The WBB season ends...UCLA proves me wrong by showing they are the best team -- Monday Cardinal Couple

 UCLA BLOWS OUT SOUTH CAROLINA IN SECOND HALF. 

I step back and admit I am wrong. 

I said, a few weeks back, that UConn was the best team in Division I WBB. 

When South Carolina ended their season with a surprising blowout, it led me to think that the Gamecocks would do the same to the Lady Bruins.  But, after a half, this one was already close to being over at 36-23 UCLA.. the 79-51 final unfolded in almost unbelievable fashion. Dawn Staley's gals couldn't buy a basket with gold standard cash money.

As a buddy remarked to me..."When's the last time you saw a bunch of white girls beat a bunch of black girls in D1 action?" Putting the unintended racial profiling aside, she made a good point. I guess none of us figured that Lauren Betts and Gabriella Jaquez would shut out the "cocks" inside and dominate on the offensive boards. Maybe we should have opened our eyes a little wider. 

After all, UCLA came into the contest with just one loss all season. Yes, it was early on, against South Carolina...but this was NCAA Tournament time and many critics were saying that UCLA was the best team in the nation. I was still in the UConn camp. 

I guess I didn't read the signs correctly either. 

Isla, we hardly knew you...Good luck

For Louisville, the upcoming few weeks could prove to be very interesting. The height that the Cards had is disappearing quickly. Between graduation and the transfer portal . Juffermans and Hardy are in the portal. .Ziegler has graduated. Istanbulluoglu and Putra are back, along with Mbugna. It looks like Roberts and Randolph will hang with the Cards, and that alone will make Louisville a bona fide ACC title contender. 

They don't have a Betts on their roster though...and that's what it took this year to best the rest.  

paulie

WBB Final Four Set -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

All Chalk in Phoenix

South Carolina and Texas took care of business last night to close out the 2026 Regional Round and move to the Final Four in Phoenix. They joined UConn and UCLA, who did the same on Sunday night. That makes a clean sweep for 1-seeds in the tournament. However, for all of the talk about a lack of parity in women's college basketball, that argument is getting long in the tooth at this point. Does the cream still rise to the top? More often than not, yes. That said, this season marks the first final four made up of all 1-seeds since 2018, and it's just the second in a decade. 

That 2018 Final Four also included Louisville, and it saw both games go to overtime. Louisville came out on the wrong end of their matchup against Mississippi State, but there's no need to relitigate that whole thing. State would go on to lose to Notre Dame in the final, after the Irish defeated UConn in the Final Four. 

We'll see if the final four matchups are as close as that 2018 season, but the elite eight matchups certainly were not. Duke held their own the best, losing by the smallest margin, but their defeat at the hands of UCLA was still by 12 points. UConn won their third straight game of this tournament against ACC opponents, dismantling Notre Dame by 18. South Carolina made light work of TCU, winning by 26, but the jewel of the elite eight came in Louisville's region. 

At the same time as the Cards were completely unraveling against Michigan on Saturday, Kentucky was doing largely the same against Texas. Like on the men's side, Louisville and Kentucky women were bounced from the tournament on the same day. Texas beat UK by 22, while Louisville lost to Michigan by 19. All that did for the Wolverines was set them up to get absolutely trounced. The Longhorns made their second-straight final four appearance by dominating Michigan 77-41. Yeesh. 

The men's tournament will get the Saturday/Monday timeslots, so Texas and South Carolina draw the short straws by playing on just three-and-a-half days' rest with travel to Phoenix. The women's games will be played on Friday and the championship game will be Sunday, with a time still to be announced. This is the same final four as last season, but the matchups are different. UConn and South Carolina will play a rematch of the 2025 National Championship game, which saw the Huskies thump the Gamecocks 82-59. That game will start at 7:00PM on Friday. Scheduled for 9:30 (but actually tipping off 20 minutes after the horn of the first game if it runs long), the second game will feature UCLA and Texas. UCLA is seeking their first championship game appearance of the modern era, after last season was their first Final Four of the era. Texas is looking to make their first appearance in the championship game since winning it all in 1986. The Longhorns lost in the final four in 1987, 2003, and 2025. 

Louisville will look to next season to reignite their hunt for their first national championship. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WBB falls to Michigan -- Sunday Cardinal Couple

 CARDS BOW OUT OF NCAA TOURNAMENT 71-52 TO MICHIGAN

Louisville basketball was a bit like the old adage for March, which is that they came in like a lion and left like a lamb. 

The Cards got off to a hot start against the Wolverines and led 13-4 after eight minutes played in the first quarter.  That lead was still viable after the first quarter at 15-9 and UofL was getting an All-American effort out of Elif Istanbulluoglu. The Cards were still controlling the action with 6:53 left in the first half at 25-14...and then the balloon burst. An 18-2 UofM run not only wiped out that double digit lead, but gave Michigan a 32-27 halftime lead. 

How would the Cards react to this Michigan run as the squads came out for the second half? Maybe with their worst half of the season....

UofL did keep it close for a good part of the third quarter but Michigan took off on another 18-2 run and the Cards were staring at a scoreboard that said 57-40 Michigan after three quarters.

 To put it simply, Louisville couldn't buy a basket. A 25-13 third quarter Michigan blitzkrieg had sent Louisville scratching their heads with 10 minutes to play. 

Louisville would get no closer than 16 the rest of the way. The lack of rebounding, the failure to successfully figure out the press...things that will get you a loss every time. 

And thus endeth a season that was very good, by most standards...but another Cardinals failure to reach a Great Eight.  

It's a group with promise, The sophomore class is only going to get better, if they stay together as a unit. As for now, they'll dream of what could have been and head back home.

