A Look At ACC WBB -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 How Are The Cards WBB Foes Doing So Far? 

With Louisville WBB and Volleyball not playing until Thursday, I thought today would be a good day to catch up on how some of our 14 ACC foes are doing so far this season in hoops. It is interesting to note that two schools are still undefeated (North Carolina 9-0 and Duke 8-0) and only one school is below .500 (Virginia 3-7). In all fairness, four conference gams have been played as well...so far, with NC State and Notre Dame at 1-0, Syracuse at 1-1 and Pitt and Clemson at 0-1. 

So, here we go:

NORTH CAROLINA 9-0

The Tar Heels are off to a fine start, playing a fairly rough pre-conference slate. Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby are leading UNC in scoring, a couple of sophomore guards for Courtney Banghart. It looks like all is well in the post-Janelle Bailey era

KEY WINS: Washington, VCU, Minnesota

KEY LOSSES: none

DUKE 8-0

Kara Lawson has her collection of returnees and transfer portal players (including Elizabeth Balogun and Nyah Green) doing some great things so far. Miela Goodchild and Vanessa DeJesus are the leading scorers. Former Card Balogun is averaging 8.5 in eight games and Green 4.0 in four games. Duke does have a tough one coming up  -- against #1 South Carolina. 

KEY WINS:  Dayton, Alabama, Iowa

KEY LOSSES: none

WAKE FOREST  9-1

Jen Hoover's Deacs are having an impressive pre-season. The Ivana Raca/Gina Conti era is over, but returning sophomore guard Jewel Spear is really lighting it up for the Winston-Salem school. Christina Morra is back also and having a good scoring/rebounding season. 

KEY WINS:  East Carolina, UNC Charlotte

KEY LOSS:  Nebraska

NC STATE 10-1

Wes Moore has the Wolfpack rolling and has faced a pretty tough slate preseason to get to 10-1. "Big Smile" Elissa Cunane leads the scoring, but Jakia Brown-Turner, Jada Boyd, Kayla Jones and Raina Perez are all over double figures as well. 

KEY WINS: Indiana, Maryland, Kansas State

KEY LOSS:  South Carolina

GEORGIA TECH 8-2

Nell Fortner has developed quite a strong team down in Hot 'lanta.and Nerea Hermosa, Eylia Love, Lotta-Maj Lahtinen, Digna Strutmane and Lorela Cubaj did beat the Paige "Buckets"-less U Conn Huskies. 

KEY WINS: UConn, Belmont, Georgia

KEY LOSSES: Purdue, Auburn 

NOTRE DAME 9-2

The Irish have impressed in the non-conference schedule and did thump Syracuse pretty handily early in the schedule at Syracuse. Familiar names Maddie Westbeld, Sonja Citron, Olivia Miles and Dara Mabrey are all in double figures for Coach Ivey. And...(darn-it)...they recently beat Purdue Fort Wayne and one of our favorite Crdinal Couple mascots --  Don the Mastadon.

KEY WINS:  Syracuse, Michigan State, Oregon State

KEY LOSSES:  UConn, Georgia

BOSTON COLLEGE 7-2

A bit of a surprise to me with the early success, but the Eagles do have veterans Taylor Soule, Cameron Swartz, Makaya Dickens and Marnelle Garraud back. It'll be interesting to see if their winning ways continue once ACC play begins. The non-conference slate hasn't been all that impressive.  

KEY WINS:  Penn State, Providence, Northeastern

KEY LOSSES: Boston University, VCU

So, there you have how the best eight (including Louisville) in the ACC, so far, are faring. Miami, Florida State, Pitt and Virginia Tech have three losses. Clemson is at 5-4, Syracuse at 7-4 and lackluster Virginia sits at 3-7.

Jared will have Cards Volleyball and WBB previews for you tomorrow. Louisville beings EKU into the KFC YUM! Center on Thursday and Volleyball is in the NCAA Tournament semifinals versus Wisconsin. 

paulie  

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LIBERTY AND ACES GET WINS -- DUKE NEWS -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 LIBERTY UPSET SKY

The New York Liberty have been looking better lately and last night their "team play, take the three" style paid off with a 101-99 win over the Chicago Sky. Breaking a seven-game losing streak, New York was close at the half, trailing just 49-46 and used a huge third quarter to take the lead. NYL outscored Chicago 32-26 in the third and held on at the end to get the win. 

Former Louisville WBB great Jazmine Jones had another nice outing for New York with nine points, three rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes. She's getting more accustom to playing at the point-guard spot and had a nifty steal in the contest to help the Liberty get the win. Kylee Shook contributed eight points, three grabs and had an assist for New York. FIve players reached double figures for Walt Hopkins team -- led by Amanda Zahui B with 22. 

