Cards Run Ends in Final Four -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Boston's 23/18 Line Leads SCar Over Louisville

Louisville's hopes for it's first national title were dashed when the country's top player showed why on the big stage. To their credit, Louisville game-planned away from Aliyah Boston early, and it was working, right up until it didn't. As was reported on the broadcast, Jeff Walz was content to allow South Carolina to fire away from beyond the arc as long as it meant that Boston didn't beat them single-handedly. In response, SC promptly used the difference in three-pointers to win the game. Boston got hers, too, as she finished with 23 points, 18 rebounds, four assists, a block, and ahem no fouls. She was 8-12, 1-2, and 6-7 in 35 minutes.

Louisville was stifled offensively by South Carolina's length, and the Gamecocks made it 45 straight games in which they held their opponent below their season average in scoring. The Cards were disjointed all night and attempted only eight threes. They made their sixth attempt, a pretty neat Hailey Van Lith shot off the bounce to be honest, with 35 seconds remaining in the game. It was the only one they made, and it put them down 12 instead of 15. South Carolina made six of seventeen, a fifteen point difference. While the two teams were nearly identical statistically, those fifteen points from beyond the arc told almost the entire story.

The tone of the game was set early, as Louisville forced a turnover, only to miss on the ensuing possession and earn Olivia Cochran her first foul just 32 seconds into the game on a rebound attempt. While I was concerned about the possibility of O spiraling, given how she has struggled with stars in the paint at various times this season, I was pleased to see her regain her composure and play fairly decently despite Boston's ability to make plays. After the foul, South Carolina scored on a layup, HVL turned over the following possession, and Zia Cooke made SC's first three-pointer. Louisville would turn the ball over again and have a few misses before Coach Walz called a timeout with the score at 11-2.

The Walz timeout was just ahead of the media timeout, and the teams went to the second at the same score. For a couple of minutes after the media timeout, neither team wanted to do much with the ball. After 90 or so seconds of back and forth nothingness, Louisville decided they should get closer. They went on a mini 6-0 run to close the game to 15-10, before, not for the last time in the game, SC weathered the run and pushed right back to where they wanted to be. The end of the first quarter should have been an omen for how Louisville would close with opportunities to stay in the game. Louisville grabbed a rebound with 29 seconds remaining in the quarter, turning off the shot clock. With an opportunity to cut the lead to a single possession, Louisville instead turned the ball over and allowed a layup on the other end. 17-10 SC after one.

The second quarter saw a different team show up. After the teams traded baskets, Olivia Cochran's rest ended, and her reentry sparked something amongst the Cards. Louisville used the next three minutes to show an outburst, flipping the game from a 9-point deficit to a 3-poiint lead. As Louisville's 12-0 run continued, I was incredulous that Dawn Staley refused to call a timeout, and I thought for sure there would be ramifications for South Carolina. Instead, Staley let them work it out themselves, and Louisville's 12-0 run was erased just as quickly as it started. The two teams stalled before South Carolina stretched their lead back to six. That's why I'm on the couch and she's coaching for a National Championship.

Louisville trimmed it to four and regained the ball with time ticking down and a chance to cut the lead to a single possession once more. Again, a mental lapse reared its head, and Louisville's halftime locker room talk had to include conversations about allowing the lead to stretch back to two full possessions when it could have been as little as two points. Never mind the fact that Boston both traveled and fouled on the final possession (hook elbow around the defender. Watch the replay, I'm sure it won't be hard to find since it was in the highlight real), Louisville had failed to close a quarter for the second time in the same game.

Back to those three-pointers beating the Cards, South Carolina put the theory to the test, as they opened the second half with a pair of them, and free throws after Emily Engstler's second foul improved their lead to 12 points. When it could have been just two, the massive break in the opposite direction felt even more painful.  The pain continued, as Engstler picked up her third foul less than a minute later and with still 17 minutes of game time. The teams traded a couple of baskets and then a South Carolina 3-pointer moved the deficit all the way to 15 points. 

Walz called another timeout, and the team responded well. The Cards cut the lead to six, a massive improvement from 15, but the end of the quarter bit them again. After a Kasa Robinson floater made it a six-point game, South Carolina ran the clock down before another Louisville defensive slip allowed Boston to snag an offensive rebound and get the putback. To make matters worse, Emily Engstler picked up her fourth foul in the midst of it all. Rather than heading into the fourth quarter with a one- or two-possession game and momentum, the Cards entered it down nine points with their best player of the night on the bench. 