CARDS WBB POSTGAME MICHIGAN

paulie

For Cards, Victory is Sweet -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Defeats Alabama 69-68

via UofL Athletics

It was vindication for Imari Berry Monday afternoon, as she stepped to the free throw line in a two-point game with 8 seconds remaining against Alabama. Similar situations have seen Berry step to the line for critical late-game foul shots twice in the last two months, both against Duke. In early February, Berry made one of two at the line with one second remaining for the Cards to lose by a single point. In the ACC Championship game, Berry again made one of two with 14 seconds left to give the Cards just a two point lead instead of three. Duke made a tying layup and went on to win in overtime. Those situations were top of mind for everyone in the Yum! Center, and if they weren't for people watching the game on ESPN, the announcing crew made sure to remind everyone of them. Whether Berry thought of them at all will forever be a mystery, but she calmly sank both free throws to give the Cards a two-possession lead. Alabama's banked prayer, as a result, made it a one-point game rather than tying, and Louisville survived a buzzer-beating attempt to win by just one point. 

It was an up-and-down affair, with each team trading haymakers during the game. The teams alternated quarter victories, with Louisville losing the final stanza but holding on just enough to win the game outright. Alabama refused to yield, multiple times needing sparks that brought them back into contention when Louisville looked poised to break the game open. The first of those came in the opening quarter. After Louisville turned a 4-6 deficit into a 13-6 lead with two minutes remaining, the Crimson Tide showed the danger of relaxing for just a moment. The Tide ran the shot clock down and Ace Austin nailed a three to make it 13-9. On the ensuing possession, Louisville turned the ball over just beyond mid-court and Laura Ziegler found herself trapped in a 2-on-1 situation. Normally, choosing to defend the easy layup is preferable to stepping out to guard the three-point shooter. When that shooter has just made a clutch three, though, preferences may go out the window. Austin sank her second three in ten seconds and Louisville's lead evaporated. The teams traded baskets and Louisville led 15-14 at the break. 

A frenetic second quarter saw the two teams shoot a combined 16/31 from the floor and 8/16 from three-point land. Unfortunately for Louisville, they were on the losing end of the percentage battle in both categories. Alabama rode a 5/9 performance from beyond the arc to a 21-19 second quarter win and a one-point halftime lead. 

Coach Jeff Walz put some fear into the Cards at halftime, as they were in danger of being upset at home. Louisville responded well. Both teams shot just 2/6 from distance in the third quarter, but Louisville was much more effective inside. The Cards were 9/16 from the floor overall and won the third by six points. Both teams took their first free throws in the third quarter, though Louisville's served as an omen for the remainder of the game. Alabama went 2-2 from the stripe while the Cards missed a pair. Those missed free throws came off the hands of Elif Istanbulluoglu, who entered as 70% foul shooter. Louisville went on to finish 8/16 from the stripe, dropping their season average by an entire percentage point and moving them down 30 spots in that stat category. 

Holly Rowe selfie from 2024-25

The Cards opened the fourth quarter with a 54-49 lead and extended it on an Imari Berry jumper just 15 seconds into the fourth. That pushed Louisville's lead to 56-49 and the crowd was feeling it. The Cards were poised to break the game open, but they failed to capitalize. Louisville had three possessions over the next minute and a half where Alabama remained scoreless, but they failed to extend their lead. That's when the Tide swept through. Alabama went on a 10-1 run, led by a pair of threes from Karly Weathers, to take a 59-57 lead. The crowd was stunned, but Walz let his team play through it. Another missed three late in the shot clock looked like it would give Bama another big momentum builder, but Mackenly Randolph pulled down the offensive rebound and kicked it back out. The ball worked around to Elif, who nailed a three and put Louisville back on top.

Louisville holding their ground despite the big burst from Alabama proved to be the difference. Free throws would have salted the game away, but I already noted that the Cards struggled in that regard. Their next three trips to the line saw them go 1/2 each time, but Alabama continued to miss shots after their big run. With 1:57 remaining, Randolph was sent to the line in a huge spot and knocked down a pair to extend Louisville's lead to 65-61. Louisville's defense stepped up, and a steal in the corner led to a timeout. With 27 seconds on the shot clock, Louisville went to work, using every second they could. Reyna Scott drove with five left, but she was blocked. The ball came back to her and she buried a jumper from just inside the free throw line as the shot clock ran out. 

Michael Hickey | Getty

Louisville looked like they'd put the game away when a jumper was missed by Alabama with 52 seconds left, but the ball bounced around until it was rebounded by the offense. A foul on the attempt gave Essence Cody a pair of free throws, which she sank to keep the lead at just four. Louisville burned the clock down again, but this time Taj Roberts' shot late in the clock failed to reach the rim. The fans erupted when another shot went in as the shot clock horn sounded, but it was ruled a shot clock violation and confirmed on review. Alabama took their final timeout with 19 seconds left, trailing by four. Randolph came up with a huge block on a layup, but Weathers recollected the ball and tipped it in with ten seconds remaining. That set up Berry's redemption story, but the game wasn't quite over. Weathers, who else, made the 30-foot bank shot to keep the Tide alive. Louisville tried to catch Alabama off guard with a quick inbounds to Scott so she could sprint away from defenders, but the plan didn't work. Scott went to the line with 2.3 seconds left and a chance to put the Cards up a full possession. She missed the first. 

The conventional wisdom says you should miss the second to run the clock. Missing a free throw intentionally is difficult. It's also risky. A shot that fails to hit the rim doesn't count, and a shot that hits the rim too hard could lead to a breakaway for the defense. Scott executed the intentional miss well, and the ball bounced down toward the block. Alabama took off down the court and the Cards defended, in my opinion, dangerously closely. You know a desperation heave is coming. A foul on that heave basically loses you the game. Nevertheless, Louisville harassed the ballcarrier just enough for the shot to miss wide of the rim. The play-by-play actually doesn't even indicate the shot, so it may have been waved off. Whatever the decision, the outcome was the same. Louisville survived and advanced. 

The FRED Report

F - Free Throws: Eight of sixteen. It was bad. It was bad before the intentional miss, because 8/15 is still barely over 50%. No letter. 

R - Rebounding: The Cards dominated the boards 41-24. Louisville had two players with double-digit boards as Randolph had 13 and Elif had 11 (double-double with 18 points). Ziegler added eight, while Weathers was the top rebounder for Alabama with just five. The Cards used that advantage to double up on the Tide in second chance points, which was critical. Capital 'R'. 

