Volleyball Gets the Spotlight - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Volleyball in Action Alone

Did anyone recognize the player in the first picture of yesterday's article?  Akela Yuhl played with the Cardinals from 2017 to 2019.  A DS walk-on, she didn't see a whole lot of playing time, but filled in at times and found some success.  After she finished her junior year with the volleyball team, Akela did graduate with her undergraduate degree from UofL.  I did find where she is or at least was last year, working with the Dauphin Island Sea Lab while she was working on her Masters through the University of South Alabama.  Dauphin Island is a barrier island south of Mobile Bay in Alabama. 

Her major at UofL was Biology, and it appears that her interest in Marine Biology has continued and has served her well, including being part of a project to study the Mobile-Tensaw-Apalachee River Delta.  A couple of links about the project https://www.disl.edu/news/2022/auburn-disl-collaboration-to-assess-mobile-tensaw-apalachee-delta/ https://www.disl.edu/news/2022/auburn-disl-collaboration-to-assess-mobile-tensaw-apalachee-delta/

We, of course, wish Akela the best as she continues her work and no doubt will contribute to the betterment of our world.

OK, back to the current team, however.  After Friday's loss to FSU, and as excellently outlined by Case in yesterday's CC article, the Cards find them back in a four-way tie atop the ACC conference.  The Cards don't completely hold their own destiny in their hands as they don't have another matchup in the works with FSU, but with upcoming matches still against both Pitt and Georgia Tech, they do have the ability to knock two of the teams out of that four way tie.  They do hold their own destiny in their hands insofar as winning out the rest of the season will at least result in the Cards taking down yet another co-championship in the ACC.

So that campaign begins today.  The Cards have made the relatively short trek over to Georgia Tech's travel partner, Clemson, and will square off against the Tigers at 1pm today in Jervey Gym with coverage on the ACC Network Extra.

Clemson is roughly in the mid-pack of the ACC, a significant upgrade over even just a handful of years ago when they were one of the perennial doormats of ACC Volleyball.  The Tigers did play UofL's travel partner Notre Dame Friday which they won in four sets, with a few bonus points in the first set.  That puts Clemson on a three game win streak, but, with all due respect, the competition hasn't been that great.  Notre Dame, Boston College, and Syracuse are three of the bottom five teams in the conference.

They did take UNC five sets before the Tarheels took the win, and they beat a pretty decent Miami team in Jervey Gym about three weeks back.  The Tigers' out of conference schedule didn't feature much in the way of top-flight teams, other than Florida which took the match in a sweep.

So, don't expect a top-level volleyball match today.  The Cards should win this without too much trouble, but "should" is doing a lot of work there as we've seen UofL really take their foot off the accelerator at times when playing "lesser" teams.

It's always a challenge for a team to come out and play at their top capabilities when the competition isn't as strong, but that's what I really want to see from this Cardinal team today.  It's late enough in the season that they should be a well oiled machine, and in many ways they are, but we've seen too much "let down" at times that make games that shouldn't really be competitive become rather more exciting than expected.

The Clemson offense seems to be fairly well balanced, with Aźyah Dailey, and Kennedy Wagner leading the way from the left side with 2.3 and 2.4 kills per set.  Kate Simington and Adria Powell are 6'2" and 6'4" presences in the middle.  Admittedly, PK and Cara Cresse are taller still at 6'4" and 6'6", but the tall trees in the middle on both sides of the net should make for an interesting battle at the net.

McKenna Slavik will run the show, and at 6'1" holds her own in blocking with about .4 blocks per set.  I assume Devan Taylor will be in the libero jersey, or at least looking at the Clemson season stats, that's who I would put in that role.  She's racking up 3.6 digs per set which is still behind the 4.5+ that Elena Scott keeps alive, but is still a respectable number.

So there is some talent there that needs to be game-planned for, and I'm sure the Louisville coaching staff has done so, now it's up to the players to come out and play up to their potential to demonstrate that they can play at that level, regardless of the competition.

