Louisville WBB Bracket Time -- Softball Changes Time -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

BASKETBALL BOUNCING OUR WAY

We are only two days away from the first round of the tournament.  Our women’s basketball team prepares to host Boise State Friday at noon.  It’s a tough time for people to try and take a half day or sneak out of work early so you can catch the event on ESPN.  Assuming the Cards win they will face the winner of Marquette and Dayton in the second round at the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday. Game time not set in stone yet.

The road to the championship is never a stroll in the park.  Louisville has the potential to face some tough opposition along the way and here are a few of those potential match-ups:

1 Louisville vs 5 Missouri (Sweet 16)

Missouri has had a mild rate of success against ranked opponents.  They downed the likes of South Carolina and Tennessee while falling to Mississippi State by four.  Junior Sophie Cunningham is averaging 18 points per game, but her assist-turnover ratio is almost dead even.  Turnovers has been the weakness for the Tigers.  Missouri’s strength has been rebounds, dominating the glass all year.

1 Louisville vs 2 Texas (Final Four)

If you take away the three losses to Baylor and the loss to UConn the Longhorns haven’t had a loss against a non-elite opponent since when January when they fell by two at TCU.  Texas got upset in overtime by two to start the season but has not fallen to a non-ranked opponent since.  The Longhorns’ offense has had a roller coaster year.  Texas does not have a standout player this season, but instead relies on a well-rounded starting five.

1 Louisville vs 3 Tennessee (Elite Eight)

The Vols cruised for most of the season until the ran into a long stretch of high caliber teams, falling to Texas A&M, Notre Dame, and Mississippi State.  Tennessee faces South Carolina three times with their only loss coming in the SEC tournament.  The assist-turnover ratio is ugly for the team from Rocky Top.  Their free throw shooting sits just a half over .700.  Tennessee has one of the tallest rosters in the country and is no stranger to rebounds and blocks.

1 Louisville vs 2 Baylor (Elite Eight)

The Bears might not have Brittney Griner anymore, but we don’t have Shoni Schimmel.  Instead we have Asia Durr and an entire roster of players who are capable of putting up big numbers.  The high-powered offense has put up 90 or more points a dozen times on the season.  An early season (mid-November) loss at UCLA is the only blemish to a near perfect record.  Kalani Brown is one of the top players in the country.  She puts up 20 points per game and 10 rebounds per game and could give our forwards a challenge.  She’s one of four players averaging double figures in points for the Bears.

1 Louisville vs 1 Mississippi State

The Bulldogs sent UConn home in last year’s tournament and they come in with the confidence of doing it again, or at least taking out another top dog.  Mississippi State was perfect until the SEC Championship, where South Carolina defeated them by 11 in a regular season rematch.  They have wins over Tennessee, South Carolina, Oregon, Missouri, and Texas A&M.  Mississippi State is not afraid of playing several guards, but why worry when you have a 6-7 player clogging the lane.  They will use speed and agility to overwhelm opponents.

1 Louisville vs 1 Notre Dame (National Championship)

The Cards have beaten the Irish twice, once by 33 and once by two.  Notre Dame has not had a healthy roster all season due to ACL injuries, but they are still tough.  Notre Dame’s only other loss fame to UConn.  The Huskies used a 26-9 fourth quarter to win.  The Irish have a whole roster of star players.  Their biggest weakness is the small roster size.  Foul trouble or a poor shooting day by a couple of players will be their downfall.

1 Louisville vs 1 UConn (National Championship)

This is a rematch fans are craving for.  Had a first quarter not doomed the Cards in the original match-up things could be different. Geno and the Huskies seem to have Louisville’s number and the two teams always find a way to meet in some type of championship game.  In terms of national championships, the third try is the charm, right?  Of all of Jeff Walz’s teams this one has the best shot at taking down the giant.

NCAA Women's Tournament "Pick 'Em" Contest

GO, YOU TOPPERS, GO. 

Have you filled out your bracket year?  Make sure to submit your entries here!  I hope to stay organized enough to have everyone's brackets marked down and stay up-to-date with them.

Hey, if Sonya can run this thing for years without any trouble except Paulie wanting her to rig it in his favor, I should be fine.

MAKE SURE YOUR PICKS ARE PUT IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OF TODAY'S OR TOMORROW'S COLUMNS. PICKS NEED TO BE IN BY NOON!

ANY E-MAIL ATTEMPTS OF PICKS WILL BE FED TO THE CARDINAL CHIMP STAFF COATED IN BANANA PUDDING.

Here is the submission example Paul gave us:

ROUND 1 PICKS: UConn, Miami, Belmont, Georgia, USF, FSU, California, South Carolina, Notre Dame, Villanova, Drake, LSU, Ohio St., Green Bay, Oregon, Miss. St, Syracuse, Princeton, NC St., Creighton, UCLA, Ariz. St., Texas, Louisville, Dayton, FGCU, Stanford, WKU, Tenn., Michigan, Baylor.

THE SWEET SIXTEEN: UConn, Georgia, FSU, California, Notre Dame, Ohio St. Oregon, Syracuse, NC St., UCLA, Texas, Louisville, FGCU, Tenn., Michigan.

THE GREAT EIGHT: UConn, California, LSU, Ohio St. Syracuse, Texas, Louisville, Michigan

FINAL FOUR: UConn, Ohio St., Syracuse, Louisville.

THEN THERE WERE TWO:  Ohio State, Louisville

CHAMPS: Louisville.

COMMENTS SECTIONS FOR PICKS AND BY NOON FRIDAY!

SOFTBALL GAME TIME CHANGE

The original time of 5:00 has been set to 3:00 to help account for cold temperatures.  The softball team hosts a midweek game at Ulmer Stadium, where they are 9-1.  Northern Illinois visits but is 0-4 all-time against the Cards. Snow on the ground this morning but they cover the infield, so Play Ball!

Pitcher Danielle Watson is tied for first in the country in number of wins.  With such a large bullpen and Coach Pearsall starting to give some of them a chance she may not have a chance to add another win.

On offense, things are getting better.  Caitlin Ferguson is three-thousandths off from batting .400.  Celene Funke and Sidney Melton are a combined 12-for-12 on stolen bases.

Sandy Pearsall and UofL Softball aim to get their 705th victory.

Enjoy your Wednesday and the stress of selecting a perfect bracket and Go Cards!

Jared