E - Effort/Execution: Louisville shot just 45% from the floor and 27% from three. However, they didn't yield. Even when minor lapses saw Alabama erase big leads, the Cards stayed focused on the goal, and they did just enough to get the win. Louisville did lose the turnover battle 15-13 and the points off turnovers battle 15-10, though, so I can only give a lowercase 'e'.

D - Defense: The Cards had just seven steals and Alabama shot 45.6% from the floor and 46.2% from three. You might think that's an easy knock on the defense, but Louisville held the Tide to under 50% from two and just 24 points in the paint. They sent Alabama to the line only twice, making the 100% free-throw shooting virtually useless. They also held the Tide below their scoring average, so I'm going to grant a lowercase 'd'. 

A final tally of _-R-e-d won't win many awards, but it did the all important thing of winning this game. 

Louisville advances to the Sweet Sixteen for the 13th time under Coach Jeff Walz. Those 13 appearances under Walz represent every appearance in program history. The Cards will now travel to Fort Worth for the next round (or two) of the NCAA Tournament. Louisville will face the two-seed, Michigan, who dispatched NC State by a whopping 29 points on Sunday. The Cards have won the last five matchups against the Wolverines, but the two teams last met in 2022. The Sweet Sixteen game will be played at 12:30 on ABC.

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Cards Lose Guard -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Opens NCAA Without Skylar Jones

Louisville women's basketball will begin their 2026 NCAA Tournament run today in the Yum! Center, but we learned yesterday that they'll do so with a surprising change to the roster. Coach Jeff Walz announced yesterday that Skylar Jones is no longer with the Cardinals program. In a statement, Walz said, "She will not be participating [in the NCAA Tournament]. She's no longer with the team, so we've just parted ways. It's best for both parties."

Rumors will fly, to be sure, but we try not to participate in the rumor mill itself. It sounds as though there was a disconnect between Jones, the coaching staff, and potentially teammates, and that disconnect didn't lend itself to a cohesive team going into the tournament. Regardless of your individual opinion of the player and her effectiveness, it is fair to say that a shakeup like that is bound to have interesting effects on the way the team performs going forward. 

Jones played in all 34 games for Louisville this season, starting one. She averaged just 16.6 minutes per game, though, the fewest of any player that played in every game. Jones shot 30.8% from three, making 20, and 44.6% from the field, making 104. She averaged 2.9 rebounds, and she had 33 assists and 51 steals. However, she had 56 fouls (nearly one per ten minutes played) and 41 turnovers. 

We'll have to wait and see exactly what happens with the offense without a significant role player off the bench. Jeff Walz has done plenty with his teams, especially personnel management, to earn trust, but this is definitely an interesting decision. 

Louisville tips off against Vermont at 12pm today in the Yum! Center. The game will be on ESPN. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Cards Crush Orange -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville to Face UNC in Semis

photo by Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics

Led by 17 points from Taj Roberts, Louisville had a balanced attack that saw six player finish in double figures to propel the Cards to a relatively straightforward 26-point victory. Louisville jumped ahead to a 25-12 lead after the first quarter and used a 25-14 fourth quarter to put the game away. Joining Roberts in double figures were Reyna Scott (15), Mackenly Randolph (12), Skylar Jones (12), Imari Berry (11), and Laura Ziegler (11). Syracuse got 22 points out of Uche Izoje, but it wasn't enough to keep pace with the Louisville offense. 

The Cards got off to a strong start in the first, hitting 11 of their 16 shots. They went 2-3 from beyond the arc, which was a mark they would go on to match in the fourth. Louisville's ability to score inside was evident, and they went on to outscore Syracuse 46-30 over the course of the game. Although it took three minutes for either team to score to open the game, Louisville scored the first eight points and led 13-2 with 4:39 remaining in the quarter. The Cards stretched their lead to 15 points at 21-6 and again at 25-10 before the Orange made a tip-in to close the quarter at the 25-12 score. 

The middle portion of the game was quite close, with the teams only separated in the second and third quarters by a combined two points. Syracuse used 53.3% shooting from the floor and a 4-4 effort from the free-throw line to win the second quarter 21-20. Louisville, meanwhile, failed to reach the free throw line in the second and went 0-4 from three point land as part of a 10-22 second quarter. Louisville came out of the locker room with a 12-point lead and managed to scrape together a 17-14 third quarter victory that didn't get the best of either team. Louisville made just six shots, though three were from beyond the arc, and they went 2-3 from the stripe. Syracuse managed to be worse, making just five shots with two of them being threes. 

photo by Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics

The fourth quarter sealed the deal, with Louisville eerily matching its output from the first, hitting 11 of 16 shots and going 2-3 from three. It wasn't a carbon copy, as Louisville only scored the first seven points of the quarter, but by that point the game was out of reach. The Cards salted the game away, getting exciting ACC tournament minutes for some of the bench players, and took their rest to prepare for their game today. 

Mackenly Randolph finished with a double-double for the Cards, adding 10 rebounds to her 12 points. Imari Berry and Skylar Jones were very productive, with both tallying five assists, at least five rebounds, and a block. Leading scorer Taj Roberts added four assists, three rebounds, and three steals. She and Jones tied for the team lead with 70% shooting on the day.

The FRED Report

F - Free Throws: This one was bad. Louisville didn't get to the line much, and they usually missed when they did. 4-10 from the stripe won't get it done in a close game, and it earns no letter.

R - Rebounding: Like points, Louisville spread their rebounds around. Randolph had ten, but four other players had at least four. The Cards won the rebounding battle 43-34, and while I want to knock them for allowing Syracuse to pull down more offensive rebounds, Louisville shot 56% from the floor, so they didn't have a ton of O-boards to get. From an offensive rebounding rate standpoint, Louisville was actually better than Syracuse, as they pulled down 30.3% of their missed shots while Syracuse had just 25%. Capital 'R'.

