LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL #2 RANKED
The Cards received three of the 28 first place votes, Baylor the other 25. Oregon checks in at #3, Notre Dame is #4 and the UConn Huskies drop to #5. A guy whose quips equal those of Jeff Walz...Mr. Geno Auriemma was asked about his two losses this season after the Huskies beat Cincinnati 85-55 on Sunday. He replied in typical Geno fashion:
"Last time I checked, there were 365 Division I teams in America. 364 would trade places with me in a heartbeat. I'm not going to lose any sleep over it."
Would Walz, Mulkey...even McGraw or Kelly Graves' squads make that switch? How about the Bulldogs at Mississippi St. would they abandon ship to put on UConn jerseys?
Rounding out the top 10 are #6 Mississippi State, #7 Oregon State, #8 Marquette, #9 North Carolina State and #10 Maryland. Other ACC schools getting the top 25 nod are #15 Syracuse, #24 Florida State and #25 Miami. Louisville bring the 'Cuse to town for a Thursday night tangle this week. It means the return of "Q" (Quentin Hillsman) to the 'Ville'...he's one of our favorite showmen in College WBB and a snappy dresser to boot. The win over Husky nation means a lot of things, obviously, to Louisville and NCAA women's basketball. It gives the Cards a huge confidence factor from here on out. It does put an even larger "target on their back" when they travel to places such as Blacksburg, Charlottesville and Pittsburgh the test of the regular season and the four foes coming into the downtown arena over the next three weeks. Syracuse, Miami, Boston College and NC State know that a win over Louisville at Louisville is a season changer, heck, program changer and would weigh heavily on the thought processes of the NCAA selection committee.
That's why they play the game, though, I doubt the upsets and surprises are done for the regular season. Here's hoping the Cards can stay clear of them.
ASIA DURR NAMED ESPNW PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After a sparkling performance against Connecticut, Asia Durr has been named ESPNW Player of the Week.
There were plenty of candidates, no doubt. Five others that come to mind are Kristine Anigwe (Cal), Ruthy Hebard (Oregon), Stephanie Watts (UNC), Destiny Slocum (Oregon State) and Haley Gorecki (Duke) all had weeks that were noteworthy, but Durr delivered a 24-point performance Thursday night against then #2 Conn on ESPN and that was enough to put the award in her steady hands. Why, there was even a quad-double last week, engineered by Grambling State's Shakyla Hill. The award trophy case for "Nite-Nite" has to be crammed full, if there is such a thing.
The awards, the honors, the recognitions....the triple-teams....all of the emphasis on #25 would be a whirlwind type of experience for just about any DI WBB student-athlete. Durr keeps a calm demeanor, though, and keeps her eyes focused on the ultimate goals. A Final Four slot. A National Championship.
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| "What do you think? I think that #25 is pretty good." |
Have a Terrific Tuesday and stay dry. The monsoon season has apparently begun in Louisville.
paulie
xxxxx
That's a great honor for Asia and back to #2 again. Remember the old car rental ad about #2? We try harder!
ReplyDeleteI figured that injured and such would eventually catch up with NC State.
Geno is Geno. I wonder if he's trade plasces with Jeff Walz? A bigger arena, warmer climate and a athletic program/school that isn't a couple of gadzillion $$$$ in the red?
Go. Cards. Beat Syracuse. I wonder who designs Q clothes? The circus? Walt Disney?
Curtis "no clothes horse, just a dependable mule" Franklin
LOL. I used to have a bunch of Avis button years ago that said "we try harder" in different languages.
DeleteQ told me a few years back that he coordinates all his outfits.
Paulie
I watched parts of Baylor-Texas last night. Baylor is certainly one of the five or six teams that can win the championship.
ReplyDeleteA Baylor-Louisville matchup would pit Baylor's size (17 offensive rebounds vs. Texas last night) against Louisville's quickness and pressure. Texas had a lot of success with man-to-man pressure on Baylor's guards, especially during their fourth quarter comeback.
Louisville would need to rebound decently and shoot the three effectively. Baylor would need to protect the basketball and run their half-court offense against Louisville's defensive pressure.
Let's pencil that matchup in for the national finals in April.
That matchup works for me. Jeff vs. Kim. Asia vs. the twin towers. BTW, the UofL v UConn TV ratings were the highest of the season by far.
DeletePaulie
Hello Cardinal Couple readers and friends!
ReplyDeleteArthur here.
After what I saw last night I think Louisville can beat Baylor if they meet. .as said here, the BAylor guards don't handle aggressive one-on-one pressure well and Louisville has seeral guards that can do that.
Congratulations to Asia and on the #2 ranking. Hey, we were #2 and beat #1 Alabama in CFB. Believe it, and then go out and be it.
Syracuse's Cooper and Drummond were both on fire from three-point range when they played us. Cooper finished 7-of-12 and Drummond was 6-of-12 from beyond-the-arc. So, I know Walz is warning his players to be aware of their outside skills.
We get Wake Forest Thursday and then UNC Sunday. I'll be happy getting out of those two with a 1-1 mark.
I was watching some of Louisville MBB last night, too. Nice win. Boy, Chris Mack certainly didn't have a pleasurable halftime interview, did he? A stupid
Your friend
#1 Clemson Fan
Arthur
Greer, SC
Heard any rumors of a change to 1 + 1 foul shots after 5 team fouls? This would increase the chance for a come from behind win and close final scores.
ReplyDelete2 automatics often changes a close game into what looks like a bad loss i.e. our Note Dame loss.
I haven't heard anything, but, I don't follow proposed rule changes very much. I'll dig around and see what's out there .
ReplyDeletePaulie
Was reading about Boston College and it looks like Taylor Ortepp might have a bad ankle injury she sufferen in the fourth quarter against VT on Sunday.
ReplyDeleteThat's a tough blow. She had been on fire for BC.
Paulie