Louisville women's basketball -- Off to the ACC, Lacrosse goes to Vandy -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS PLAY FRIDAY 2 PM AS #1 SEED

Down to Greensboro we go, for the ACC WBB Tournament. 14 games in five days. 15 teams and 15 dreams. Some of them, considerable long-shots. Some of the teams making a cameo appearance for a day and then back to campus. Some possible upsets along the way and a conglomeration of players, different cities and mascots. The best conference in college basketball gets together to do battle.

All assembling and gathering in the Greensboro Coliseum to vie for the right to be the ACC automatic qualifier in the NCAA Tournament. From Beantown to the beaches and all in between.  

The Cardinals are the #1 seed and won't play their first game until 2 p.m. Friday against the winner of the Virginia Tech vs. Syracuse game that tips off Thursday at 2 p.m. By then, eight teams will already be eliminated. Let's take a preemptive look at the matchups and Paulie's guesses. 

WEDNESDAY

The 1 p.m. contest features #12 seed UNC against #13 seed Boston College. The Eagles won the previous affair 77-64 early in conference play and then lost 12 out of their next 13 games. It's a B.C. team that has freshman sensation Milan Boldin-Morris, Georgia Pineau and not much more. UNC knocked off Duke in Chapel Hill in late January and then dropped eight in a row. In this battle to break the losing streak, I'll go with UNC. Paris Kea is a huge threat anytime she steps on the court. Jamie Cherry and Janelle Bailey can burn an opponent, too. TarHeels get unstuck and advance. B.C. trudges back to Chestnut Hill with Baldwin the Eagle. 

3:30 p.m. brings the #15 seed Clemson Tigers to prowl against the # 10 seed Georgia Techsters.  Tech went into Clemson and won by 12 in the regular season matchup. Tech gave the Cards a scare, too, in late December at the McCamish Pavillion. Tech has Francesca Pan, Zaire O'Neill, Elo Edeferioka and a bench full of role players. I'm glad to see them as a #10 seed instead of a #8 or #9...because I'd be nervous if the Cards had to open up against them. Clemson has a top four football team and the ever-optimistic head women's basketball coach Audra Smith. I see the Ramblin' Wreck rolling on and Clemson shuffling back to South Carolina. Sorry, Arthur.  I'll miss the psychedelic-eyed Tiger. 


The final game of Wednesday is a 6:30 throw-down between #11 seed Wake Forest and #14 seed Pitt. It's the best matchup of the day, in my humble opinion. The Panthers lost to the Demon Deacs by nine early in ACC play but I'm thinking that the Pitt team we'll see Wednesday is better than that early version. Yacine Diop and Jasmine Whitney are serious ballers and Danielle Garven has better than average guard skills. They'll battle with a Wake Forest squad that needs three wins to get to .500 on the season and a team that has no clear leader...but an excellent coach in Jen Hoover and high profile scorer in Elisa Penna.  I call the mild upset here and pick the Panthers to move on to Thursday. 

THURSDAY 

Four games in a full day of hoop-de-do and some interesting possible scenarios. 

The 11 a.m. opener should be an in-state rival, if I've picked correctly with UNC facing N.C. State. Wes Moore was primed to be the #4 seed in the Tournament with his Wolfpack but Notre Dame ruined those dreams in the final day of regular-season action. Don't cry, Ms. Wuf, you'll get a win over that silly Ram and Sylvia Hatchell's crew, but this just might be the most exciting game of Day 2. The Wolfack won both regular season games against Carolina Blue and Chelsea Nelson, Kiara Leslie, Kaila Early and Akela Maize will make sure Ms. Wuf gets to hang around another day with Paulie. State over UNC but it may not be by very much. 

2 p.m. brings Syracuse and Virginia Tech to the court. The 'Cuse has superstar freshman Digna Strautmane and a great surrounding cast with Tiana Mangakahia (both radio announcer's nightmares), Miranda Drummond and Gabrielle Cooper. And the ubiquitous Coach "Q". Otto the Orange should be around for Friday action. VT will counter with Regan Magarity, Taylor Emery, Chanette Hicks and Alexis Jean...but I'm seeing one and done for the Hokies. Doubters can point to VT's win over Syracuse 73-64 at the Carrier Dome...but Syracuse is on a five game win streak and I'll say Syracuse continues the win streak and gobbles up the Gobblers.   

At 6 p.m. we'll see Virginia, the #7 seed most likely face Georgia Tech. A tough match up here. JoAnne Boyle's squad had a killer stretch late in the year with losses to Louisville, Miami and Notre Dame. The Cavs have a well-balanced squad, though, and won by six over GT in Atlanta. 6'9" Felicia Aiyeotan will need a big game (no pun intended) for VA if they are to advance. I'm going with the Georgia Tech mild upset here, though, and seeing the Yellow Jackets buzz their way into the quarterfinals with a win over Virginia. 


The evening's nightcap sees #6 seed Miami make their tournament debut against either Pitt or Wake Forest. They handled Pitt easily in conference play but stumbled early in the schedule to Wake Forest. I picked Pitt and the Hurricanes should storm past them. If it is Wake Forest on the other bench, you can expect a closer game. Miami, with Erykah Davenport, Mykea Gray and Emese Hof all making big contributions to Sebastian the Ibus's squad, should advance but this part of the bracket is a toss-up and I'll go with Miami advancing, but wouldn't be too surprised if they don't. Intriguing. 

THE REST OF THE WAY. 

We'll look at Friday matchups once we know them. I'll be adding to the articles the rest of this week with summations and results from tournament action after the completion of the games...so be sure to check back each night. I've left my picks in the comments sections, because...

CARDINAL COUPLE'S ACC PICK 'EM CONTEST.  

Yes! The Pick 'Em is back for another year and Jared Anderson will be reviewing the selections for us in 2018. No entry fee required. 

It's simple to play. There are 14 games. You pick each one in advance. You get a point if your pick wins. Most points wins the tournament and a $25 Panera Card. FREE PANERA! 


Leave your picks in the comments section today or tomorrow before 1 p.m. 

*************************ALL ENTRIES MUST BE IN BY 1 p.m. WEDNESDAY*************************

Here's a sample of picks, provided by the cagey Sonya: 

SONYA'S selections

ROUND ONE:  North Carolina, Clemson, Pitt
ROUND TWO: NC State, Syracuse, Virginia, Miami
ROUND THREE: Duke, Louisville, Notre Dame, Florida St. 
ROUND FOUR: Louisville, Florida St. 
ROUND FIVE: Louisville 

14 games, 14 picks. We've never had anyone pick all 14 correctly in the history of the Pick 'Em. Will you be the first? 

Remember....put your picks in the comments section today or tomorrow by 1 p.m. and make sure and give us a name if you win.  Tell a buddy, phone a pal...the Pick 'Em is here! 


LACROSSE TRAVELS TO VANDY

Louisville takes their 4-1 record south to Tennessee today to face the Vanderbilt Commodores in 4 p.m. lacrosse action.

The Commodores are 3-0 on the season with wins at Fresno State and Kennesaw St. and a home victory against Furman. They're a high-scoring squad, currently tied for first in DI lacrosse with Syracuse at 19.67 goals per game.  

The 'Dores participate in the Big East Conference for lacrosse (confusing isn't it?) and are receiving votes in the top 25 poll, like Louisville. They are led by Emily Mathewson's 14 goals. Kayla Peterson (13) and Julie Blaze (11) round out the double digit performers. 

Louisville is led by "Don't mes-sa with" Tessa Chad's 18 scores and "Sweet" Caroline "one of da Blalock sistahs" Blalock follows is 13. Jillian Balog has eight goals for Louisville and Julie Wood (from Annandale, NJ) has also found net eight times. 

Louisville leads the series 6-2 and earned a hard-fought win over Vandy last year 11-10 in the "Ellis"...the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium. 

Julia Wood knows of these ship-dwellers...she faced them last year and comments: 

"They are a quick team. They play like a bunch of midfielders and are all over the field but I think we'll match up pretty well against them." 



No TV for this one that I've found but you can follow the action on Facebook Live 
Go to facebook.com/VanderbiltAthletics for the action. 

And Statbroadcast. Go LAX! Turn the Teeter Terrors loose!



Paulie
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