E - Effort/Execution: It's hard to knock a 26-point win over a team that finished with fewer than double-digit losses, but Louisville didn't play their cleanest game. They had 14 turnovers, which was more than Syracuse, and the free throws were abysmal. That said, they did shoot well overall and they closed the game as strong as they opened it. 14 turnovers isn't great, but it didn't bite them in this one. Louisville also remains relatively rested going into their second game, so I'll grant a Capital 'E'. 

D - Defense: Nine steals and two blocks is pretty nice. The Cards forced just one other turnover, though, which is less nice. That said, they allowed just 34.3% shooting and never trailed. In fact, by the time Syracuse finally scored their first basket, Louisville would never lead by fewer than they did at that moment (six). The Cards faced a seven-point deficit at the free throw line, but they only gave up four more attempts. They allowed just 61 points, in the end, so I'm going to have to say Capital 'D'. 

photo by Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics

Was I feeling generous? Maybe. But that's a final tally of _-R-E-D. That's a fun cheer for the Cards going into a semifinal gameday as the only red team remaining. That said, Louisville will likely need to be better today (and tomorrow) from the free throw line if they want to leave Atlanta with hardware. 

The ACC quarterfinals were a bloodbath. Top-seeded Duke actually had the smallest margin of victory, and that was still 14 points. The Blue Devils topped Clemson 60-46. Notre Dame completed a minor upset of NC State in a major way. The Irish won 81-63 and will face Duke at noon on ESPN2. Louisville's win was the largest of the day and the largest of the tournament so far. They'll face UNC following the conclusion of game one. UNC beat VT 85-68. 

The Cards and Tar Heels are scheduled to tip at 2:30 on ESPN2. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Stage Set for ACC WBB Tourney -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Holds Second Seed

Despite the Cards suffering a third loss on Sunday, Louisville remained in second in the ACC WBB standings, and will carry the second seed into the 2026 Ally ACC Women's Basketball Tournament. The Cards had an opportunity to take the top spot, with Duke also dropping another game, but Notre Dame bested Louisville despite a furious comeback. The Irish themselves were trying to snag a second bye on Sunday, but they would have needed a bit of a miracle to finish ahead of NC State, who were playing Pitt. Pitt had already been eliminated from tournament contention. 

Joining the Panthers on the outside looking in are Boston College and SMU. BC finished a woeful 5-26 overall to go along with their 1-17 conference record. Pitt was also 1-17 but went 7-6 in non-conference play. SMU managed to win one more conference game and finished the overall season 9-21. It's tough to say anyone will miss those teams in Gas South Arena in "Atlanta" (Duluth), Georgia. The arena was originally called the Gwinnett Civic Center Arena

The event will get underway at 11 AM on Wednesday with #12 Miami vs #13 Stanford. There's not really a lunch break built in on Wednesday, as the games will go 11, 1:30, and 4. The 10-seed, California, will get the last team in, Wake Forest, though Wake was in before the final day of the regular season. The Demon Deacons finished 4-13, and Cal was the lowest team to finish .500 or better (9-9). The last game of the day is Florida State vs GT. FSU has taken a bit of a fall and finished the year just 5-13 (10-20). GT managed to finish 11th in conference thanks to some quirky tiebreakers. Despite just a 13-17 overall record, they finished above the two teams tied with them at 8-10, despite Miami finishing the regular season 16-13 and Stanford coming in at 19-12. 

We'll see who comes out of day one of the fray, as Thursday introduces three teams that received a bye, and two teams that got an extra day of rest. Game one on Thursday is #8 Virginia vs #9 Clemson, and the winner of that game will face top-seeded Duke on Friday. Both teams had a chance to improve their seed on the final day, but when they finished tied at 11-7, it wouldn't have mattered who was actually ahead since they were destined to play anyway. Notre Dame's fifth seed earned them the 1:30 slot on Wednesday, and they'll face the winner of Miami and Stanford. The Irish finished in another three-way tie, this one at 12-6. ND beat out Virginia Tech and Syracuse, despite both teams taking two more overall wins. Nevertheless, Syracuse came out and the back of the pack with the 7-seed and will face the winner of Cal and Wake. VT closes the evening at 7:30 against either GT or FSU. 

As I already mentioned, Duke will play the first game on Friday and has a better bead on their opponent than any other double-bye team. Arguably, though, they have the worse deal, as both of their potential opponents have the same amount of rest and have just two potential opponents to plan for. While those setbacks are true, chalk holding would mean Duke faced the lowest remaining seed in the tournament. NC State finished fourth and will play ND, Miami, or Stanford. Following the mid-afternoon break, Louisville will return to ESPN 2 (Duke will play the first game off of ACCN) at 5PM on Friday, where they'll face Syracuse, Cal, or Wake. UNC finished third and will close the evening against VT, GT, or FSU. 

The ACC will crown a champion on Sunday, with tipoff at 1PM. We'll see just who is playing in that game in due course. The Cards have shown plenty of capability to win against any team in the league, but they've also shown a surprising propensity for losing. It would be nice to be rolling into tournament play with a long win streak, but perhaps some late adversity will renew a bit of hunger in the Cards. Only time will tell. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

The Week Ahead for Louisville Women's Athletics -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Packed Schedule as Spring Ramps Up

Louisville women's athletics has a busy week ahead as the winter sports season hits its climax and the spring sports season gets rolling. Six sports are in action this week with only the track and field team having the week off. 

Women's golf and swimming will both be first in action today, as each of those teams continue multi-day events. The golf team is finishing up the Moon Golf Invitational in Melbourne, Florida today, and the Cards stand tied for 13th of 17 teams after yesterday's rounds. Louisville is just three shots off of 11th place and will get the final round underway at 9am this morning. Swimming and diving are getting into the third day of the ACC Championships, with the event scheduled to run all the way through Saturday. There are plenty of events on deck for that, so you can keep up with Louisville Swim and Dive on social media or check in with live stats here or live streaming via ESPN. Louisville finished third as a team in last season's ACC tournament, and seven ACC teams are in this season's top 25. Today's events get underway at 9:30. 

