NCAA Tournament -- Lacrosse Rankings -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Louisville Named 2-Seed in NCAA Tournament

Unlike the men's side, where Louisville fans had to sweat out if the Cards would go dancing (spoiler: they're not), the women's team was waiting to see what seed they would end up being. The Cards were announced as a 2-seed, making them one of the top eight teams.

The Cards are in the Alamo Region, which has Stanford as its 1-seed. The other top teams in the region include 3-seed Georgia and 4-seed Arkansas.

Louisville is one of eight ACC teams to find themselves dancing. No other conference had more than seven teams. The list of ACC teams includes 1-seed NC State, 2-seed Louisville, 5-seed Georgia Tech, 7-seed North Carolina, 7-seed Virginia Tech, 8-seed Syracuse, 9-seed Florida State, and 9-seed Wake Forest. Notre Dame did not make the cut. They were the third team of the first four out joining Houston, DePaul, and Oklahoma.

The SEC had seven teams announced highlighted by 1-seed South Carolina and 2-seed Texas A&M. The Big Ten also had seven teams in with Maryland as the top team as a 2-seed. The Pac-12 has six teams dancing with Stanford being a 1-seed and the top overall seed. The Big 12 has five teams in with 2-seed Baylor as their top team. UConn is the other 1-seed.

Our friends to the east down I-64 are also dancing. Kentucky was named a 4-seed in the River Walk Region with UConn being the 1-seed.

Let's take a moment to look at more teams in the Alamo Region and some potential match-ups the Cards may have.

Louisville will open the tournament against 15-seed Marist. Marist College is a private liberal arts college based in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. They're located about halfway between New York City and Albany. Enrollment is roughly 6,600 students.

Marist went 18-3 overall and used a 13-3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) record to win the regular season. The Red Foxes went on to win the MAAC Tournament by defeating Saint Peters 69-30 in the championship to earn an automatic qualifying bid. Feel free to share this paragraph with a certain CJ writer who asked Coach Walz what Marist's mascot is.

Marist is averaging 63.6 points per game and shot .416 from the field on the year. The Red Foxes profited off turnovers this season by forcing 13.7 turnovers per game and converting that into 15.3 points off turnovers. They allow 50.1 ppg. 

Their head coach is Brian Giorgis. Giorgis has been at Marist since 2002 and has dominated the MAAC since then. He is 461-166 overall at the helm. This is the Red Foxes' 12th NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002. Giorgis is also believed to be the first coach in men's or women's basketball to reach 400 wins as both a high school coach and college coach. Coach Walz mentioned he's also a big lover of Diet Coke and usually keeps a cup of it under his chair during games.

Assuming Louisville wins their first round game they'll go up against the winner of 7-seed Northwestern and 10-seed UCF. Northwestern is based out of Evanston, Ill., and was an at-large bid out of the Big Ten with a 15-8 record. The Wildcats fell to Maryland in the Big Ten semifinals. UCF is based out of Orlando, Fla., went 16-4 and was an at-large bid out of the AAC. They fell to South Florida in the AAC Championship.

The favorite in the Alamo Region is 1-seed Stanford. The Cardinal (no "S") went 25-2 overall this year with a 19-2 mark in the Pac-12. Stanford won their conference in the regular season and tournament to earn the automatic bid.

A potential dark horse would be 11-seed South Dakota. The Coyotes- not to be confused with South Dakota State Jackrabbits- went 19-5 on the year and went 12-2 in the Summit League to take the regular season title. South Dakota then went on to went their conference tournament winning by an average margin of 24 points.

The Cards and Red Foxes will play on Monday, March 22 at 8:00 p.m. ESPN will have the coverage. 

We will have plenty more NCAA Tournament coverage for the next several days and ongoing for a few weeks.

Jeff Walz and Dana Evans had a presser after the Selection Show and you can check those out here: 

JEFF WALZ 3/15/21 PRESSER

DANA EVANS 3/15/21 PRESSER

CARDINAL COUPLE NCAA Pick Em

64 teams. 63 games. Do you research, flip your coin, pick your favorite mascot, whatever helps you pick your teams. Just make sure to get your entries submitted before Monday/ March 21 at noon.

Each correct pick equals one point. There are not more points for later rounds.

COVID-19 raises the question of what would happen if a team has to bow out due to positive tests. After a bit of discussion between the Cardinal Couple staff we have come to a conclusion. If a team loses because they have to forfeit it will count as a loss. If a team advances because their opponent has to forfeit then it will count as a victory.

For example, Male High School and Manual High School are set to play but Manual cannot play due to a positive COVID-19 case and Male advances. If you picked Manual, it will just count as a loss. If you picked Male, you will be awarded a point on your bracket.

Feel free to add your comments directly to our daily articles or email us at eupherjared@gmail.com and cardinalcouple@twc.com.

Lacrosse Moves Up in Rankings

Another win helped Louisville lacrosse continue moving up the polls. They are now #15 in the IL Poll. US Lacrosse Magazine put the Cards at #17 and IWLCA has them listed as #19.

Louisville is 4-2 on the year and is on a two-game win streak and have won three of their last four matches.

The Cards host #1 North Carolina on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. You can catch this one on ACC Network.

We have gotten word of some cool news that Louisville Lacrosse will be playing the match at Football's Cardinal Stadium.  Paulie has a interview planned with Lax head coach Scott Teeter later today about the historic event and will run it in his Wednesday article. 

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Mystics Defeat Dream -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Washington Mystics Defeat Atlanta Dream to Advance to Finals

Myisha Hines-Allen's rookie season is not yet over.  MHA and her teammates on the Washington Mystics are still standing as they head to the WNBA Finals.  The Mystics defeated the Atlanta Dream last night 86-81.

The two teams were even following one period and Atlanta went into the half with a one-point lead.  Washington won the third quarter by four points and the fourth quarter by two points.

Angel McCoughtry, who is out with the ACL injury, did not play, nor would she have played had the Dream advanced to the Finals.  MHA was active, but did not play.  The Mystics only played eight players despite having 12 active players for the game.


Washington will take on the Seattle Storm.  The Storm, who have been carried by UConn alum
Breana Stewart and broken-nose Sue Bird, defeated the Phoenix Mercury 94-84 to advance to the Finals.  Seattle relied on a huge fourth quarter to propel them to the series win.

The finals are set to begin this Thursday with a tip-off time not yet set.  It will be aired on ESPN 2.  Four of the five potential games will be on "the Deuce" with the only exception being ABC hosting the second game of the series.

Best wishes to MHA and the Mystics in the WNBA Finals!


Other News and Notes

Our longtime friend Paige Sherrard recently got engaged to her now-fiance Benjamin Hemp, or as Paulie calls him "Benjamin Weed".  Paige has been a guest on The Cardinal Couple Radio Hour on numerous occasions and currently writes for SB Nation and Cardinal Sports Zone.

Daryl Foust and myself followed the men's soccer team down I-64 for a match against Kentucky last night.  Sadly, their results were not as good as the women, who won their battle 1-0 in overtime.  The #7/9 Cards were stunned as they fell 3-0.  They play at 2:00 on Sunday at Lynn Stadium vs #2 Duke while the women are set to face Eastern Kentucky later that day at 7:30 p.m. No word on whether Daryl the Disco Duck went to the contest.


What Day Is it?


Happy International Day of Charity!  Doesn't it feel great helping others out?  It's also National Be
Late For Something Day, preferably not work, though.

For you food lovers you can enjoy a cheese pizza today. Can a guy get a little Italian Sausage and mushrooms with that?

Today is also "show around" day over at the renovated football Cardinal Stadium for us media types. Someone please check the scoreboards out and see how close they are to getting the seats finally installed in the north end zone.


Coming Attractions



If you happen to be on the UofL campus this weekend and see a couple of tall girls you don't recognize, it's rumored from a highly credible source close to the UofL WBB program that Maori Davenport and Laeticia Amihere are expected to visit this weekend.