This one came down to the wire, Chicago tying it in the fourth at 99-99 and Layshia Clarendon hitting two free throws with less than a second remaining to improve New York to 2-12 on the season. With the loss, Chicago drops to 10-5. 

LAS VEGAS 96 - DALLAS 92

The Las Vegas Aces are now 11-3 after holding off the Dallas Wings 96-93. Angel McCoughtry's squad jumped out to a 52-43 lead at the half and withstood a late Wings run to hold on the second place in the league. 

McCoughtry had a good evening in limited playing time with 12 points in 16 minutes. She went 3-3 from the floor and 6-7 at the line for the Aces.

The Aces used the strong game of A'ja Wilson (26 points) to dominate the inside and get this "W". Las Vegas took only six three-pointers in the contest, hitting two -- while the Wings went 15-40 from the deep. 

DUKE SAYS NO TO FANS 

Duke University became the second ACC school to put a ban on fans to start the fall athletic season. Yesterday's announcement puts the Blue Devils in the "empty bleachers" category with Syracuse. 

I hate to see the move, but I fully understand it. What would normally be big tickets events on both campuses ultimately increases the risk and spread of COVID-19.  

I have the feeling that we're just beginning to see the dominoes fall in the ACC. Louisville submitted a plan drastically reducing attendance for football and Governor Andy Beshear didn't seem too thrilled with the numbers, remarking that the Miami Dolphins were bring in less than the 18,000 the Cards proposed. And, NFL squads are beginning to announce no attendance for the first couple of weeks at their contests. 

Let's face it. Attending football as a fan while being social distanced and wearing a mask just doesn't seem like things that go together well. Add alcohol and and hours of tailgating into the mix and you're coming up with a dangerous scenario. 

True, these probably wouldn't be as problematic situations at, let's say, a field hockey or soccer match on a college campus, but, why take the chance? These are college student-athletes, not paid professionals.

If the intent is to keep the student-athlete safe and competitive, all precautions are going on (mostly) on campus to ensure their safety and protection from COVID, why throw all that out the window by introducing fans into the scenario?

I get it, we all want sports and we all want to watch our favorites compete. It is really going to permanently destroy anyone's fandom and fervor, though, if you have to do it via TV, internet, radio or other devices for a short while? I think that's better than cancelling things all-together, like some Power 5 conferences have done.

Sadly, it's also most likely going to affect what we do here at Cardinal Couple as far as "on-the-site, live game coverage" and post-game interviews. We haven't officially received the word on that yet, but, we're willing to "take one for the team" if we're asked to. 

This, of course, puts the direct onus on the athletes now. Will they follow the protocols, stay away from campus parties?  I certainly hope they would. Weighing the chance to compete against the chance to socialize with pals has become a new and important decision in the life of the student-athlete, and any college student, in 2020. 

Let 'em play. We'll stay away, if that's what you say. So they can stay....healthy. 

paulie 

Friday Cardinal Couple -- Rivalries

- ACC: Many long-established rivalries

-  Ogunbowale narrows list.

When we think of rivalries here at Louisville...our annual battles against Kentucky come to mind first. Over the years, the Cards have also established rivalries against Memphis, Cincinnati and Western Kentucky. These tend to transcend into other sports besides football and basketball. We'd also be remiss if we didn't mention the Louisville vs. UConn rivalry that exists in basketball. One that has been pretty much one-sided on the women's side, and pretty heated on the men's side.

Most Cardinal fans will identify with various responses when the names Auriemma, Calhoun, Cronin, Huggins, Dana Kirk, Mitchell or Calipari are brought up in conversation.

As UofL enters the ACC, they join a conference that has many rivalries...both in-conference and OOC. Let's take a look at a few by school:

Boston College. The Eagles and Syracuse have developed a good rivalry over the years and the meetings between BC and Notre Dame are referred to as "The Holy Wars". 

Louisville's chances of establishing a rivalry against BC are slim...distance between schools and talent level the main factors. 

Clemson. The Tigers have a big in-state rivalry with South Carolina and there's no love lost when Clemson and Florida State get together. Events against Furman also draw considerable interest in the Palmetto State. 

Any potential rivalry between the Cards and Tigers would be remote...the football battle this year will be a game of great interest, though, down there...and Clemson WBB does have a former Card in Charmaine Tay. 

Florida State. Miami and Fla. St. are main rivals and the Seminoles don't have a lot of respect for Notre Dame, either. Of particular note in WBB, Louisville had lost 10 consecutive games to the Lady 'Noles before Jeff Walz rolled into town. Sue Semereu hasn't been able to beat him or the Cards since. 