Softball will begin a loaded week with their home opener this afternoon as they host Bellarmine. It should be an unseasonably warm day, with highs forecast in the 60s today, so it should be more pleasant than people may have expected going into a mid-February matchup. This game was originally slated to be played next week, so the weather is a nice surprise for the rescheduled event. The Cards are 6-3 so far this season, with all three losses coming to the hosting opponents at their two weekend events. Louisville faces a Bellarmine squad that is just 1-8 in their first season under a new head coach. The Cards will look to extend their win streak to three games going into the weekend, where they'll travel once more. Tonight's game will be at 6:30 on ACCNX. After today, Louisville will go on the road again, this time to Fort Myers, FL for an event hosted by Florida Gulf Coast University. Louisville will play Buffalo and FGCU on Friday afternoon, Wisconsin and UConn on Saturday, and close the weekend with a Sunday morning rematch against Buffalo. 

Lacrosse will play a pair of games this week as well, as they look to pick up their first victory of the 2026 campaign. The Cards lost a heartbreaker in the opener, going down in double OT to Ohio State, and fell at the hands of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Saturday. Louisville will look to bounce back with a home match against Kent State tomorrow at noon and they'll play another road ACC match on Saturday. This week, Scott Teeter's squad will face North Carolina. 

Women's tennis will have two matches at home this week, as ACC play fully ramps up. The Cards are 6-1 so far this season with their lone loss coming last Friday against Notre Dame. Louisville is 0-1 in conference as a result, but they'll bring two Florida teams to Bass-Rudd this weekend to try to fix that. The Cards face Florida State on Friday and Miami on Sunday. 

Louisville women's basketball has a mid-week bye this week, giving their opponents a chance to catch up in league play. The Cards have won three straight since losing to Duke, and that head-to-head matchup is currently the difference between the top two teams in the ACC. Duke is 14-0, while Louisville sits at 14-1. Duke plays NC State on Thursday, but chances are running out for the Blue Devils to take a loss. After the Wolfpack, they'll play at Clemson, host FSU, then finish the season on the road at rival UNC. Louisville gets a mid-week break but they'll take on Virginia at the Yum! Center on Sunday. The Cards finish the season with a significant test of their own, going on the road to Georgia Tech on Thursday the 26th before hosting Notre Dame on March 1st. The Cards and Irish will square off at 4PM on ESPN2, and they'll be the second to last tip-off of the ACC regular season. The Cards can lock up a double-bye in the ACC tournament with one more win. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Cards WBB storms past BC 85-56 -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS HAVE 6 FOR 9 (OR MORE) IN GROUNDING OF EAGLES

Maybe the Cards decided they wanted to emulate the big winter storm gripping the Louisville region. Maybe they were appreciative of the fans who came out in the blustery cold weather. Maybe it was the 11 a.m. start and the Cards thought they still asleep and dreaming about a huge win.  Whatever the incentive or scenario was, it worked like a snowball right in the face. The Cards jumped out to a 13-2 first quarter lead and never looked back in this battle of birds at the KFC YUM! Center.

Louisville is now 9-0 in the ACC and would eventually build the lead to 42 with six minutes left in the game, after a Rebekah Graves jumper to set the score at 81-39...but Boston College was playing for the full 40 minutes no matter what the score was and actually outscored UofL 17-4 to end the game in taking the 29 point loss. By the midway point of the fourth quarter, the Cards had a lineup of Berry, Hardy, Bender, Graves and Ziegler on the court.

It may have been the longest fourth quarter in the history of Louisville women's basketball.  That 22-14 B.C. win of the fourth quarter was with head coach Joanna Bernabei just trying to basically practice for future games and running scripted plays.  Louisville went inside often and it led to a 40-18 points in the paint edge for UofL...No Card played more than 22 minutes in the game (Berry). 

Mackenzie Randolph ended up leading Louisville in points scored (with 13) Taj Roberts and Skylar Jones added 11 each, and Ziegler, Berry and Istanbulluoglu finished with nine points each. 

A fun one to watch on TV, nestled in and warm . 

Let's hope BC didn't have too many delays in getting home (if they even tried) Welcome to a crippling winter storm here in Cardinals country,,.,Cardinals fans. 

(Today's photos from a big Cardinals fan)

Freddie Freeman...pretty fair first baseman for LA.

THE FRED REPORT

F - Free Throws -- The Cards were 20-28 from the free throw line for just a tad over 70% . And, that's our standard for a Capital "F"  Kudos to Taj Roberts and Skylar Jones (4-4). A questioning look toward Reagan Bender (1-4) 

R- Rebounds -- 49-26,,,advantage Cards. Laura Ziegler and Grace Mbugna led the way for UofL with eight each...and I have no problem awarding  CAPITAL "R" here.

E - Effort/Execution -- Louisville shot 54.7%  but has 21 turnovers. 16 assists on 29 baskets isn't all that spectacular...but, it was a great win in front of an appreciative crowd.  small "e"  

D - Defense -- The Cards held the eaagles to 6 points on 19-65 shooting (29%) and forced 15 turnovers. Seeing that 40+ point lead evaporate at the end of the game warrants a small "d" .

Final Fred tally:  F-R-e-d

POST GAME JEFF WALZ

Everyone stay inside today unless it is essential travel, you gotta work or you are going to walk to a place to go sledding. Stay warm, y'all.

pauiie

Cards Host BC One Day Early -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WBB Faces Eagles in Rescheduled Game

With the impending winter storm about to hit Louisville and, well, everywhere else, dozens of college basketball games this weekend have had their start times shifted or the games postponed or outright canceled. The KFC Yum! Center was set to host a game each day this weekend, and both have been moved to try to get fans (and teams) out safely before the weather sets in. The men's game was the first to be rescheduled, moving earlier in the afternoon instead of the 4PM listed start time. The women's game, as Daryl mentioned yesterday, was moved from Sunday to this morning. 