Amihere is a dunking machine. The 6'3" front liner is out of Canada has Louisville and several other schools on her list. Davenport you know from her time playing for Jeff Walz and the U19 USA squad in Mexico City. The Cards are in the mix for her, too. She's 6'4" and neither would have much trouble getting things off the top shelf.

We hope both girls have a pleasant visit, love what they see and keep the Cards "ever on their minds" as they enter their senior seasons in high school.

We came across skills tapes for both Amihere and Davenport and they're pretty awesome. Give them a look:

LINK: Laeticia Amihere

LINK: Maori Davenport



Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

- Jared -

UofL President Shows Commitment to Improvement -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Louisville Football to Play in "Cardinal Stadium"

The major news around town yesterday came during an impromptu press conference just after lunch, when new UofL President, Neeli Bendapudi, announced that the University of Louisville would be renaming former Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. The announcement showed that this move was not about attacking a company or making a rash decision, but that the University was committed to inclusion at the both the school and citywide level. There was no room for UofL to promote a name with such a toxic association. Additionally, Dr. Bendapudi made it clear that the company, Papa John's, is not to blame, and that the hundreds of thousands of employees should not be made to suffer for the comments of one man. He has been removed from his position at the company and his comments were not reflective of the company as a whole.

This article isn't to go on about the name change or the comments made by Schnatter (who, by the way, was supportive and understanding in the process of the name change). Instead, it is to talk about how Dr. Bendapudi has put herself on a path to changing the culture at UofL for the better. Coming into the UofL presidency took some guts, as this was not a good position in many people's minds. The controversies surrounding the athletic program, the financial management, and the state leadership made UofL look rough from the exterior. The University needed to hire someone that had the ability to make change and wasn't afraid to do so swiftly. They appear to have gotten that with Dr. Bendapudi.

The name change decision is not particularly groundbreaking. The student-athletes wanted it, many fans wanted it, and all eyes in the city, state, and beyond were watching this unfold intently. The change almost HAD to be made. Dr. Bendapudi not only made the right (only?) choice, but she did it quickly and decisively. There was no waiting around for meeting after meeting of superfluous discussion or hemming and hawing over the decision. She knew what needed to be done, chose to do it, and discussed it with those that mattered. She had the guts to tell John Schnatter about the decision herself, and then gave an empowered press conference about the issue. How refreshing is that after the last two years at UofL?

To undertake something so large when she hasn't even had her "inauguration" ceremony yet shows that Dr. Bendapudi is ready to bring UofL back to the heights it once enjoyed. Her support of the student-athletes on campus and commitment to diversity and inclusion will only bode well for the future of the University. While the name change doesn't affect any of the UofL women's sports directly, seeing how their new president handled this situation is sure to be uplifting to players and coaches alike. A president with the well-being of the University and Athletics alike on her agenda is what Cardinal fans and students have been hoping for since this whole saga began.

I was very excited when this hire was announced, and I'm only more excited about it now. For the first time in awhile, I feel very proud of my alma mater. I would never say that I was embarrassed for having graduated from the University of Louisville, but recent decisions definitely had me shaking my head. It feels like those days may be on their way out. Sure, this issue was set up on a tee for Dr. Bendapudi to knock out of the park, but the way she stepped up to the plate inspired confidence for how she will handle future issues as they arise. There is still a long way to go for UofL to get out of the mire in which they currently find themselves, but the leadership appears to be on the right track to doing so.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

We're all back in the studio this morning for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. There is sure to be further discussion on the name change and Dr. Bendapudi, as well as updates on the joy and excitement of UofL women's sports. We'll also have a wonderful quiz about who knows what. Be sure to tune in to WCHQ at 11AM with whatever means you like to listen to radio. The station broadcasts to LPFM on 100.9 but is also available online at wchqfm.com, the WCHQ App, and you can watch on Facebook Live on the WCHQ FM Facebook page.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-