-D  (our first perfect Fred report of the season) 


FINALLY...

This photo says it all. Heart-thumping eventual happiness
on Sunday

The Cards took UK's best punch, survived against the Cats and the referees on the road and took a highly exciting, competitive match. Four Cards in double figure scoring (Evans 18, Shook 11 and Dunham and Jones with 10 each) Two double-double efforts, with Shook's 13 grabs and Dana's 10  dishes. 

Maybe my MVP goes to Yacine Diop, though. When it mattered, when she was truly needed, she produced. Consider out of her almost 19 minutes, 10 of them came in the pivotable fourth quarter and 17 in the second half. The poise and experience of the veteran was a stabilizing force in the Cardinal third quarter rally and in the maintenance of a Louisville lead that withstood as much UK hammering as the construction efforts on the Rupp Arena property. .  


I saw a basketball battle yesterday that any basketball fan anywhere had to appreciate and talk about. After attending 16 straight contests between these two, I didn't think anything could surprise me anymore. I was wrong. I saw the continued emergence of maybe the best women's basketball player in the nation in Howard. I saw Louisville do a outstanding job of largely negating Howard's efforts in the final 20 minutes.

I saw why future Cardinal opponents will have feelings of dread and insecurity when they come to grips with having to face Louisville. From Shook to Jaz, to Diop, Dunham and Dana...this is a team that grew up a lot yesterday and went out with a competitive spirit.

I saw a classic. 




THEY SAID IT: 

Walz, Shook and Evans post-game video :  https://youtu.be/iPs3s7xQz8k

UK Players post-game video :  https://youtu.be/CAfnv7YFYEs

Matthew Mitchell post-game video :  https://youtu.be/fanliOwOeS8


(A HUGE THANK YOU AND JOB WELL DONE TO JARED ANDERSON FOR THE PICTURES IN TODAY'S ARTICLE AND THE ACCOMPANYING VIDEO OF THE POST-GAME). 


paulie
xxxxx

WBB falls to Ohio State 67-60 -- Vollleyball wins in three sets. --FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

#2 UofL WBB DROPS 67-60 TO OHIO STATE

It was more of a boxing match between two heavyweights that a basketball game last in the Value City Arena in Columbus, but Ohio State get the 67-60 decision over the Cards. Louisville shot 36.9% for the game, missed nine of their ten final shots and saw four OSU players reach double figures against them on a night against a powerful, aggressive Big 10 squad.

No one really started to gain an advantage in this game until late in the third quarter. The Buckeyes broke open a 45-45 contest with 2:10 left in the third when Kirsten Bell scored on a OSU layup, got fouled by Molly Lockhart and sank the following free throw. After a missed Dana Evans jumper, Janai Crooms took a Bell rebound and bullied her way past the Cardinal defense to give OSU the 50-45 edge. 

The quarter ended that way and, although Evans nailed a three to start the fourth quarter, OSU pushed back to a six point lead and held that advantage pretty much the rest of the way. 

Louisville ended the match going 1 for 10 from the floor to end the contest. OSU held a 62-57 lead after Norika Konno made a layup with 3:47 left in the contest. The Cards would not connect on a basket again until Konno made a layup with 17 seconds left to cut the Buckeye's lead to 65-60.

 In the pivot-able fourth quarter, Louisville went 5-18 (27.8%). Ohio State countered with 4-9 shooting. Seven Cardinal turnovers in the fourth, also, certainly didn't help their cause. This contest stayed at 62-57 for over three minutes late in the fourth and Louisville missed all seven of their shots in that time frame, negating any possible comeback 

This one is one I'll wager a lot of Cardinal fans will prefer to forget. Louisville trailed by two after the first quarter but had a nice second period from Evans, who got six of her team-high 18 points in those 10 minutes and the Cards held a 33-31 edge at the break.

Bionca Dunham finished with 10 for the Cards, all in the first half. For some reason, the Cards quit going inside to her, Kylee Shook (6 points) and Elizabeth Dixon (8 points) as the game wore on. And, Jazmine Jones, saddled with foul trouble early, never made much of an impact on the contest in 20 minutes, fouling out after 1-8 shooting and one rebound. 

As we've seen so many times before...what gets accomplished by those who are on the court at the end in a close game either make it or break it for a squad. Based on last night, applications may be available for a couple of those five, end-of-game spots. 

When you are playing a rough-and-tumble BIG 10 opponent, sometimes you have to rumble right back on them instead of trying to outrun them. 

Jeff Walz said after the Oregon game that this UofL squad wouldn't go through the season undefeated. Probably he, and definitely I expected a "L" to enter the squad's record so early after knocking off Oregon, though. 

