Louisville Basketball in the Summer? -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards to Compete in Red Bull USA 3v3 Tournament

The Louisville Cardinals aren't waiting until October to get back on the court together. While not every player is able to be a member of the team in the 2021 Red Bull USA Basketball 3v3 Nationals, those that are will get important playing time together. Representing the Cards in this event are MyKasa Robinson, Kianna Smith, Payton Verhulst, and Liz Dixon. One of the best things about this lineup is that it means Verhulst will get quality play time and competition with her new teammates without having to wait until the actual season rolls around. The other great thing is that if there is any basketball player made for a 3v3 tournament, it's Kasa. Hopefully this can help her get her offense on track in a more open environment.

Along with Louisville, seven other teams are competing on the women's side. Among them are four other university named teams: Kansas State, NC State, Maryland, and Oregon. The other three teams are also composed of college players, but none of those teams has more than one player from the same school. Of the non-university associated teams, only three of twelve players are still in school. None of the players on the men's side are college aged.

The event will take place in its entirety over the next two days at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Today will be pool play with the single elimination tournament taking place tomorrow. Because there are only eight teams on the women's side (there are 15 men's teams), all of the women's teams will advance out of pool play to the quarterfinals. Today's games will be used for seeding. In Louisville's pool are "Force 10", Maryland, and Oregon. The Cards will get their first game underway today at 11:05 against Force 10. They have the first game of the day on the women's side. They'll then take on Oregon at 4:55 and Maryland at 6:35. The quarterfinals begin tomorrow morning at 9:15 and the finals will be played at 2:15PM. Every game in the tournament will be streamed live on the NBA's Twitch Channel (Link here).

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour returns this week, and, for the first time in a long time, there is a chance at a full house. I only say chance because Daryl has a chance to head to Indy to watch Dana Evans play agaeinst the Fever, so we'll see if that comes to fruition. Either way, we'll have at least four as I return for the first time in a long time. We'll talk about my adventures, the latest news in UofL women's athletics, and we'll have a good old fashioned Cardinal Couple Quiz. Be sure to tune in at 11AM on the Cardinal Couple YouTube Channel for the live show. As always, you can check out the replay on YouTube, and since I'm back, the podcast will return to feeds as well. I deeply apologize for its absence. 

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-