The fourth quarter opening was not the big swing that Louisville needed. Had the Cards come out of the gate with juice, they may have been able to get back into this one. Instead, the clock wound down as the two teams traded free-throws and two-pointers. The Cards got the deficit back down to nine and looked to gain some momentum by forcing a shot clock violation. It was all downhill from there, though, as a pretty terrible turnover led to an Engstler foul trying to recover it. It was her fifth, and Louisville would go the final five minutes without her. The Cards would score just five more points in that time. Had they held South Carolina to zero over the final segment, it still would not have been enough.

South Carolina's defense was praised coming into this one, but it was Louisville's own issues that cost them the game. You certainly won't find me congratulating the officials on a good game last night, but they weren't the reason Louisville lost. It was frustrating to see Louisville called for travels that weren't and then watch Boston et al put on a tap show, but Louisville lost by 13. It wasn't the Mississippi State game where we could point at one egregious call. Louisville had too many unforced errors and way too many missed layups. Even when they got open under the basket, a golden opportunity against a team like South Carolina, they couldn't convert. 

Outside of the three pointers, this game was very close statistically. Both teams made 27 shots, with Louisville shooting 43% and SC 47%. Louisville was outrebounded 32-29, but won on the offensive glass 11-8. The Cards had 13 steals compared to SC's 11, but it was evened out by a 4-2 deficit in blocks. A six point deficit in the paint was nearly matched by a four point lead in second chance points. Both teams scored eight fast break points and committed 15 turnovers. The biggest issue was Louisville's inability to score open shots, and the struggles to even take threes, much less make them. The Cards nailed the game plan defensively, at least early enough to stay in it, but the offense just couldn't make it work.

In their final games as Cardinals, Engstler and Kianna Smith did all they could to keep it going. Engstler had 18 points, 9 rebounds, an assist, 4 steals, and a block before fouling out. Smith had 14 and 5, and was much more productive in the set offense because of her height advantage over HVL. She was able to get her own shots and find openings when the defense focused on others, but she couldn't find the three-ball last night. HVL was quiet early, her 20-point streak coming to an end, but she finished with 9 points and 9 rebounds and played every minute. Her drive was there all game, but it would be nice for her to close out on 3-point shooters with a hand up, whether they are known to be good at the shot or not.

The FRED Report

F - Free Throws: Louisville was just 4-7 from the stripe. They missed their first three, which means they were 4-4 down the stretch, but they just couldn't get to the line. There were more than a few misses that I would classify as "shots that shouldn't count because the shooter should be going to take free throws" but not enough to have made a difference. Whether or not they earned free throws isn't the category. 57% is below the standard, so there's no letter.

R - Rebounding: The Cards were at a severe height disadvantage but lost the category by just 3 rebounds overall. They led the offensive rebounding stat, holding a team that collected 47% of its own misses this season to just 8 offensive boards, and led in second chance points. It may be controversial, but I'll award a capital 'R'.

E - Effort/Execution: Louisville stuck with this one. Even in the final two minutes, they were employing their own press and working hard to break the South Carolina pressure. That said, the execution didn't match. There were too many turnovers and defensive breakdowns, especially in critical moments. I will give a lowercase 'e' because, like I said, the stats show Louisville just had some bad luck.

D - Defense: The game plan was to not let Aliyah Boston beat them. Whether or not they did that is arguable. She had 23 and 18 but she was voted the Player of the Year. I have to give credit for executing the game plan, and they forced 15 turnovers, but allowing over 45% shooting from the floor, including (at one point) allowing a team to shoot 12-15% over it's average from three, can't get full points. Lowercase 'd'.

The CASE Report

C - Care: Louisville didn't take care of the ball. They had 15 turnovers. While South Carolina was credited with 11 steals, many of those were careless passes or fumbled dribbles. The Cards did tie South Carolina in turnovers, but despite their highly touted defense, South Carolina forced only 13.5 turnovers per game this season. If I have to make a tiebreaker, I'll make it points off turnovers, which SC won 16-13. No letter.

A - Assists: Louisville finished with five assists on 27 made baskets. I'm going to stop there. No letter.

S - Steals: Back to Louisville's defensive effort, they had 13 steals. Over the standard and over the opponent. A small consolation in the grand scheme. Capital 'S'.

E - Efficiency: The Cards should have been to the line more. They have some held whistles to blame for that but they also didn't force the issue. Nevertheless, they didn't capitalize a ton on the attempts they did get with the 57% mark. They were 43% from the floor, just a shade under the 45% we look for, with a lot of that struggle being attributed to the 1-8 effort from beyond the arc. No letter.