We'll probably never become main rivals with FSU...but any games will draw considerable interest since both schools are usually highly nationally ranked in the sports they participate in. 

Georgia Tech. The Ramblin' Wreck has a decent rivalry

going with in-state foe Georgia...other than that, not much. 

This has potential to be a minor rivalry for the Cards...especially in hoops...where the memory of Bobby Cremins lives on in many Cardinal fans' recollection and the relatively short drive between the two schools. 

Notre Dame. It seems the Fighting Irish are rivals with just about anyone that meet. Michigan State, Michigan, USC, Purdue, Boston College, Pittsburgh, Florida State...the list goes on & on.

The Cards and Irish have also established some fierce competition lines over the years and those will pick right up where they left off now that we're conference foes again. 




Duke. Duke and North Carolina is maybe the largest rivalry in college sports. The Blue Devils are another of those schools that everyone seems to take great delight in beating. 

Kentucky, Louisville, all the Carolina schools, Florida State, Syracuse and the entire Catholic contingent...well, the list goes on and on. Coach K. and Coach Joanne P. are hot button items and Louisville ex-Field Hockey head coach Pam Bustin will raise a little dust when they show up in the 'Ville in October. 

Other rivalries we'll see...

Pitt - Penn St., West Virginia
North Carolina - Duke, NC State, Wake Forest and Virginia
Virginia Tech - Virginia
NC State - Wake Forest, Duke, UNC

Which of these 14 schools in the ACC will become a "rivalry game" for Louisville down the road, years from now? Only time will tell...but the competition frenzy will be just as intense as it was back in the days of the Metro, CUSA and Big East. 

Which rivalries do you see as the biggest in the ACC? Which ACC schools do you see the Cards having a chance to establish a rivalry with? Let us know in the comments section.

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Milwaukee Prep Star considering Louisville WBB

Add another name to the 2015 Louisville WBB wish list.

 

Arike Ogunbowale has two loves...soccer and basketball. There are many colleges and universities that would love to have the 2015 prospect on campus playing either.

 

She has turned her focus directly to hoops, though... and has indicated that Jeff Walz and the Cards are in her top five.

 

Arike is a top-10 prospect in the 2015 class and the 5'9" guard has narrowed it down to Ohio State, UCLA, Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Louisville.

 

She's had a busy and productive summer. A member of the USA U 17 squad that won the FIBA World Championships...she averaged almost 11 points and four rebounds a game in the USA's 7-0 run.

 

Her plans are to visit all five schools if possible and then sit down with family members and narrow the list.

 

On Louisville, she comments:

 

" I can't wait to see what Louisville has to offer. I like Walz as a coach. I like the city of Louisville. They have a great program and great facilities. It'll be a tough decision."

ESPNW says:

Strong, athletic off-guard with a scorer's mentality; physical off the bounce, elevates and finishes with consistency in mid-range game; developing deep threat game.


We at CARDINAL COUPLE say...scoring guards who can jump and hit the three are always welcome on Belknap Campus.

 

 

 

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paulie

Basketball in the ACC

THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

( Staff columnist Jenny O'Bryan gives us today's column and it's a look at ACC basketball.)

- A look at ACC WBB

-Corral picked for All-Region

-Charlie staying put. (Good Charlie!)

Louisville Women’s basketball is slated to make their debut in the ACC in 2014, if not before.   Actual arrival is dependent upon when exiting member Maryland makes their way to the Big 10. 

The coaching staff is pretty familiar with the conference.  Coach Walz cut his proverbial coaching teeth in the ACC while at Maryland as an assistant under Brenda Frese for 5 years.  He helped to lead the Terps to a National Championship in 2006.  Coach Samantha Williams found her way to the ACC as Coach Walz was leaving, in 2007.  Alongside Coach Joanne McCallie, Coach Sam spent 4 years as an assistant at Duke.   While both are now at Louisville, Coach Sam’s hometown and Coach Walz’s home state, the ACC is familiar territory.

The standings going in to the 2012 season have Duke atop the conference followed by Virginia Tech, Maryland (whose exit makes our arrival possible), Miami (FL) North Carolina, Virginia, NC State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Wake Forest and Boston College.  Arriving in 2013 is Notre Dame, Syracuse and Pittsburgh.  With the way things stand today, Louisville will arrive in 2014. Add Notre Dame and it looks like a very strong competition level.  

The 2012 NCAA Tournament had 4 teams (Duke, Maryland, Georgia Tech, Miami (FL)) from the ACC.   Of those 4, Duke was knocked out in the Elite 8, the other 3 getting knocked out in the Sweet Sixteen.    Duke, in particular, is stacked with talent and looks to be a force for the years to come. 

