Louisville women's basketball -- All Americans -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

DURR FIRST TEAM, HINES-ALLEN THIRD TEAM ALL-AMERICANS

Add a couple more recognitions and awards to the list that UofL women's basketball players have achieved in the 2017-18 season. ASIA DURR has been named to the USA TODAY SPORTS All-American first team and MYISHA HINES-ALLEN to the third team.

Durr "That Girl" gets the top team honors with A'Ja Wilson (South Carolina), Katie Lou Samuelson (UConn), Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon) and Victoria Vivians (Miss. St.) She was the ACC Player of the Year a week ago and leads the conference in 3-point field goals made and percentage...as well as finishing third in the scoring at 19.5 ppg. 

A great and deserving honor for "Nite-nite", who, as a junior, will be back to add on these already lofty and deserving awards. Double digit points in 27 games for the Douglasville, GA native. 

Hines-Allen makes the third team All-American list along with Brittany McPhee (Stanford), Brooke McCarty (Texas), Napheesa Collier (UConn) and Jordin Canada (UCLA). "Dooo-blay" was named the ACC Tournament MVP, made the First Team All-ACC last week and is just one of two players to accumulate 1,000 points and rebounds in her career at Louisville.
From Montclair, NJ...Myisha is hot right now and playing some of her best basketball ever. 

Did Hines-Allen deserve to be on the second team? One could certainly make the argument for it. That squad was Gabby Williams (UConn), Kalani Brown (Baylor), Arike Ogunbowale (Notre Dame), Kelsey Mitchell (Ohio State) and Megan Gustafson (Iowa). Some might even argue for Myisha's inclusion on the First Team. I would put Myisha's game up against Gustafson's any day of the week and time in big games and I'd be a winner with MHA. It was a USA Today Poll, though. 

You know, those folks who can't give you Saturday results until Monday.  

This was the original "That Girl" Can you name
her? First correct gets the final entry in our $25
Panera Card drawing. 

And, everyone's favorite coach (especially Jeff Walz's) Muffet McGraw was named Coach of the Year.... a further indication of how the USA TODAY Awards had some hits and misses in the results. A'ja Wilson was Player of the Year. I guess I can kinda see that, especially after the way she destroyed Mississippi St. in the SEC finals, and Ms. Durr slightly backed off her game for Louisville in the final five of the season. 

These are still very nice and rewarding honors for the  dynamic duo from the "Ville". They constantly remind all, however, that they are part of a unit. A team. A group that waits to see just where the NCAA (No Current Athletic Acumen) and the selection committee decides Louisville's regional fate. 


SPEAKING OF THE BIG DANCE...


I'd venture very, very short odds that UConn gets Albany. The fact that the site isn't being moved to Bridgeport or Hartford to make it easier for Geno to drive the dogsled of Huskies is the only factor of doubt here. The next question is, though, what do you do with Mississippi State? The Associated Press poll has them #4 in the nation. Just to show you how out of whack the USA Today folks are, Mississippi St. is second and Notre Dame is fourth...with Louisville fifth.

That group needs a strong cup of coffee and a ride in the Professor's DeLorean DMC-12 back to reality. And, the date of the poll is today (March 8th.)  Musta been a wild weekend in Neverland for those folks. 

The Top 16 Committee Ranking has Mississippi State second with Louisville third. NCAA RPI has Mississippi State fifth and UofL 3rd. 

What we all want to know is who gets the chance to go to Lexington if they win their first two games at home in the NCAA Tournament.  One would hope the NCAA might be worried about attendance numbers and pick Louisville to be in the Lexington region. Let's look at this: It is 630 miles from Starkville to Kansas City. 480 miles from Starkville to Lexington. A 7-8 or more hour trip wither place. And Spokane? Yeah, that's a bit further. 

Baylor says..."Whoa, Whoa! What about us?"  The Bears are at least over 600 miles away from ANY site...the closest being Kansas City. They are considered a Midwestern school, though and that would be the MidWest Region, in geographical terms. 

I say (drum roll, please) send Mulkey and her Bears to Kansas City, Mississippi State to Spokane (and be careful of the falls, you rebs!) and Louisville to Lexington. I can hear the anguished cries of the rest of the NCAA from my den chair already, though. 

"Unfair advantage for Louisville. Why punish Mississippi State and send them to Spokane?  Make Baylor....or Louisville, even better, go there! They were fourth most of the year in the rankings! Grab your pitchfolks, light your torches and storm the NCAA in Indianapolis and demand fairness and justice!" 

"WHO'S THAT GIRL !?!"

Baylor won the Big 12 Conference Tournament. They should get the Kansas City region. Louisville won the ACC Conference Tournament. Award them with the Lexington region. And Mississippi State lost to South Carolina in the SEC Tournament. No automatic bid. No preferential treatment. Pack your bags for Washington, gals. 

Of course, this is the NCAA. They don't consider logic, common sense or rational thought into anything they consider or try to accomplish. They just might decide to put Oregon as the #1 seed in Spokane, Notre Dame the #1 seed in Lexington and send Louisville to Kansas City as the #1 seed. And still try to explain it as if the was the only decision that made sense.

I hope the Cards get to go to Lexington if they win their first two games of the NCAA Tournament. It is close for the team and the fans, although I still get a little nauseous and gaseous when I have to walk through those garage doors that lead to the underbelly of UK's arena. 

Time will tell. While we wait, let's wish the Louisville men's team a little luck today against Virginia. Third time's charm, right?  Keep those men's NCAA Tournament hopes alive!   


Paulie
xxxxx