(PHOTO CREDIT TO SHELBY FRIEZELL)


THE FRED REPORT

Using Freddy Kreuger for
"Nightmare in Value City Arena"

FREE THROWS -- Louisville attempted 12 and made seven. That's 58.3% and doesn't impress much at all. Consider only four Cards attempted them and three were successful in hitting them. Someone needs to get Bionca on the stripe and get more practice, practice, practice in. No letter awarded here for the effort. Meanwhile, Ohio State went 19-23. Ouch.

REBOUNDS -- The Cards held their own with the big "Bucks" and won the boards battle 34-32. Bionca was the boards battlers, with 11, completing her double-double. Kylee grabbed five in 23 minutes. A small case "r" is the assignment here. 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Louisville did lead for most of this one, but failed to finish. Costly turnovers, not sufficiently guarding the three-point threats and that dismal fourth quarter showed this team couldn't close out in an "away" environment with a small (3600) but enthused home team fan base. No letter to award here. 

DEFENSE -- The Cards lost the second half 36-27 and, although they kept the scoring relatively low, Buckeye posts Rebeka Mikulasikova and Dorka Juhasz played typical hard-nosed and aggressive Big 10 hoops and that combo (26 points) plus the steady play of guard Kirsten Bell (14 points) proved to be too much for the Cards to handle and contain. We end the Fred report with no letter here either.  

FINAL FRED TALLY:  -_-_e-_

So, in their first true away game, on another school's court, it was less than the desired result. The hope is Louisville learns from the debacle, works hard on the shortcomings and proves a bit better against another team Sunday that plays a similar style in NKU. 

Learning what works. Playing every game with energy and passion. Objectives for this "still jelling" Cardinal WBB squad.

Lessons learned on a chilly night in Columbus. 

Personally, I'm just glad I found my way out of the basement maze where the media room and press interview was conducted. Hanzel, meet Gretel. Hiking a half-mile to hear coach speak after a loss wasn't exactly on my bucket list.


WALZ SPEAKS

Coach Walz addressed a small group of media (me and Sonya made up 1/2 of the contingent) after the game. Hear his words at the video below. 

WALZ POST GAME OSU 12/5/19

paulie
xxxxx



Now, for some brighter news...

Volleyball Sweeps Samford

The volleyballers got it done in fairly easy fashion last night in Bowling Green as they swept the Samford Bulldogs, 25-21, 25-12, 25-22.

The opening set was a bit of a nail biter. The opening set of NCAA plays always seems to be as teams (and fans!) aren't sure of the new, higher pressure setting of "Win or go home."  The Cards felt a bit tentative and out of sorts.  They fell back to their training and planning and got it done, though.  Out of the gate, Anna Stevenson showed early that she was going to have a great match with 4 kills on 5 attempts in the first set.  She would go on to a ridiculous .857 hitting percentage after missing a shot near the end of the match to bring it down to that from the .917.  The total was 11 kills on 13 attempts, with no errors.

The second set was a Cardinal romp, with the Cards firing on all cylinders and Samford seemingly unable to do anything to slow the roll.  The Bulldogs would take their first timeout with the Cards leading 5-0.  Samford did show a little bit of spark, though, keeping the lead from growing significantly through the middle part of the set, but then the Cards would put together a couple of big runs to finish it out with ease.

The last set started out as another barn-burner, with the Cards jumping out to a big lead, but Samford would fight back.  The teams traded runs and sometimes just points, but that's not what you want if you start out the set behind 10-3, and Samford would never close that lead for good.  The Cards reached a 24-18 set point and the Cards fans in attendance, only a fraction of the red-clad attendees with Western Kentucky being the host team, were feeling jubilant.  Samford would put a slight damper on that, however, reeling off four straight.  The Cards did get the final point and exited Diddle Arena on a high note.

The Cards second round match will be tonight, against at Diddle Arena, against host WKU, who dispatched Kennesaw State in a sweep of the nightcap.  Let's give KSU some props, however, for keeping all three sets close, the Hilltoppers won it 25-23, 25-20, 25-23.  The match will be at 7pm local time, 8pm EST.

The Cards beat WKU early in the season, the second weekend of the season, in fact, in four sets 25-18, 22-25, 25-22, 25-15.  This was the only match WKU lost all season and in C-USA post-season play.

-- 

JMcA

WBB Prepare for Ohio State -- VBall Begins NCAA Tournament -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WBB Prepares to Face Ohio State

#2 Louisville WBB is set to face Ohio State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge tonight in Columbus.  Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m., on the Big Ten Network.

The Buckeyes enter the game with a 4-3 record. Recently, they went 1-1 in the Southpoint Shootout in Las Vegas.  They took down Northern Iowa 64-46.  Their loss came to a tough South Dakota team, 68-53.  The Coyotes made the NCAA Tournament last year.

