On playing, rescheduling, postponing and waiting -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 CARDS MOST LIKELY TO FACE SYRACUSE THURSDAY

With the word out (from multiple sources) that Louisville women's basketball will probably practice Wednesday and play Syracuse Thursday at the KFC YUM! Center, one has to speculate that the squad's "dance with Omicron" wasn't at severe as some programs and people have experienced with the Corona virus. At least Jeff Walz hasn't had to become a part-time communication specialist this season -- calling coaches to discuss the possibilities of games in a 48 hour window on days WBB doesn't usually play.

At least for now. 

As far as what the remainder of the season brings, your guess is as good as mine. One has to wonder if a sizable crowd will show for hosting Syracuse, given that that infection numbers seem to be spiking rapidly over the past few days and schools and such are reverting to stay at home classes, work and such. It'l be interesting to see if we'll once again get a mandate of limiting attendance to sporting events. And, how many get sick after the big attendance at the college football National Championship Monday night in Indy? . 

Jared will have more on how Syracuse has fared this season. During a cursory look at them, they strike me as a team of mystery. They put a 40-point beating on Clemson but lost to UNC by 36. They knocked off Ohio State but lost to Buffalo.

I don't envy new head coach Vonn Read in his role of having to come in and clean up and try to rebuild the mess that we saw unfold up there when Quentn Hillsman was dismissed. It seems just about every other ACC school ended up with someone out of the transfer portal from Syracuse...that they are 6-7 this season mirrors the ups and downs of their season. I tease about herding kittens here at Cardinal Couple from time to time, but Read is trying to gather up loose Oranges on a downhill slope.

If Omicron continues to spread like wildfire, will we see a return to conditions -- where crowds are diminished and mandatory masking is put into play? It may not be a bad idea. When one out of every four people are testing positive...and there's no guarantee that your shots, type of mask you wear and booster are going to protect you...it makes for nervous times in crowds. 

But, they're still playing and scheduling games and we'll report on the joy and excitement they bring. Three days a week for contests as we approch Feburary in the ACC may come to fruition if more schools go on pause.  

I was asked "what constitutes a situation where a team can't play, in regards to personnel" recently and from what I've found, a school must have seven players who are able to play and one member of the coaching staff available. A look at the 'Cuse box score against Duke shows that they had seven play against Duke, although one player played just one minute.

 

 

So, how will the Cards WBB squad look after a week off? Will it be a game where Walz will have the luxury of going deep into the bench? Or will we get a news break that Syracuse has gone into COVID pause and there won't be a game at all?

It's just beginning to get interesting for the #2 or #3 team in the nation (depending on which ranking serving you believe)  If 13-1 wasn't exciting enough for you, hang on...there are plenty of challenges ahead and not all of then are from opponents. 

paulie