Final Four is Set -- Lax Visits Ohio State -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Final Four is Set

With the remaining two Elite Eight games played last night, we officially have the Final Four set.

It seems strange not to see UConn, the Cards, the Cardinal or Wes Moore on the Dallas invite list. But, it's a very strong field with one incumbent that looks pretty unstoppable, the Fighting Mulkeys from Swamp Water U., Kenny and Kitley from the hills of Virginia and ESPN's media darling Caitlan and her cornfed crew from the mid-west  

Here's what happened last night:. 

1-seed South Carolina and 2-seed Maryland took to the court for the 7:00 p.m. game. The Gamecocks won 86-75. 1-seed Virginia Tech and 3-seed Ohio State battled it out in the late game for the last spot. The Hokies held on down the stretch to win 84-74.

So, how did these four teams arrive in Dallas?

3-seed LSU

The first team to punch their ticket is LSU. Kim Mulkey is in her second season as the head coach for the Tigers and has one of the best younger classmen in the country in Angel Reese.

LSU cruised past 14-seed Hawaii 73-50 in the opening round and wrapped up their time in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center by cruising past 6-seed Michigan 66-42. Their first game in Greenville was one for the ages as the Tigers held on by a hair to defeat 2-seed Utah 66-63. With Indiana having an early exit, LSU faced the lower-seeded 9-seed Miami and relied on a tight defense to win 54-42.

2-seed Iowa

Another non-one-seed earned their spot in the Final Four shortly after LSU. After getting upset in the second round last year, Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes were determined to make some noise this time.

Iowa overwhelmed 15-seed SE Louisiana 95-43 in the first round. Carver-Hawkeye Arena was filled one more time as the Iowa took down 10-seed Georgia 74-66 the next round. The Hawkeyes opened up play in Seattle against 6-seed Colorado and came out on top 87-77. Iowa then took on 5-seed Louisville on Sunday and came away with a 97-83 win.

1-seed South Carolina

For the third straight year, South Carolina is back in the Final Four and has its eyes on back-to-back titles. Dawn Staley continues to help South Carolina build its legacy.

The Gamecocks easily took down 16-seed Norfolk State 72-40 in the first round. Colonial Life Arena played home to South Carolina one more time on the year as the Gamecocks defeated 8-seed South Florida 86-45. A quick trip over to Greenville was easy for South Carolina, as they beat 4-seed UCLA 59-43. 2-seed Maryland tried to play upset mode but feel to them 86-75.

1-seed Virginia Tech

Kenny Brooks' squad guarantees the ACC will be represented in the Final Four by clinching their first ever Final Four berth. The ACC is also the only conference to have a team in the Final Four in both the women's and men's tournaments.

In the opening round, VT defeated 16-seed Chattanooga 58-33. They played at Cassell Coliseum one final time this season as the took down 9-seed South Dakota State 72-60. In their first game in Seattle, the Hokies beat 4-seed Tennessee 73-64. They then battled it out with 3-seed Ohio State and earned the win 84-74.

Lacrosse Travels to Ohio State

After a brutal stretch against several top five teams, Louisville lacrosse heads to Columbus to take on Ohio State at 4:00 p.m. ET today. Louisville is currently 4-6 on the year and have lost four straight.

Ohio State brings a 4-7 record into the season and remains winless at 0-3 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes are on a five-game skid. 

Having been outscored 128-105 this season, Ohio State has struggled to score, averaging 9.5 goals per game. Defensively, the Buckeyes have been average, allowing 11.6 goals per game.

Nicole Ferrara paces Ohio State with 25 goals while Jamie Lasda has scored 16 times and Jamie Level adding 14 goals. Regan Alexander has been the primary goalkeeper and holds a .474 save percentage.

There is no tv listed for this game, but live stats are expected to be available.

Cardinal Couple Pick Em

(Give Walz her number and Twitter handle)

Things have finally started to take shape as we hit the final stretch. A few brackets are already complete, based on future incorrect picks. Below are the standings I have based on submissions in the comments. I know Paulie had a couple that were a win and loss different so I'll have him provide his numbers.

THE "DONE...THANKS FOR PLAYING...PLEASE EXIT TO YOUR RIGHT" CATEGORY

42-21: David Watson

35-28: Bea, Cindy

33-30: Nick O

THE "STILL BREATHING... BUT A FEW IN HERE WE NEED TO CALL A PRIEST FOR" CATEGORY

46-14: Karen J, Jared

45-15: Jeff, WahooCard, Joe Hill

44-16: Daryl, Sonja

43-17: Katy, Jason, K Stark Sr, Thomas I,

42-18: Kenny S, Paulie, Case, Arthur, David W.

41-19: Curtis, Farris P

40-20: Mike D, Vivian

39-21: Blue Lou

38-22: Becky N

35-25: CC Chimps,  Bea

Three games to go

HERE'S THE SITUATION::

(Oops, wrong situation.)

-Karen and Jared are tied for first and both can only get two more picks right, with both having South Carolina winning the championship. If South Carolina wins their next game then Karen and Jared are guaranteed the top two spots. The tiebreaker would have to be used.

-Jeff can only get two more picks right, also having South Carolina winning the championship, so he has been eliminated from the top two.

--WahooCard can only get one more pick right if LSU wins next round. If LSU wins AND South Carolina loses in the Final Four then WahooCard will tie Karen and Jared, and the tiebreaker would have to be used.

--Joe Hill can still finish the bracket 3-0. He has Virginia Tech defeating Iowa. Joe Hill can win the Pick Em outright if both Virginia Tech and Iowa win next round.

--Daryl can still finish the bracket 3-0. She has South Carolina defeating Virginia Tech. Based on similar picks with other brackets, she is eliminated from the top two.

--Everyone else has been eliminated from the top two.

EDITOR NOTE:

THANKS, ALL, FOR PARTICIPATING IN OUR PICK 'EMS THIS SEASON! WHERE ELSE CAN YOU HAVE SO MUCH FUN FOR NO MONETARY INVESTMENT? WE HAD TO DO A LITTLE PRIZE AWARDING JUGGLING AT THE LAST MOMENT WHEN A "SANDWICH MAKER' DECIDED HE COULDNT SPONSOR THIS YEAR, BUT... I WAS ABLE TO FIND A "COFFEE SELLER" WHO AGREED TO DO SO AND ACTUALLY PROVIDE A LARGER GIFT CARD THAN THE SANDWICH MAKER. THANK YOU, STARBUCKS FOR STEPPING UP !! AND THANKS TO CRACKER BARREL FOR THEIR LONG TIME, CONTINUED SUPPORT ! 

IN THE "THANKS BUT NO THANKS" CATEGORY, I DID HAVE A "NIGHTCLUB FEATURING SCANTILY CLAD WOMEN" OFFER FREE ADMISSION AND A LAP DANCE "ON THE HOUSE" AS A PRIZE. I PASSED ON THE OFFER , AFTER A BIT OF DELIBERATION. 

BACK TO YOU, JARED...

paulie

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared