Cards vs. Cornhuskers in Big 10 vs. ACC WBB Challenge -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

2-3 NEBRASKA NEXT CHALLENGE FOR UNDEFEATED LOUISVILLE WBB

The University of Louisville WBB squad will play their second of six straight home games Thursday night at 7 p.m. in the KFC YUM! Center against the Big 10's Nebraska Cornhuskers. At 6-0, the Cards are coming off a 95-73 drubbing of Miami (OH) on Monday Night. 

The broadcast will be shown on the ACC Network Extra (hopefully they've straightened out the technical difficulties that prevented many viewers from seeing Monday night's game) and...you know it's a big event when you get "TV" Dee...Dee Kanter...in to head the refereeing crew. She'll be joined by "Brew" (Eric Brewton) and Mark Resch on court to undoubtedly fire up Louisville fans with their whistles and judgments. 

Louisville entertains a Nebraska squad that has stumbled down the sidewalk a few times this season so far. With two losses to top 25 teams (Drake and the ACC's Miami) and a double-overtime drop to Washington State, the Huskers just recently got back to winning ways with a 77-39 rout of Radford last time out. 

WHO TO KEEP AN EYE ON? 

It has been "offense by committee" for head coach Amy Williams this season. Eight of her players are averaging over seven points a game. A young squad, they are led by freshman guard Sam Halby's 11.4 p.p.g. Sophomore guard Taylor Kissinger is a three-point threat with a 66.7% (12-18) success rate from the deep and averages 9.6 p.p.g. 

RAISING CAIN

Nebraska does have significant height on their young roster. Out of the 11 student-athletes listed on the roster, eight are 6'1" or taller and they have 6'5" sophomore Kate Cain returning in the middle...she was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive and All-Freshman teams in 2018 and was a four-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week. She also set a Nebraska record last year with 100 blocks.

HOW'D THEY DO LAST YEAR, PAULIE? 

The Huskers complied a 21-11 record in 2017-18 and were selected for the NCAA Tournament. They went home after a 73-62 first round loss to Arizona State. 11-5 in the Big 10 isn't a bad record...they were also a fairly decent road team...going 9-2 in gyms where they visited.  

SO, HOW DO THE CARDS BEAT THEM? 

For Louisville, it'll be an attempted employment of speed and defense, plus accurate shooting, that'll be key if the Cards are to move on to 7-0. In six games, the Cards have held opponents to under sixty points three times and have reached the 70+ plus scoring plateau five times. Louisville will look for another energized start from Jazmine Jones, shooting accuracy from Asia Durr, Arica Carter and Dana Evans and needs a return from Sam Fuehring to her "chairwomen of the board" status. Expect a fast-paced game tonight and let's hope a proliferation of whistles and stoppages don't slow down the pace. 

HOW HAVE THE CARDS DONE AGAINST THEM IN THE PAST? 

Only three lifetime meeting between the two, which the Cards took two of. They last met in 2010 in Las Vegas and Louisville recorded a 65-51 win. They met twice when Jeff Walz was an assistant at Nebraska back in 1998, splitting the meetings.   

The Cards got Iowa last year in the challenge and disposed of them pretty easily, with a 86-52 win in the KFC YUM! Center. The ACC went 10-4 against the Big Ten last year in the challenge. 


WHAT IF I CAN'T ATTEND? 

As mentioned, the ACCNE will show the contest. Don Russell and Sara White return as the play-by-play and color analyst. They provide a lively and comprehensive picture of the action. On the electric radio, you can depend on Nick Curran and Adrienne Johnson to keep you in the loop on the action on Cards Radio 790 AM WKRD. 

WHAT'S THE PROMO TONIGHT? 

Thirsty Thursday returns. $3 beers and other items for your consumption. They hang the Final Four banner tonight. Come out and consume and cheer the banner.  


GUESS WHO'S NOT COMING TO DINNER?


Jeff Brohm has decided to stay at Purdue.

Not all the details are available, but we know Brohm met with Vince Tyra north of Indianapolis and then went back to West Lafayette to think it over. He informed UofL last night that he was staying put. 

Cardinal fans are shocked and disappointed by his decision. Next step. Next candidate. This is not a "how dare he refuse us?" scenario.  Jeff has a good job and is committed to his current players and the Purdue program. Can't blame him. And, the money was there in UofL's offer. We heard rumors of a seven-year, $35 million contract offered. We heard that Purdue bettered that.

Brohm is known for loyalty. Louisville must move on. 

Trinity High School cancelled Thursday classes because of an Internet threat about a reprisal toward Brohm's former high school if Brohm didn't take the job. In today's society, even vague Twitter threats, joking or not, are considered serious. Safety first. A joke in poor taste, most likely, but...you just never know anymore. You just can't joke about schools and kids in today's society, people. We live in a different world these days. 

The search continues. According to A.D. Vince Tyra, several high-profile inquiries were received yesterday after Jeff turned down the offer. We trust that Vince will do his job and get a guy who wants to be here. 

Brohm Watch is over. I'll close Brohm Watch with a Jeff Walz saying: 

"We want kids who want to be here. If I have to convince a kid they want to be here, it probably isn't the right fit for us...or them".  Apply as needed. 

Song to match Cardinal fans feelings this morning...the classic Fleetwood Mac "Gold Dust Woman" from 1977. Back when Stevie Nicks was "all that" and they had the under-rated Lindsey Buckingham firmly ensconced on guitar for them.

LINK: GOLD DUST WOMAN


VOLLEYING WE GO


The Cards Volleyball squad heads to Illinois to face Dayton in first round NCAA Tournament Action. A tough A-10 opponent, no doubt. 

Dayton went 23-7 this year. The A 10 does have a conference Volleyball tournament and Dayton won it with a 3-2 match triumph over VCU. Dayton has won the A 10 conference tournament 12 times and has made 13 NCAA Tournament appearances. 

Going to watch the zany, multi-hat wearing Dayton pep band would be worth the price of admission alone. With Dayton men's basketball scheduled to host #25 Mississippi State tomorrow night, though, it's probable the band will stay home to perform there. 

This is the third time that the Cards have been assigned to Champaign to start the NCAA Tournament. In 2003, Louisville knocked off Notre Dame before falling to Illinois. In 2013, the Cards fell to Marquette in the first round. If the Cards get by Dayton, they'll most likely face the Fighting Illini again. That Illini squad opens against Eastern Michigan after the UofL vs. Dayton match. 

Our "Worldwide" Jeff McAdams plans on a trip to Champaign to view the match. We'll try to catch up with him on THE CARDINAL COUPLE RADIO HOUR Saturday and review the successes and/or failures. 


DONATION MONTH 

To all our readers, It's a little awkward, so we'll get straight to the point: This month of November we humbly ask you to protect Cardinal Couple's independence and help assure our continuance. We depend on donations averaging about $25, but 99% of our readers don't give. If everyone reading this gave $5, we could keep Cardinal Couple thriving for years to come. The price of your morning coffee and croissant is all we need. When we made Cardinal Couple a non-profit, people warned us we'd regret it.
 But if we became commercial, it would be a sign of defeat and selling out. Cardinal Couple is a place to learn, not a place for blatent and overly conspicious advertising. Our site unites all of us who love knowledge about UofL women's sports. To our readers and the donors who keep us thriving: "The heart and soul of what we do here is a community of people working to bring you unlimited access to information". Please take a minute to help us keep Cardinal Couple alive. Thank you.








                                                     















paulie
xxxxx






                                                        ############