Louisville WBB Beats Virginia... Walz one step closer to 300... FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS CRUSH CAVALIERS

A battle for first place in the ACC turned into a show for Louisville in the second half. A 31-27 halftime lead turned into a 77-41 victory as the Cards improved to 23-1 overall and 9-1 in the ACC. With Notre Dame also winning last night the two programs remain tied for first with the Cards owning the tiebreaker.

Unsurprisingly, “Nite-Nite” led the way in scoring with 21 points. Most of her points came from inside the arc this time. Bionca Dunham’s 13-point outing was a little surprising. In recent games B has stepped it up on both sides of the floor.

Dana Evans and AC combined for 10 assists and three turnovers, a solid ratio to see out of your point guards. They have cleaned up their ball handling recently to help keep momentum going.

The second half was a major adjustment, outscoring the Cavaliers or Wahoos (whichever you prefer to use) 24-6 in the third quarter and 22-8 in the fourth quarter. These two quarters are the 23^rd and 24^th times the season the Cards have held an opponent to a single-digit quarter.

I was disappointed in Sam’s performance. She let foul trouble get the best of her. Frustration forced her into some bad shots and she finished with zero points and spent quite a bit of time on the bench. Sam is a fighter and excellent player so one off game does not worry me.

Aliyah Huland El joined the 1,000-point club for Virginia, as she finished the night at 1,001. Despite playing for an opponent she deserves recognition for her accomplishment and congratulations are in order.

J-A-R-E-D Report

Remember this Jared? The Pillsbury Throwboy...
Jared Lorenzen. 

J – jump shots: 32-71 for 45.1% isn’t bad. Compared to the Hoos’ 34.7%, Louisville’s shooting percentage on the night looked pretty good. A few of the misses came on layups, which is something I’ve complained about al season. Make your layups! But a layup is not considered a jump shot so I will award a capital “J”.

A – assists: 14 assists is a pretty solid number. UofL had more assists than turnovers or fouls. Had a couple of layups gone in that number would be higher. Virginia only dished out eight on the night. If there was a downside to the assists it would be that we only saw five Cardinals get credit with an assist, and only three had multiples assists. Still, when your assists number is higher than fouls or turnovers it is hard not to receive a good grade. I will award a capital “A”.

R – rebounds: Louisville hauled in 45 total rebounds on the night. 18 of those were offensive rebounds, resulting in 14 second chance points. The Hoos managed just 28 rebounds and only eight of them were offensive. Of those 28 rebounds by Virginia, nine came in the second half. One of the biggest second half adjustments last night came on the boards. Doo-Blay had another double-double including 11 rebounds. She had some help down low as four other Cardinals had a least four rebounds. Capital R, easily. 

E – efficiency: If there was a subject Louisville struggled some it would be efficiency. The Cards forced 22 turnovers but couldn’t capitalize on it, scoring just 20 points off turnovers. They also managed a lone layup on fast break points, despite 12 steals. Three pointers were not nice for the Cards. 4-15 for 26.7% is not a great number. It may not be terrible but it sure can hurt on a night where offensive rebounds are slim. Thankfully that night was not against Virginia. I will mention layups one more time. A layup should be some of the easiest points a player can score most of the time- sometimes layups can be contested so they shouldn’t be guaranteed points. Things were a little sloppy at times, so it is going to be a lower case “e”.

Jared Anderson. He doubles as a purple people eater. 

D – defense: Holding a team to 41 points and two single-digit quarters is a strong case for a capital letter. Forcing 22 turnovers helps that case as well. The Cards’ defense held Virginia to 35% shooting on the night. The downside to the defense was the goose egg in the blocks column. With height from players like MHA, B, and Kylee there should be a couple of blocks minimum each game. The first sentence to this section is enough to convince me of a capital “D”.

“J-A-R-e-D” is a good night. It is not perfect but when going up against a top team in the ACC on the road that is something to be proud of.

It is always good to go on the road in the ACC and secure a win. It has been common to witness blowouts against nearly every opponent Louisville has faced. Not only have they established themselves as a dominant for in the ACC but they have sent a message to the entire NCAA with how good they are this year.

As promised, I would dive deeper into the chances and possibilities of Jeff Walz reaching the 300 wins mark this season.

*263 wins through 2016-17 season

*23 wins in 2017-18 season up-to-date

*7 regular season games remaining

*3 potential games in ACC Tournament as top four seed

*6 potential games in NCAA Tournament, seeding doesn’t matter

Walz sits at 286 wins at Louisville right now.

**Note: I am basing the ACC Tournament off Louisville receiving a top four seed and two-round bye.**

 300 wins by reaching the Final Four:

-wins out regular season, wins ACC Tournament, wins Elite Eight game as 300^th victory

300 wins by reaching the NCAA Championship:

-wins out regular season, loses in ACC Championship, wins Final Four game as 300^th victory

-loses one more regular season game, wins ACC Tournament, wins Final Four game as 300^th victory

300 wins by winning the NCAA Tournament:

-wins out regular season, wins one game in ACC Tournament, wins NCAA Tournament as 300^th victory

-loses one more regular season game, loses in ACC Championship, wins NCAA Tournament as 300^th victory

-loses two more regular season games, wins ACC Tournament, wins NCAA Tournament as 300^th victory

As you can see there plenty of scenarios to see the 300-win mark right now. The game at UConn is clearly the toughest regular season game remaining. Playing at UNC is always tough and there is still a rematch against Virginia, and they will be looking for revenge. The ACC Tournament is not kind and any team has a legitimate shot at making a good run. The double-bye takes some of the load off.

"Whaddya mean, not a UofL women's basketball fan? 

If you are not a Louisville women’s basketball fan, then you can disregard those first 1,000 words. There are a few other sports gearing up for action this weekend too.

Women’s tennis visits Middle Tennessee at 4:00 today. The women with the racquets are undefeated and have swept every opponent other than WKU.

Track & Field is at the Power 5 Invitational all day today and tomorrow. Keep and eye on Emmonie Henderson on shot put, Makenli Forrest in the weight throw, and Dorkas Wasike, Brooke Raglin, and Holly Hankenson on the track.

Next weekend softball and lacrosse kick off their schedules and there will be more to report on!

Best wishes this Friday as I know your excitement for another Saturday edition of The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour builds. I will be breaking down 20’s into 5’s and 10’s but I know the rest of the crew will find a way to survive my absence. River City Cards' Mike Gilpatrick will be in front of my microphone, with the scenic view of Mellwood Ave. 

 Go Cards!

Jared