Louisville will host a Boston College team that shouldn't pose too much of a threat. That's quite good, since I wrote a little about Louisville's tough upcoming schedule earlier this week. The Eagles are just 4-17 overall and are last in the conference at 0-8. They've lost 13 straight games and only one of their eight conference losses has been by fewer than 15 points. They lost by three at home to Pitt, giving the Panthers their only ACC win so far this season. 

Despite their woeful schedule, BC ranks 3rd in the conference in free throw percentage (75%) which is also good for 60th in the country. They also have a player, Athena Tomlinson (great name by the way), who has 103 assists, which is also good for 3rd in the league and 23rd in the country. Tomlinson has the league's 12th best assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.69. Tomlinson's 103 assists, though, are out of only 261 total for the entire team this year. Yikes. BC's offense scores just 62.7 points per game and their average scoring margin is -11. The Eagles' 61 points against Pittsburgh are the most they have scored in a conference game. 

Louisville should be able to have a field day. The Eagles do manage to force slightly more turnovers than they commit (15.9 vs 15.2), but they allow opponents to shoot 47% from the floor and have an average rebounding margin of -4.7. The Cards should be able to get good shots, dominate the paint, and win the battle of the boards. It's not just the paint where teams beat up on BC, though, as they allow shooters space as well. Opponents are making 34.5% of their three-point attempts against the Eagles. 

Louisville WBB will want to get this game out of the way and potentially hit the road early to get to the west coast for next week's games. There was no change to the TV for today's game, as it was already scheduled to be on ACC Network Extra. That arrangement remains, and you can check it out at 11am.

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Berry Named ACC POTW -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Imari Berry's Big Day Draws Accolade

Louisville women's basketball had a huge win on Sunday, as Daryl wrote up in her column yesterday, and the big road week for the Cards saw them regain some national attention. Louisville had a pair of tough road tests last week against Notre Dame and NC State and came away with wins in two of the toughest places to play in the conference. Those victories moved Louisville to 5-0 on the road this season and pushed them to 8-0 in conference play. Louisville stands tied atop the league with just one other undefeated team: Duke. The Cards and Blue Devils will face off just once this season, with Kara Lawson's squad coming to the KFC Yum! Center on Thursday, February 5th. The game is already announced as an ESPN matchup. 

Louisville's victories did more than keep them atop the ACC; they propelled the Cards squarely back into the top-ten in the country and resurfaced Louisville amongst teams to watch as the season rolls on. The Cards moved up to 8th in both the NET rankings and the Associated Press poll, and will likely see themselves on the rise when the USA Today Coaches Poll is released today. The Cards are the highest rated three-loss team, sitting three spots ahead of Kentucky, who stand at 11th in the NET and AP polls. 

Along with the team recognition, a Louisville player found herself in the spotlight as well, with Imari Berry being named the ACC WBB Player of the Week. Berry had a huge game on Sunday, pouring in a career-high 33 points and adding 12 assists for the second double-double in her career. Berry's game on Sunday included back-breaking shot after back-breaking shot as the Wolfpack tried to distance themselves, and she made two free throws to send the game to overtime. Berry also added three steals and a pair of assists. 

graphic via gocards.com

Berry was critical in a game that saw Taj Roberts struggle from the floor and be limited to just four points. Roberts was coming off of a big game of her own against Notre Dame, in which she scored 19 points on 4-5 shooting from three and went 5-5 from the line in 36 minutes, so it would be understandable if her legs weren't quite there on the back-end of two huge away games. Berry, to her credit, was good for the Cards in South Bend as well, scoring seven points to go along with five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. Berry has shown that she can shoot the lights out in limited quantities in the past. Sunday's game was the first time where she went completely unconscious and took the game over. If she and Roberts can come together for big games at the same time against some of Louisville's key opponents down the stretch, the ceiling for this team gets a lot higher. 

After the tough road trip, Louisville gets a minor reprieve with a mid-week ACC bye. They'll have Thursday off before hosting Boston College on Sunday, January 25th. Louisville will need to get every bit of rest they can this week, as they have a tough stretch before their next midweek bye. After BC, Louisville will go on the road for the West Coast swing against Stanford and Cal before returning home for that game against Duke. Then they'll make a weekend trip to Syracuse before coming back home to face Wake Forest and Florida State. That's a lot of air miles and a lot of difficult matchups. Going 7-0 in this stretch would be a dream. Getting out of it with one or two losses would be commendable. We'll see what the Cards can do as the season heats up. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WBB in Raleigh to face NC State -- SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 NCST LEADS SERIES 9-8

They're one of those ACC teams that Louisville has struggled with in the ACC. And, going to Raleigh and playing in front of what's sure to be a sellout pro-Wolfpack crowd isn't exactly a game where Coach Walz can unload the bench for the fourth quarter. 

NC State, coached by the ubiquitous Wes Moore, isn't quite the squad they were last year...but at 13-5 and second in the ACC standings...they are still a force to be reckoned with...and Wolfpack fans take a special delight in giving the Cards and Jeff Walz a welcome that is not warm and cheerful. 

Classless, mean, overly intense and abusive is the opinion of a few of the other ACC coaches and players when it comes to the NCST fan base. They, of course ,see themselves differently...as being loyal and passionate. 

A former UofL WBB player, who asked to remain anonymous, describes playing in the James T. Valvano Arena at William Neal Reynolds Coliseum as "worse than the biggest rivalry you had in high school. They'd probably boo Santa Claus because he wears a red suit..." 

Reynolds can hold up to 5.500 for women's basketball and has attracted a little over 5.000 for home games this season. Packed on top of the court, the crowd can be very intimidating to visiting teams. 

Of course, it's well known that my favorite mascot in the ACC WBB is Ms. Wuf...Below is a photo of the two of us, shortly before Mr. Wuf barged in and demanded to be in a picture. Yeah, things could get a little crazy in Greensboro 

So...who are the Wolfpack leaders? They currently have four student-athletes in double figures...junior Khamil Pierre leads the way with 15.8 a game.  