The Cards finish the reports with _-R-e-d and _-_-S-_. It would be tough to look at those, if you are a Cardinal Couple reader that knows how they usually apply, and see a win. It wouldn't be impossible, as there are statistically anomalous games, but not against the top-ranked team in the land. It just wasn't Louisville's night. 

I take solace in knowing the Cards just didn't have it last night, rather than a soul crushing defeat like the ones against NC State or Miami. It's unfortunate to come up short, since this team could have won the game had they played their best, but they belonged in the game. Final score or betting line aside, Louisville earned that Final Four appearance. They didn't have to go through Baylor, sure, but they didn't face a double digit seed after their 1-16 game. This wasn't the year that Louisville broke through, but they are still among the top teams every year for a reason. They were the only team in the Final Four on the men's and women's side this season to not have a championship, but they will get there.

It is always tough to see seniors' college careers end on a loss. It happens to most players around the country, but that doesn't make it any less sad when it's your team. The Cards will be without some of the driving forces on this year's team next season, but the team that remains will have grown substantially from their experiences. I'm looking forward to next season already. Hear Coach Walz and some of the players after last night's loss below. 

Louisville Post-Game Press Conference

Pick 'Em Challenge

UConn defeated Stanford in the late game last night, robbing South Carolina of the chance for ultimate revenge that they were looking for. That result also robbed two pickers in the hunt for the win of their national champion. After the Louisville game last night, the Pick 'Em Challenge was guaranteed to end in at least a two-way tie, as all four brackets tied for the lead had Stanford beating UConn. That's why we have the tiebreaker. The chance for two separate two-way ties is out, as UConn dropped the two brackets with Stanford as the champ, but a UConn championship (ew) would result in a four way tie. Here are the full standings by number of wins. The two potential brackets that can get one more win are indicated with an asterisk.

46: Kenny Schneider*, Jared Anderson*, Kenneth Stark Sr, Bea

45: Perry Sosh

44: Nick O, Joe Hill, Jason Wyrick, Jeff

43: Blue Lou, Doug Anderson, Katy

42: Benny J

41: David Watson, Case, Daryl

39: Louavulfan35, Vivian McAdams

37: Curtis Franklin, Arthur, Paul

34: Sonya

21: CC Chimps

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We'll be without Jeff again this morning, as he has taken the opportunity to shed the frustrations of last night's loss by rooting for his beloved Volleyball team to get some big spring wins in Bowling Green. That means the live show will be off again this week, but we'll still have a podcast for you. There have been other games this week, unfortunately mostly losses, but the primary topic will be basketball. Tune in for a conversation that is hopefully cathartic. We'll get the show started at around 11, like normal, so the show will be up before 1. There are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

Cardinal Couple YouTube: Link

Anchor (podcast host): Link

Apple Podcasts: Link

Breaker: Link

Google Podcasts: Link

Overcast (free account required): Link

Pocket Casts (free account and app required): Link

RadioPublic: Link

Spotify: Link

Until next time, Go Cards!

Case

Softball Hosts Bellarmine -- Lax Climbs Rankings -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Softball Welcomes Bellarmine to Ulmer

Louisville and Bellarmine are no strangers when it comes to softball. The two foes have scrimmaged each other several times, especially in the Sandy Pearsall days. This time will be different as both teams will meet for their first official time as D1 rivals.

The Cards are fresh off a 3-1 weekend performance in the Cardinal Classic and will have had 48 hours to rest and prepare. Louisville sits at 6-7 early in the season and looks to get back up to .500.

Taylor Roby has been a do-it-all player so far. She leads the team with a .400 batting average and has hit four home runs so far. Her most recent home run landed on the top level of the berm. She has been in the circle longest while facing 129 batters.

Jennifer Leonhardt has taken a lot of pressure off of Roby by facing 77 batters and only giving up a .156 batting average. She has struck out a team-leading 22 batters. She has struck out nearly 30% of the batters she has faced.

Carmyn Greenwood has been solid as a leadoff batter with a .316 average. Over the weekend, the redshirt senior went 7-for-11. Greenwood has crossed the plate seven times already.

Celene Funke has used her speed to continue racing into the record books. The redshirt senior has 20 career triples, good enough for second in school history. The record is 26. Her 63 career steals is third all-time in school history and needs five more to move into a tie for second.

Bellarmine comes into the game with a 4-7 record, according to their website. This will be their first game on the road, even if it is no more than 10 minutes down Eastern Parkway. Their wins include a two-game sweep over Western Michigan and series splits with IUPUI and Dayton. 

The Knights carry a .289 batting average while averaging 3.73 runs per game. They have not been much of a threat with the long ball- just three home runs- but have been successful with base running and knocking runners in. Bellarmine has been successful on all 10 steals.

This game is set to start at 6:00 p.m., on Don Dobina Field at Ulmer Stadium. Attendance inside the stadium remains 20% with no tickets for sale. However, the berm allows for plenty of room to spread out while still having a good view of the game.

Lacrosse Climbs Rankings

Louisville Lacrosse took down Cincinnati 13-5 last week before falling to #8 Virginia 13-12 on the road just a few days ago. Still, the performances were enough to impress those who control the polls.

Three different polls have moved the Cards up in their most recent release.

-- Inside Lacrosse (IL) moved the Cards from #27 all the way up to #17. US Lacrosse Magazine moved the Cards from #20 up to #18. The Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Association (IWLCA) moved Louisville from #25 up to #19.

Sitting at 2-2, Scott Teeter's squad has turned some heads this year. They are on a short scheduled break before visiting Central Michigan for a Friday afternoon match. The word is that Paulie has plans for an interview with Teeter before they head to visit CMU. We'll run it here when it happens. 

Cardinal Couple Pick Em

Paulie posted the final results in yesterday's article and it came down to the wire. Worldwide Jeff held a small lead up through the final day but NC State beating Louisville by a slim margin allowed David Watson to turn things around.

"Dave-O" gave his victory speech in the comments section yesterday. We are sure he'll be ready to take on a tougher challenge with the NCAA Tournament Pick Em, which is roughly a week and a half away. Pending the NCAA doesn't decide to give the Cards the bird (pun intended) Louisville will be dancing and seem to be borderline 2-or-3-seed.

In case you are going through bracket
withdrawals, here's a fast food Pick 'Em 

The Selection Show will be held on Monday, March 15, at 7:00 p.m., on ESPN. You will then have a few days to get your picks together. Once again, you can share in the comments section or by emailing Paulie (cardinalcouple@twc.com) or myself (eupherjared@gmail.com). We will try to post the picks from emails in the comments to add a level of transparency for those who like to keep their own tally.

Who knows what prizes Paulie will have for those who can win. Personally, I'll take a full-sized country ham or a peanut butter milkshake.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

WBB opens ACC tournament with Wake Forest, another VB cancellation & more; FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FRIDAYS WITH DARYL

Good Friday morning, Louisville fans!  It's another gorgeous spring-like day in the 'Ville but let me get the bad news out of the way... We've got another cancellation in the spring volleyball schedule.  It's the third weekend in a row for the squad fall victim to the COVID protocol.  Yet again, the opponent producing the positive test, Virginia Tech announced Thursday afternoon.. just 48 hours after the men's basketball programs cancelled their midweek matchup. 

The weekend volleyball series with Wake Forest is still on schedule for now. The Cards and Deacs will meet Saturday 2 p.m. and also on Sunday. 

And on that note, let's call it what it is and I dub thee:

#WakeForestHateWeekend

ACC Women's Basketball tournament update 

The ACC WBB Tournament began Wednesday, as you all probably know. Just one game on Wednesday:

3/3 Boston College 67 vs Pitt 56

Thursday game results...

Wake Forest 82 vs UNC 71  -- The Deacs' starters put together a solid 40 minutes of play, accounting for all but three of the team's total 82 points.  WF freshman guard Jewel Spear went 10-15 on the day, 7-10 from 3-pt land and had four of the team's five triples in the first quarter.  Ivana Raca went 6-12 for 21 pts, 12 rebounds and went 8-8 at the FT line.  Gina Conte was 4-5 for 13 pts, 12 assists and 3 steals.  The Tarheels were able to come back from down 15 to get a 2 point lead with 5 min left in the 3Q but their lead lasted all of 3:15 minutes before Wake took the lead back and didn't let go. 

Syracuse 67 vs Boston College 61 -- BC was 6-27 on 3-pt attempts making 5 of them in the fourth quarter.  Syracuse outrebounded the Eagles 43-36 on the day, Emily Engstler with 15 for the Orange. As a team 'Cuse shot 42.8% from the field and went 9-13 from the FT line. "Q" bunch gets FSU today. 

Virginia Tech 72 vs Miami 64 -- The Hokies lead 24-12 after one quarter shooting better than 55% from the field and 44% from 3-pt land.  VT had four players scoring in double digits with D'asia Gregg coming off the bench for 13 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman and sophomore duo Georgia Amoore and Elizabeth Kitley had 16 pts each in 40 minutes on the floor. The Hokies lost senior guard and the teams leading scorer, Aisha Sheppard 12 minutes into the game to an ankle injury.  She did not return to the game and her availability for Friday's game against NC State looks very doubtful.. which is very unfortunate for the talented Hokies.

Clemson 68 vs Notre Dame 63 -- The Irish out-shot the Tigers 49% to 34.9% from the field but ND made only four 3-pointers, committed 21 turnovers and attempted just 9-11 FTs.  The Tigers won the offensive rebounding battle 18-6 and outscored ND 18-9 in the fourth quarter to upset the Irish. The most exciting game of the ACC Tournament so far.  Clemson goes on to face Georgia Tech today

On tap for today, four games...the first includes the Cards  

Louisville vs Wake Forest - 12PM

PREVIEW 

Louisville (21-2, 14-2) is the 1-seed in the ACC Tournament for the second consecutive season and for the third time in four years. The Cardinals won the 2018 ACC Tournament title as the 1-seed in 2018. They are 10-5 all-time in the ACC Tournament and 6-0 in the ACC Quarterfinals. Wake Forest (12-11, 8-10) entered the ACC Tournament on a three-game losing streak, but ended that skid with yesterday's victory.  The Deacons have several scoring attacks the Cards will have to stifle to secure the victory because this Wake Forest team will want revenge from the regular season matchup.  Ivana Raca leads the team averaging 17 pts and 9 rebounds per game. 

    UofL vs WF  

    (season averages)

    80.5          67.3  PPG 

      35.4          32.9  3-pt%

    39.9          35.2  RPG

    12.2          13.3 TO/G

The last time the two teams met...

UofL 65-63 WF

Cards won the first and fourth quarter to beat the Deacs in the final eight seconds of the game.  Both teams shot 39% from the field, WF was 1-11 from 3-pt land in Winston-Salem.  Dana Evans hit the go ahead shot on a drive to the basket and a Gina Conte foul put Dana at the line and into the Player of the Year conversation.

The Cards were grossly outrebounded 43-32 with WF senior forward Ivana Raca leading the battle of the boards with 13,  Olivia Cochran led Louisville with 11. Evans scored 25 points for Louisville who trailed by nine midway through the fourth quarter before going on a 14-2 run to push back in front for good.

For today, your viewing and listening options: 

TV: RSN (Fox Sports South) (Jenn Hildreth, play-by-play; LaChina Robinson, analyst)

Radio: 790-AM WKRD (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Adrienne Johnson, analyst)

Other games today:  

2:30 pm -- Florida State vs Syracuse 

6 pm --  NC State vs Virginia Tech 

8:30 pm -- Georgia Tech vs Clemson

 

OTHER SPRING SPORTS SCHEDULING

The University of Louisville field hockey team will open the 2021 spring season this weekend with a pair of road contests. The Cardinals, who compiled an 8-2 record in the fall, will face ACC foe North Carolina on Friday at 1 p.m. followed by a non-conference matchup at Ball State on Sunday at 1 p.m.

No. 25 University of Louisville women's lacrosse (2-1) opens its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule on the road against No. 8 Virginia (3-0) on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. ET.

University of Louisville women's soccer begins their spring season on the road against Dayton on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. The match will not be broadcast, but live stats will be available.

The University of Louisville softball team will play host to Bradley, DePaul and Miami (Ohio) in the Cardinal Classic this weekend. The Cards will open play at Ulmer Stadium after playing their first nine games on the road in a three week span facing Bradley in a double header Friday afternoon beginning at 4 p.m.

CARDINAL COUPLE PICK 'EM Bracket update via text from Bracket Czar Jared:

After two days of the contest, here's how the 22 participants stack up: 

One at 5-0
Five at 4-1
Seven at 3-2
Seven at 2-3
Two at 1-4
Zero at 0-5

Six brackets already have an incorrect game going into Friday games. One bracket already has an incorrect game for Saturday. All chosen champions (UofL, NC State, Georgia Tech, FSU, Clemson) remain alive

Clemson Cuz is 5-0, and does have the Clemson Tigers falling to UofL in the final. Arthur is one of the participants with a  4-1 record but has Clemson beating the Cards in the final. Louavulfan is 4-1 but had Notre Dame beating GT. Our own Jeff McAdams is one of the 4-1 teams. The rest of the Cardinal Couple crew is as follows: 

Case, Sonya & Jared 3-2
Daryl & Paulie 2-3

The full standings: 

5-0 -- Clemson Cuz

4-1 -- David Watson, Blue Lou, Arthur, LouavulFan35

3-2 -- KStarks, Vivian, Kenny S., Sonya, Jared, Doug Anderson, Case

2-3 -- Paulie, Ramblin Eric, CC Chimps, Phil, Daryl, Nole Knowledge, Curtis 

1-4 -- Nick O, Joe Hill. 

Questions?  Disputes?  Shoot the Bracket Czar Jared an e-mail at: eupherjared@gmail.com or just go camp out on his condo front porch and confront him directly.  

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST:  

Time change alert: 

We've backed the show up an hour to 10 a.m. to accommodate the spring scheduling.  I will be heading into the ACC Network building, I think Paulie, Jeff and Jared all plan on going out to campus to catch some matches/games!! Looks like we've got some sporadic cloudy/clear skies out there so wear your sunscreen! 

Go Cards!! Let's get some W's today!

~Daryl  

Dana Evans on Wooden Award Top 30 Watch List -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 

EVANS ONE OF FOUR ACC PLAYERS ON LIST

The Wooden Award list was released yesterday and, coming as no surprise to anyone, Louisville WBB's Dana Evans is one of the 30 players named to it. Just to refresh your memory, the Wooden Award designates the top 30 players in women's college basketball. The Wooden Award All-American team is usually announced the week of the Elite Eight in the NCAA Women's basketball tournament. 

She's one of four ACC student-athletes to be named to the list. Joining her are Elissa Cunane, the 6'5" junior center at NC State, and two Syracuse Orange players -- seniors Kiara Lewis and Tiana Mangakahia.

Evans adds the Wooden recognition to other earlier accolades. ACC Preseason Player of the Year, AP Preseason All-American, Naismith Watch List and the Drysdale Award Watch List. Through two games this season, Evans is the leading scorer for the Cards WBB squad with 17.5 points per game and 6.5 assists per contest. 

Dana, you see, is the one that you have to stop. When other coaches look at their preparations for playing Louisville, I can pretty much guarantee you that "stop Evans, or stop #1" is at the top of their white-boards. As Hailey Van Lith so eloquently put it, and I'm paraphrasing here......"for most of my career, I've been the one that is the "must stop" player on the court. Now...playing with Dana, I'm not seeing those double or triple teams, none of us are, except her, so it really opens up the offense for the rest of us and Dana STILL manages to shine.." 

I'll offer this analogy. When people think "Baltimore Ravens" they think Lamar Jackson. When people think UofL men's basketball, Carlik Jones probably pops into your head this year. 

The great teams all had "that one"....Sabrina, Angel, Asia, Breanna, Brittney, Maya...We've been most impressed with other Cardinals -- Hailey, Oilvia Cochran, E and Liz and others -- but the Cards and Dana are usually in the same sentence or paragraph when people talk UofL WBB. She earned that recognition.

She continues to earn it. 

Dana would defer to her teammates for any successes she's had. It's how she's built. And, yes, she's played with some great teammates in four years. She's made them better, they've made her better and that last observation is the one that counts. When you can improve those around you, and improve with them -- that pretty much is the definition of success.

 

Getting back to the Wooden List, let's do a little breaking the list down into various numbers and categories, There are 15 seniors, 10 juniors, 4 sophomores and one freshman on the list. By school, Connecticut has four student-athletes on the list (freshman Paige Bueckers, junior Olivia Nelson-Odoba, and juniors Evina Westbrook and Christyn Williams. South Carolina, Stanfprd and Syracuse have two players represented on the list. , 

Conference wise, the SEC has nine players on the list, including Rhyne Howard of Kentucky. Next is the Big 12 with five student-athletes. Four each for the ACC, Big 10, Big East and Pac 12 round out the list of 30. 

The first-ever Wooden Award, on the women's side, was awarded to Duke guard Alana Beard in the 2003-04 season. Since then, six players have won the award twice..

As a little, off-the-top-of-your-head test, can you name three of the multiple-time award winners? You can leave your guess in the comments section. You're on the honor system here. No award or prize, just the satisfaction of knowing you know your women's college basketball hoops. 

One contest we've been having a bit of fun with is guessing the Cards WBB score on our CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR PODCAST. We've had two such panelist guesses and Jeff McAdams was closest to the actual score in the SEMO game and Jared Anderson got the honor for "closest" in the EKU game. Since we won't be on the air until Saturday, we will do Round 3 here on the site. Just leave your final score for the DePaul vs Cards WBB game in the comments section and we'll review the entries and announce the winner on the Saturday show. 

For the record, ol' Paulie is going 87-80 Cards win over DePaul. Just as a preface, I haven't been anywhere close to winning our little contest in the prior two games, so don't look to me as a guiding light, OK? 

Just a little fun we can all have at home as we await hoops. 

Stay safe, stay sane and healthy,

paulie

Teams Share Halloween Photos -- Fall Sports Bracket Pick Em -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Teams Share Halloween Photos

Contrary to popular belief, players can have fun at practice.  Maybe football needs more practice and less fun, but other than that it can be more productive to have a little fun during practice. It can be relaxing to the mind and allow for mental breaks during what can often be intense and demanding practices.

Recently, players had fun by dressing up in Halloween costumes.  Many of the teams took to social media to share photos or videos. Since today is set to be a stressful day with elections I thought we could have some fun and laughs and share some of the photos.

Field Hockey

Our field hockey team took the field dressed as Harry Potter characters, some of the "Things" from Dr Seuss stories, members from the popular show "Tiger King".

Softball

Softball had plenty of fun with cartoon characters from Spongebob, Angry Birds, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  We also saw some prison inmates show up.

Lacrosse

The team got together for a large group photo instead of small groups.  It appears pumpkins, donuts, ghosts, and Jack Harlow (rapper based out of Louisville) all showed up.

Fall Sports Bracket Pick Em

There is no guarantee that we will do any type of Pick Em, but we did want to get a feel of who may be interested if we did some. With Field Hockey and Soccer both prepping for their ACC Tournaments the brackets have been released.

We missed out on our annual Basketball Pick Em with the NCAA Tournament, but maybe we could have some fun with soccer and field hockey brackets?

If interested, feel free to post your picks in the comments or emailing eupherjared@gmail.com and cardinalcouple@twc.com.

Make sure specify which sport you are submitting so there is no confusion.

Jared's Picks

Field Hockey

Virginia, North Carolina, Syracuse

Louisville, North Carolina

North Carolina

Women's Soccer

Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina, Virginia

Florida State, North Carolina

North Carolina

There are no cash prizes or gift cards this time around, but we may be able to offer a date with Paulie.  Or you can sit down and talk engineering with Worldwide and Case. Or talk to me about a possible photo shoot. 

Tomorrow

You won't want to miss the Wednesday column here at Cardinal Couple! Paulie has arranged interviews (via phone, of course) with head coaches Justine Sowry of Louisville Field Hockey and Karen Ferguson Dayes of Louisville Women's Soccer. Hear the thoughts of these two as they prepare for the ACC Tournaments! 

Election Day

On a non-UofL sports note, it's Election Day.  If you have not voted yet we highly encourage you to do so.

We don't endorse any candidates here, but we just hope you use your rights to go vote.

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Louisville women's basketball -- CARDS #1 SEED IN ALBANY -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

UOFL WBB BEGINS THE NCAA QUEST #1 AND WILL PLAY FRIDAY AT NOON ON ESPN2

Maybe a surprise to some, but certainly acceptance and excitement about the Louisville women's basketball team getting the #1 seed in the Albany Region during the (leaked too early) bracket reveal on Selection Monday. 

The texts and e-mails started hitting Cardinal Couple around 5 p.m. ESPN U had inadvertently leaked the Albany Region while broadcasting a men's selection show production and showed that the Cards would be playing Robert Morris at noon Friday as the #1 seed in the Albany Region of the NCAA WBB Tournament. 

Early April Fool's prank? Disgruntled ESPN employee getting the last laugh before heading home? Whatever the circumstances were that surrounded it, the reveal was accurate and ESPN's Maria Taylor made a "oops, we messed up" statement on ESPN 2 apologizing to the NCAA for spilling the coffee two hours before it was supposed to be served. 

The Cards still held the bracket-watch party, Walz spoke earlier than planned to the media, and a huge crowd still showed up at Cardinal Arena to celebrate the news that a lot of the nation already knew. Baylor, Notre Dame, Mississippi State and Louisville were the four #1 seeds. UConn, still remaining in the Albany Region but placed there as a #2 seed.  

