Basketball Gameday vs the Wufs - Sunday Cardinal Couple

 NC State Pays a Visit

(Paulie probably won/t get to see his gal -- Ms. Wuf --today. she doesn't do away game out of state.)

So, the day is here, maybe one of the most anticipated matchups of the ACC this season, but it's hard to articulate why.

We've had plenty of discussion about the weird year it's been here in the Atlantic Chaos Conference in Women's Basketball, and this matchup highlights quite a bit of it.  NC State is ranked 20th or 18th nationally depending which poll you look at but they're tied for eighth in the conference standings.

(So, how good is this team, Wes?) 

The question to answer is, how good is NC State?  We can look at their non-conference slate, where they waltzed through mostly mediocre competition.  They took a loss to UConn early in the season before the Husky's lost about half of their team to injuries, so that's not terrible.  They have a win over then 10th ranked Iowa, a good win to be sure, but the rest of the non-conference schedule?  It's just kinda meh.

OK, so let's look at what's gone down in conference for NC State thus far.  They came up against Duke early, and the Blue Devils are clearly a very good team this year, so fair enough.  A loss to Boston College is a bit of a head scratcher.  Yes, the Eagles are considerably improved this year compared to their usual level of play, but they shouldn't be much of a threat to a top-25 team.  Losing to Florida State is not that shocking, even if it was likely considered an upset by most.  Similarly, dropping the game against UNC was likely considered a mild upset, but mild is the key word, there.

And Wolfpack conference wins?  Clemson, Syracuse, Virginia, and Miami.  They're all just, kinda, "meh" wins.

So is this team any good?  Your guess is as good as mine, and guess seems to be about all we can do in the ACC this year.  They do absolutely have some really great talent on the squad.  Diamond Johnson shooting 46% from the field, and 42% beyond the arc.  Jada Boyd has similar shooting percentages, Camille Hobby also in the closer range shots.  Jakia Brown-Turner is also a threat from anywhere on the floor.

The biggest stats disparity when you look at NC State is in blocked shots, they have almost double the number of their opponents.  They best their opponents in turn-overs, but not by a big margin.  Overall, on the stats sheet, this has the makings of two team very similar ball and a close game.

So who's the favorite today?  NC State is ranked nationally while Louisville is the lower ranges of the "Receiving Votes" territory, but in conference standings, NC State is eighth, as mentioned above, while the Cards are tied with FSU for third place.

Nothing new in the keys for the Louisville game, we've been saying it all year, we've got to close the bakery and limit the turnovers.  21 turnovers vs Boston College was abysmal.  If we repeat that today, we likely come out on the loosing end of this one.  If we can keep control of the ball, I think the chances are good for a Cards win.

There will be a lot of eyes on the game.  Even in the Thursday post-game, Coach Walz mentioned that the lower bowl was already a sell-out and upper-deck tickets were being sold.  Combine that with national broadcast TV on ABC, and that's a recipe for a lot of viewers.  If you can't make it out the the KFC Yum! Center at 1pm for the game, you'll get Beth Mowins and Rebecca Lobo on the call, and I believe Holly Rowe roaming the sidelines.  All in all, one of the best coverage teams out there.

Of course, you always have the option of catching Nick Curran on 93.9, and Cortnee Walton is back on the microphone for color after being a bit under the weather recently.  We here at Cardinal Couple have always liked Cortnee and hope she is feeling better.

Swim and Dive

The Swim and Dive teams were in action yesterday against Kentucky in Lexington.  Kentucky came out on top on the women's side of the competition in a close score, 168-132.  The Cards are ranked 6th in the country with The Cats carrying a 14th rank.

Stop me if you've heard this one before, Gabi Albiero came away with four wins in the 50 free, 100 free, 100 fly, and 200 medley relay teamed up with Abby Hay, Cecilia Viberg, and Christiana Regenauer.  That performance was also an A-cut time, qualifying the team for the NCAA Championship at the end of the season.  Abby Hay also won the 200 fly.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

It was a basketball show for the CCRHP yesterday.  All five of us (Case, Daryl, me, Jared and Paulie) made the call, a delight when it happens.  Plenty of bakery critique was part of it, of course, as we discussed the Florida State and Boston College turnover fests.

We then tried to preview today's NC State game, but none of us had our Johnny Carson Amazing Kreskin hats on us, so who knows.

As always pick it up from your favorite podcast directory or it's home at anchor.fm:  https://anchor.fm/cardinal-couple/episodes/Basketball-on-a-Hot-Streak-e1tqcc5

-- JMcA