Khamil gives 'Pack fans a thrill...

The Pack have won four out of their last five...inexplicably losing to Clemson.

Last year, the Cards played NCST twice and won both...65-54 in November in Louisville and 70-68, in overtime, in the ACC Tournament.

 This one is a ESPN2 game and...of course, the network will trot out former NCST guard Deb Antonelli to do color analysis. It's a 1 p.m. tip.  Let's hope she doesn't go into a two-hour praise-fest of Wes and the Pack. 

And let's hope the Cards can hold up under the second most hostile fan base they face in a season...

paulie

Cards win the battle with the Irish 79-66 -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL 

Good morning readers,  I'm ready for the temperatures to start warming back up.  The Cards are heating up on the hardwood.

Louisville is on a 10 game win streak with a big road win against the rival #22 Notre Dame Fighting Irish last night, lets get into a recap.  

WBB

Louisville moves to 17-3, 7-0 in the ACC.

Reyna Scott came off the bench for a career high 20 points against the Irish when she went 9-13 from the field with 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 assists to boot.  Tajianna Roberts also poured it on with 19 of her own when she saw 4 of 5 of her three point attempts go through the hoop. 

Hannah Hidalgo had herself a night when she scored 24 points and 8 assists but HH and Notre Dame's short bench would not be enough to topple the Cards on this night.  After the first quarter, the Cardinals took command of the lead and never relinquished it.  The Irish would run out of gas in the 4th quarter as UofL would hold ND to just 23% shooting and 10 total points. Roberts and Scott combined for 14 in the quarter.  

UP NEXT 

Louisville at NC STATE 

Sunday 1pm 

FRED REPORT

Fred Chopin

FREE THROWS -- Louisville was 12-16 at the line good for 75%. Compared to ND's 7-10 which were only attempted by Hidalgo, it was a solid night for the Cards. CAPITAL F

REBOUNDING -- The Cardinals outrebounded ND 38-36 but considering the Irish only had 6 players available and Scott mentioned in the post game interview that it was an emphasis for the team this week, I'd say there's much to be improved in this category. lower case r

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- Once UofL secured the lead, they did not let it go. There was no doubt in this one and the Cards got a much needed offensive effort and output from Roberts and Scott in hostile territory. CAPITAL E

DEFENSE -- The Cards held Hidalgo to 1-4 from three point range. She was held to just 2 points in the first and 4th quarter each. CAPITAL D



FINAL FRED TALLY: F_r_E_D





As Always
Go Cards

~Daryl

CARDS WBB STATS -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 WBB STATS AFTER 17 GAMES

Figured it might be time to take a look at a few UofL WBB stats...as the Cards are now atop of the ACC standings ...let's see what helped get them there.

First off...14-3 is impressive. The only losses...to UConn, UK and South Carolina...came to teams that are #1 (UConn), ,  #3 (South Carolina)  and #6 (UK) in the nation Those three teams have only two losses in their 47 games...so no major upsets ,or  unexpected losses there.  Of course, it's always disappointing to lose to your in-state rival....but .the Cards are outscoring their opponents 83.1 to 58.0 this season. 

 The Cards have only hit the 100 pt. mark once (against Bellarmine), 90's points five times, in the 80's four times, 70's four times ,and 60's three times

Overall the points scored is solidly in favor of the Cards...1412 to 992. 

On an individual basis, the Cards three leading scorers are Tajianna Roberts (13.2), Laura Ziegler (11.7) and  Imani Berry (10.1). Leading three-point shooters are Roberts (32), Ziegler (27) and Berry (21). Skylar Jones has 33 free throws made, Ziegler 32 and Berry 30. 

In minutes played...Roberts has 482, Ziegler 460 and Elif Istnbulluoglu 413.

Roberts. Ziegler, Istanbulluoglu and Mac Randolph have started in all 17 games.

Home states or countries?  There are three players from Kentucky on the roster, two from California and one each from New York, Tennessee, Texas, Michigan, Illinois....for the US contingent. Other countries are one each from Turkey, Ukraine, Australia ,and Denmark. .

By class... There are three seniors, two juniors, six sophomores, one redshirt freshman and two freshmen

(Photos from UofL and Jared Anderson) pulled rom internet...

 paulie

Cards Back in Top 10 -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville WBB on the Rise

After head coach Jeff Walz's 499th and 500th wins over the past week, Louisville has seen themselves move back into the top ten of the AP poll. The Cards moved up from 13th to 10th, taking advantage of their opportunities as other teams fell. LSU lost a pair of games to drop from 5th to 12th, and Iowa State and TCU each lost one game to drop them behind the Cards. Louisville is the highest ranked three-loss team in the poll, with Baylor (13-3) checking in at 16th after their win over then-#10 ISU. 

The USA Today Coaches Poll releases on Tuesdays, so we'll see how many spots the Cards gain there, but the NET ranking shows that the games played matter as much as the results. Louisville remains 12th in the NET, as home games against middling opponents added a Q2 and Q3 win each. Those don't get you a ton of credit, but they're better than losses, to be sure. LSU, after two Q1 losses, remains fifth in the NET. 

Louisville's four ACC wins keep them at the top of the pile in the league, but they still haven't distanced themselves in this early season. Virginia, NC State, and Duke also sit at 4-0. All three of those teams have won six straight games, one behind Louisville's current streak of seven. Notre Dame dropped back-to-back ACC games with an overtime loss to Georgia Tech in Atlanta and an 82-68 loss in Durham. The Irish have given up more than 60 points just five times and have lost four of those games (won 78-65 at James Madison). They've also failed to score 70 just four times and lost three of them (won 61-59 against USC). 

Louisville will put their rankings to the test in the coming weeks, starting with a road trip to Coral Gables to take on the Miami Hurricanes. Miami is 10-5 this season and 2-2 in the ACC. They find themselves ranked 45th in the NET, which isn't much to write home about, but four of their losses came in their four Q1 opportunities. They'll be looking to snag a big win when the Cards come to town on Thursday. After that, Louisville returns home for a classic trap game against Pittsburgh. The Panthers are 8-9 (1-3) this season and they are ranked 243rd in the NET. The following game week is huge for the Cards as they travel to Notre Dame and NC State on the 15th and 18th, making it a prime opportunity for Louisville to lose a bit of focus after their road game against Miami. 