Walz, with daughters Lucy and Lola on his lap, patiently and happily answered the ESPN talking heads questions while the crowd cheered in the background. All was right in Cardinal-ville and the NCAA had finally done something right when it came to Louisville athletics. 

"WHAT !! #2 SEED? waaah, waahhh, waahhh..."

All in all, eight ACC teams headed to dance. A bit of disparity in the regional assignments. Besides Notre Dame getting a #1 seed in Chicago, #9 North Carolina, #3 NC State and #5 Florida State will head to Greensboro to start play. Out in Portland, #9 Clemson, #4 Miami and #3 Syracuse will take on competition that had just two PAC 12 teams in the western bracket...but very good ones in #2 Oregon and #5 Arizona State.

I feel for Kenny Brooks and Virginia Tech. Not included in the dance, the nation will not get to see starts Regan Magarity and Taylor Emery play, unless they tune in WNIT action. Surely, Kenny must be the "Rodney Dangerfield" of the NCAA. Two  years in a row now and no respect. 

So, download your brackets I got mine from http://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/tournament/bracket and get busy! 


We are having the Cardinal Couple Tournament Pick 'Em again this year, details below. 

Today, I'll give you three teams, possible long-shots, that could crash the Sweet Sixteen: 

1) Central Michigan. Yes, they ended up as a #8 seed and have to battle through #9 Michigan to get a shot at the Irish in Chicago/Souh Bend, but the Chippewas gave Louisville all the wanted early in the season and can shoot 

"What, Paulie? I'm not upset-mention worthy?" 

2)Arizona State. Another squad that pushed Louisville to the edge in regular season action and woud have to face dangerous Miami if they can dispose of UCF...but the #5 seed Sun Devils just might be primed to pull an upset in Coral Gables

3) BYU. A #7 seed in Chcago, they get mid-pack Auburn to open and I can see them giving Stanford and maybe Iowa St. tough times down in Palo Alto. They were 25-6 in the regular season and ended up second behind Gonzaga in the WCC. Don't overlook them.

Good luck and Happy Tournament to all ! 


CARDINAL COUPLE NCAA WBB BRACKET CHALLENGE

63 games. A chance to win a $25 Cracker Barrel or Panera Card. A test of your skills and prognostication abilities. Enter the Cardinal Coule "pick 'em" 

It simple, fun and free ! 

1) Fill out your bracket. 

2) Put your picks in any Cardinal Couple comments section today, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday (by noon) 

3) One point per correct pick and highest point-total takes the prize. Submit a total points guess for the final game in case there is a tie. 

The CARDINAL COUPLE chimps spent considerable time last night, pouring over the matchups, pouring banana daiquiris over the brackets, chasing neighbors down the sidewalk on tricycles, wrestling over decisions and emerged a bit fatigued, hammered and dizzy...but offer their selections as a example of a format to follow. They unanimously discredited this year's "bracket chairman" Jared Anderson and had plans of locking him in the WCHQ 100.9 basement at first opportunity. 

If you have questions, comments or inquiries, hit Jared up with an e-mail at: 

eupherjared@gmail.com   or e-mail me at:  cardinalcouple@twc.com   Feel free to 
enter the contest that way if you like, if you don't want anyone seeing your picks or such.

We'll probably reply. 

THE CARDINAL COUPLE CHIMPS BRACKET SELECTIONS 

FIRST ROUND WINNERS: 

Baylor, California, FSU, Belmont, Princeton, NC State, Missouri, Mercer,
Miss St., S. Dakota, Ariz. St., Miami, SDST, Syracuse, Indiana, Oregon, 
Notre Dame, CMU, Rice, Texas AM, DePaul, Iowa St., Auburn, Stanford
Louisville, Michigan, Little Rock, Boise St., Tennessee, Maryland, Rutgers, UConn

THEN THERE WERE SIXTEEN:

Baylor, FSU, NC State, Mercer, Miss. St., Miami, Syracuse, Oregon 
Notre Dame, Rice, DePaul, Stanford, Louisville, Boise St., Maryland, UConn


THE GREAT EIGHT

Baylor, Mercer, Miami, Syracuse, Rice, Stanford, Louisville, UConn

FINAL FOUR

Baylor, Miami, Rice, Louisville

TWO TO GO ! 

Miami, Louisville

CHAMPION 

Louisville


Have a terrific Tuesday!

Paulie
xxxxx