Ohio State also played UConn this year at home.  The Huskies came out on top 73-62 in a contested match-up.  The other loss came to Ohio.

Ohio State's three other wins outside of Northern Iowa included Kent State, Valparaiso, and an overtime over Cincinnati.

The Buckeyes are averaging 69.9 points per game.  They have shot .438 from the floor on the year with a .307 mark from three-point range.  Free throws have been a weakness for Ohio State, shooting just .565 from the line- something the Cards would be smart to take advantage of that.

Another weakness of Ohio State is ball control.  The Buckeyes have turned the ball over 119 times this year for an average of 17 per game.  They have dominated down low, out-blocking opponents 35-13. A young team for head coach Kevin McGuff, 10 of his 13 players are freshmen or sophomores. According to some sources, Ohio State has had the toughest schedule in the country through their first seven game, and bringing in the #2 Cards only augments that difficulty of opponents.

The OSU defense holds opponents to .346 from the field and a sub-.300 mark from deep.  Their free throw defense has been atrocious as opposing teams knock down roughly 73% of their free throws.  Ohio State's defense is allowing 62.4 points per game, a mark UofL's offense has been way above.

Dorka Juhasz. Not only does she rebound and score
but she takes a pretty nice photo as well.  

Dorka Juhasz (10.2 ppg) and Kierstan Bell (10.0 ppg) are the sole players averaging scoring in double-figures.  Juhasz has also led the team in rebounds through their first seven games, averaging 8.5 per game.  Janai Crooms and Braxtin Miller have carried the team in assists with 38 and 22, respectively.

Louisville is 2-0 all-time against Ohio State.  Both meetings came in Columbus.  The most recent was in November of 2017 when the Cards prevailed 95-90 in overtime.  Asia Durr set a school record with 47 points and tied a school record with nine three-pointers in the game.

Paulie and Sonya will be in attendance as well as a photographer friend of mine, who will take my place for the game.  You'll get plenty of live coverage from our women's basketball guru and he'll have some postgame footage to add to it.

If you can't attend, the Big Ten Network will be televising the event. It is available on most cable providers in our Metro Louisville area and ll you who have "cut the cord" can probably figure out a way to watch on-line. And, you can always go to the dependable Nick Curran and A.J. for the radio feed, on 790 WKRD AM

Matt Andrews, radio voice for Buckeye women's basketball, held the same position for Louisville before he left for Columbus. Like Nick, who also calls Louisville Bats games during their season, he also does minor league baseball broadcast for the Columbus Clippers. Reports are he's already gotten word to Paulie via sources that the media buffet in the Value City Arena doesn't rival the one in the KFC YUM! Center.

On a side women's basketball note, you can check out Paulie's interviews with Jeff Walz and Dana Evans at the top of yesterday's post.  Just click on the link and it'll redirect you right to an audio recording or follow the two interviews at these audio/video links below.

JEFF WALZ 12-4-19

DANA EVANS 12-4-19



Volleyball Faces Samford in NCAA First Round

Just down the road from Louisville in Bowling Green, KY will be another Cardinal team in action.

UofL Volleyball prepares for a first round match-up against Samford today at 6:00 p.m. ET.  Make note that Bowling Green is an hour behind so the game will be 5:00 p.m., their time.

Louisville, who is 19-9 on the year, is making its 28th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.  The Cards earned an at-large bid and are one of four ACC teams to make the tournament.

Samford is in its second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance after going 24-5 on the year, finishing 15-1 in the Southern Conference, and winning the SoCon Tournament 3-2 over ETSU.  This is the Bulldogs' fifth tournament appearance, all coming in the last eight years.

Kelsi Hobbs has been the leader for Samford this year.  She was recently named the Sports Imports/AVCA Player of the Week.  She was also named Most Valuable Player of the Tournament.

The Cards, who were 14-3 to start the year, finished 5-6 after Melanie McHenry went down with an injury.  They did, however, go 4-2 to close out the year.  As they continue to adjust without their senior leader the Cards will have their hands full.

Host Western Kentucky will face Kennesaw State in the second match of the day.  The two winners will square off on Friday. The second round is schedule for 8 p.m. Louisville time.

A unique viewing opportunity for those unable to attend. Hilltopper Sports Satellite Network - HSSN on Facebook will stream the match. Link for that is:  

https://www.facebook.com/pg/GOHSSN/videos/

"Mr. Worldwide" Jeff McAdams will be present for the game, and I think it's safe to assume his mom, Ms. Vivian will accompany him.  I cannot guarantee you'll see a lot of  tweets out of  his @CardCoupleRadio Twitter account, but Jeff will split the writing duties with Paulie tomorrow.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared