Gameday Full of Question Marks - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Florida State Brings Question Marks

Let's start with what we know.  The UofL Women's Basketball team is scheduled to play Florida State at 3pm in the KFC Yum! Center.  I saw "scheduled to" because as we saw last week, in this topsy turvy year, even if a game gets played, times can get adjusted due to last minute uncertainty.

Florida State has been on pause due to a Covid-19 test and tracing within the program.  The last game they played was against Virginia Tech on New Years Eve.  With their own pause, Duke opting out of the the rest of the season, and several other teams also triggering schedule reshuffling, it has been two and a half weeks since FSU's last game.

No Sue for you, FSU...

FSU Head Coach Sue Semrau is taking a leave of absence for the season to help care for her mother recovering from ovarian cancer.  FSU is led this year by Interim Head Coach Brooke Wyckoff, joined by Associate Head Coach Joy McCorvey and Assistant Coach Morgan Toles.

So what are the question marks?  The biggest is the two and a half week break.  We saw Louisville take a couple of games to get back into the swing of things after our pause in December, will FSU have the same sort of game rustiness that they'll need to knock off?

Working with an Interim Head Coach puts a bit of a question mark over the whole season for FSU.  Give full marks to the program and squad, as indications are that they are doing well with that little bit of uncertainty.  It helps that Wycoff has been by Semrau's side for nine seasons, helping to provide some continuity and a smoother transition.

Another question mark comes from the games that FSU has gotten to play this year.  They only succeeded in getting one non-conference game played, against a Florida team that now has a record of 7-6, 0-5 in conference.  To give Florida a little bit of credit, though, four of the five games they've played in conference have been against ranked teams, so maybe let's cut them some slack.

Otherwise, FSU has a win over Virginia which doesn't say much, a barn-burner loss against Clemson, and wins over Pitt and Virginia Tech.

Lot's of question marks, for sure.

Kourtney Weber, a 5'10" guard, is the points leader for FSU, with Morgan Jones, listed as a 6'2" guard close behind.  Both have hit an even 50% of their three point shots on the year, but to be fair, Jones has only attempted two, which suggests that maybe she should be listed as a forward instead.  Weber takes roughly a third of her shots from beyond the arc.  The three points leader is 6'1" guard Sammie Puisis, and that guard listing probably is accurate, with 3/4 of her shots coming from beyond the arc, and about a third of them going in.

Other scoring threats are Bianca Jackson, a 5'11" guard, and Valencia Myers, a 6'3" forward.  Also watch out for Myers as a shot blocking threat.  She has 13 in the five games the team has played this season.

FSU has outrebounded opponents this season by a margin of about 4 to 3, they also get to the line more than their opponents, by about the same margin.  A word of advice: don't put Weber or Jackson on the line.  They both do get to the free throw line quite a bit, and they are nearly automatic when they get there.  Both have shot more than 20 in the 5 games so far, each with only a single miss, for percentages in the 95% range.

What will we see today?  Your guess is as good as mine.  With so many question marks, any predictions need to be taken with a grain of salt.  Despite that, I like the prospects for UofL.  FSU hasn't been blowing anyone out, with their largest margin of victory over a not-great-and-now-cancelled-season Virginia by 18.

This one is at the KFC Yum! Center at 3pm with television on ESPN2, which means we get Ryan Ruocco and Rebecca Lobo on the call for this one.  Of course, Nick Curran on 790am is always a great options as well.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

The whole crew was on the call yesterday, Jared, Daryl, Case, Paulie and myself all found our way to Skype connection and to you by way of YouTube.

We had lots of basketball to talk about.  Despite craziness and a big pause in December, games are coming hot and heavy now.  We recapped several, and previewed a bit of the FSU game today.  Emina Ekic did get a little bit of discussion and next stage of her career here in Louisville.  Plus another tidbit or two at the end.  A long show this week with lots to talk about.

Check it out below or in your favorite podcast player.

JMcA