Just like I said last week, there is a ton of basketball left to play. Teams left and right are showing how easy it is to slip up or underestimate an opponent. Louisville has had a few games this season where they have "gotten away with it," and we'll hope that the signs of consistency we've seen more recently are here to stay. This year's team has shown they can match up well with really good opponents, so we'll see what the rest of the season brings. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

WBB pours it on VA Tech 85-60 -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Good Monday morning readers, 

I am trying to remain positive as the Sunday scaries set in and I report back to work.  Attempting to get my last bits of zen in before the crazy creeps back in.   Wish me all the luck.  

And good luck to students as they begin the spring semester! 

Basketball is the thing that gets us through the dreadful winter months and the Cardinals were in action at the Yum! Center Sunday evening for an ACC battle with the Virginia Tech Hokies.    Cardinal Couple was not on the sidelines for this one.   

WBB

Louisville 85  -  Virginia Tech 60 

Louisville WBB moves to 14-3 on the season and is currently on a 7 game win streak.  

Laura Ziegler had 18 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists and Imari Berry had 13, 2 and 2 of her own on a night the Cardinals shot 58% from three point land.   The two went 100% in the first quarter with 9 of the teams 19 from beyond the arc.   On top of that, the UofL defense held the Hokies scoreless (0-16) from outside in the game.  

The Cards established ultimate control on VATech in the second quarter when they went 25-15.  UofL went on a 7-1 run in the final minute of the half.  It was 44-27 at the halftime break in UofL's favor.  

To open the third quarter,  Louisville's defense held the Hokies scoreless for more than 3 minutes when they had a block and 2 steals.  

UP NEXT 

Louisville at Miami

Thursday Jan 8th

at 3PM (for some reason)

The FRED Report

FREE THROWS -- Louisville went 6-7 at the line.  On a night they scored 85 total points, only 6 were at the line and went 85.7% when they got there.  It was a solid night on this front.  CAPITAL F

REBOUNDING -- UofL pulled down 41 rebounds for a seven-grab advantage.  Ziegler and Anaya Hardy had 9 and 8 respectively. Of the starters, Elif Istanbulluoglu had the least amount of rebounds with 3.  She's averaging 5.2 per game.   I would like to see this trend upward over the next few weeks. CAPITAl R 

EFFORT/EXECUTION -- The Cards gave it all from start to finish making them undefeated in 2026. The depth of this squad is becoming apparent.  Grace Mbugua got 5 points and 2 rebounds in 7 minutes of play in the 4th quarter.  CAPITAL E

DEFENSE -- UofL held the Hokies scoreless from 3 point land.  VaTech's leading scorer, Carys Baker who averages 13.7 ppg had 16 but the bigger story is that the following leaders, Carleigh Wenzel (13.0) and Mel Daley (11.6) combined for only 9 points total in the game.  Wenzel was 1-10 from the field.   CAPITAL D




FINAL FRED TALLY: F-R-E-D

Looking forward to seeing some familiar faces on campus!   I know the Cardinal birds here on campus are super stoked for the lunch lady (me) to get back to work.  

As Always,
Go Cards

~Daryl 

ACC WBB Check-In -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

WBB Standings as Conference Season Arrives

The holiday season is nearly behind us, which means that college basketball's conference slate is on the horizon. Long past are the days when you wouldn't meet a conference foe until January, as many teams have already played at least one conference game. These days, you might even play a team in your conference early in the season and it not count as a conference game (looking at you Virginia football). Nevertheless, while a few teams will play some marquee non-conference games in the next couple of months, most every matchup will be between league opponents going forward. 

That makes now a great time to look at the conference as it stands. Louisville is one of five teams with a 2-0 record in ACC play so far this season, as they took care of Clemson and North Carolina earlier on. Both of those teams won their other conference matchup and are among six total teams at 1-1. Stanford and California have each played just one conference game, with the Cardinal at 1-0 and the Golden Bears at 0-1. Yes, they played each other. The remaining five teams are 0-2. 

Notre Dame sits atop the league with the best overall winning percentage at 10-2 (.833). Louisville is close behind with a 12-3 record, good for an .800 winning percentage. Virginia is 10-3, NC State is 9-4, and Duke has struggled in non-conference play, as the Blue Devils are 7-6. Stanford would lead the league if they had a second conference win, as they're 12-2 overall. 

Surprisingly, though, a look at the NET rankings sees Louisville as the highest rated ACC team in 12th. The Cards have had 0 quad 2 opportunities, but they are 9-0 in Q3/Q4 games and 3-3 in Q1 opportunities. North Carolina is second in the ACC at 17, followed closely by Notre Dame at 18. Both teams have struggled in Q1 games, with the Tar Heels 0-3 in those matchups and the Irish 1-2. UNC is 3-0 in Q2, though, which is bumping them ahead of ND, who are just 1-0. Stanford finds themselves all the way down in 36th, one spot behind Virginia. NC State is 30th, and Duke, the team that was below .500 in non-conference, is 25th. The Blue Devils are 1-5 in Q1 opportunities and 2-1 in Q2 games. They've made a living in playing difficult teams, facing just four Q3/Q4 opponents so far. 

There's obviously a ton of basketball left to play, but Louisville finds themselves in a good spot. We may be disappointed by the games that got away, but Louisville has won all of the games they were supposed to, and the losses were to teams ranked 1st, 2nd, and 8th in the NET. The Cards will get the ACC season underway in earnest on Thursday with a New Year's matchup against SMU. The Mustangs are 0-2 in conference and 7-7 overall. They find themselves currently sandwiched between Brown and Purdue Ft. Wayne in 137th in the NET rankings. It's a home matchup Thursday afternoon, so the Cards should be able to take care of business.

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case