The recent recruiting class of 2013’s top 50 prospects was raided by the ACC.  Of the top 50, 15 of those recruits have signed with ACC schools.  Of the top 10 in the class, 6 have signed with the ACC.   Of the top 5 overall recruiting classes, 3 go to the ACC with North Carolina coming in at #1, Duke at #2 and the newly arriving Notre Dame at # 4.  That is a boatload of talent in one conference!

North Carolina, who did not make the NCAA Tournament last year, and who snubbed an invite to participate in the NIT, got a huge haul from this class.  Diamond DeShields is the top recruit coming in at #3 in the class, followed by #7 Allisha Gray, #14 Jessica Washington and #23 Stephanie Mavunga (a recruiting target of Louisville).  The 4 hope to return North Carolina and Coach Sylvia Hatchell back to prominence in the women’s game, and atop the ACC. 

Duke, coming off of a nice post season run, scored some huge recruits as well.  Rebecca Greenwell, # 6 in the class, Kentucky native and former Louisville target as well, headlines the class at Duke.  She is joined by #10 Oderah Chidom, #12 Kendall Cooper and #32 Kianna Holland.   With the current talent at Duke, and incoming stellar class, they look to be the continued team to beat. 

Notre Dame is the other recruiting class of note.  This class is headlined by #4 Taya Reimer, # 25 Lindsay Allen and # 39 Kristina Nelson.  While Notre Dame has long been atop the Big East alongside Connecticut, they look to continue alongside strong competition in the ACC next season. 

While Georgia Tech was not mentioned in the top 5 of recruiting classes they signed # 2 in the class of 2013, Kaela Davis.  As Louisville fans know, one outstanding recruit can really change the landscape of a team and bring in future talent.  The hope here is certainly that Georgia Tech can climb out of the bottom 3^rd of the conference. 

While the Big East has long been thought of as a premiere women’s basketball conference, with Notre Dame leaving, us to follow and Connecticut looking for a way out, the ACC seems to be measuring up pretty well, especially with the very strong haul from the class of 2013.   I certainly believe with the Big East falling apart (Notre Dame and Rutgers already on the way out), the ACC seems to offer as much of a competitive nature, if not more, than the new fangled Big East. 

The Big East has been a very good home to Louisville Women’s Basketball.  I am sorry to see it unraveling, as it pertains to the competitive nature of women’s basketball.  I am grateful to see the move to the ACC and I look forward to many competitive games as we move forward.  As we all know, women’s basketball (and all women’s sports) is just along for the ride in conference realignment.  In this case, it looks to be a step up for what the ever-changing Big East is beginning to look like. 

Thank you, Big East.  Hello, ACC. 

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Louisville women's soccer junior Charlyn Corral was named First Team All-Region (Northeast) by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America earlier this week.

Corral, the 2012 BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year and a First-Team All-BIG EAST selection, led the Cards with eight goals and a team-high seven assists during her first season at UofL. She transferred to Louisville from Tecnologico de Monterrey. Corral started all 18 games for Karen Ferguson-Dayes' squad.

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(The following is EDITORIAL COMMENTARY from your senior, senile CARINAL COUPLE owner Paulie and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the rest of the CARDINAL COUPLE writers, staff or animals.)

CHARLIE STRONG SAYS "NO" TO TENNESSEE

Looks like Charlie Strong won't have to learn the words to "Rocky Top" after all. The UofL head football coach turned down two Tennessee offers Wednesday and is staying at Louisville. He's undergoing contract re-neogtiations with Tom Jurich and the scuttlebutt is that Charlie could become another $4 million man at UofL along with Rick Pitino.

I need a little car work done guys....who's your buddy, who's your pal?

I approve of Charlie's decision to stay in the (502). Was it all posturizing to get a better deal? Was Charlie seriously thinking of heading to Knoxville? Will he hire a media-relations coach with the extra benjamins to school him on how to avoid upsetting the press and the fans?

All this and more, at least until the next school comes knocking at the door. It is impressive that he turned down a SEC school to remain with the Cards. That usually doesn't happen. 

Cardinal fans have squirmed under the tag that UofL wasn't a "destination school" for coaches for years. Maybe that's changing.

Or, if you can't win them over with your winning record, "wow" them with your wallet...how many schools will come after a guy that's making more than most schools' athletic budget?

Something that struck me in Charlie's interview today was that he kept coming back to two things. Relationships and family. It's wasn't about the money, the glamour of SEC football or personal ego. It was about how he wanted to finish what he has started here, how his family loves Louisville and the relationships he has built up with his players, staff and town.

I'm beginning to like this guy even more than when he was hired.

Looks like Cardinal football is in good shape, we can move on to the next drama.

Jeff Walz's new look.
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