As mentioned, this one gets started at 1pm at Jervey Gym, and is viewable on ACC Network Extra.  Don't forget that Daylight Savings Time ended last night, so if you haven't changed your clocks, you should do so, and take the extra hour that you didn't realize you had to check your smoke detector batteries as well.

Field Hockey Selection Show

Field Hockey awaits their NCAA tournament fate tonight.  Consensus seems to say that they will be getting a bid, but with only 18 places in the tournament, it's not a given, and the quality of the draw will be a big question to be answered.

The Selection Show is at 10pm and will be streamed via the ncaa.com website.  I was unable to find a specific URL where it will be as of yet.

The "opening round" along with the "first" and "second" rounds will be played at campus sites on November 8th, 10th, and 12 respectively, with the semifinals and finals at Karen Shelton Stadium at UNC.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

Case was back with Paulie and I yesterday for the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast, and just in time to wrap up the season for Soccer, with a pretty serious discussion about whether KFD will be with us another year.  We also recapped a bit of Field Hockey's games in the ACC Championship, and whether their resume is strong enough to get a bid to the NCAA Tournment (consensus says, "yes").  And of course, we look at what went wrong for Volleyball Friday night, and what that means for the renewed logjam atop the ACC (imagine what it's going to be like with Stanford in the mix next year).

Check it out at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/cardinal-couple/episodes/Field-Hockey-and-Volleyball-Fall-e2bfu8t

-- JMcA

Elite Eight vs Iowa, Lax Falls to the Cuse, SB Leads the Pack - Sunday Cardinal Couple

Elite Eight vs Iowa

( EDITOR NOTE -- WOULD LIKE TO APOLOGIZE FOR THE FORMATTING AND LATE TIME FRAME APPEARANCE OF TODAY'S ARTICLE. --PAULIE)

(Photos by Jared Anderson, Cardinal Couple Photographer extraordinaire)

With UConn's loss yesterday to Ohio State, Louisville now holds the longest streak of consecutive Elite Eight appearances in the league at five.

That appearance will be tonight at 9pm against Iowa.  These teams have only met twice, in a home and home series in the 2013-14, and 2014-25 seasons.  The Cards won both games, with the most recent being at the KFC Yum! Center in December of 2014.  Both games had similar totals, 86-52, 83-53.  We can only hope today's results are much the same.

Iowa holds a 29-6 record to this point, with those losses to Kansas St., UConn, NC State, Illinois, IU, and Maryland.

We all know about Caitlin Clark, and with good reason as she is an excellent player, a 47% shooter, 38% from three point range, and 84% from the free throw line, averaging almost 27 points per game - just gaudy numbers.  Backing her up, is Monika Czinano, a 6'3" big that hits 68%, but don't expect any of those from range.  She does average almost 17 and a half points per game, though.  The only other player in double digits is McKenna Warnock at just shy of 11 per game, at 49% from the field, and 39% from three range.

The Louisville game plan for this one is pretty clear.  Stop, or at least slow down, Caitlin Clark.  That, of course, is easier said than done.  The National storylines will probably be pitting Hailey Van Lith against Clark, at least notionally, if not expecting HVL to be guarding Clark.  I posit that Mykasa Robinson would be the better player to guard Clark.  Either player gives up about five inches to Clark, but Kasa has never shied away from matchups like that, and her intense defensive play will be what's needed to counter Clark.  Perhaps we see the re-emergent Morgan Jones covering Clark some as well, as Jones' quickness could certainly be useful there.

Both tournament games tonight are on ESPN, with Miami vs LSU tipping off at 7pm, and our game vs Iowa starting at 9pm for another late-night game watch.

Softball Tames the Wolfpack

Another weekend of softball with it's schedule altered by weather.  After Friday's monsoons prevented play, Louisville and NC State played a double-header yesterday.  The Cards won both, 7-4 in the first game, and a five inning run-rule win in the second 13-0.

Ally Alexander at the hot corner.

Alyssa Zabala got the start in the first inning and pitches 4.1 before Taylor Roby took over the duties for the last 2.2.

NC State got started early with a run in the first inning, but UofL would answer just as quickly.  With Korbe Otis and Hannah File both reaching safely, Taylor Roby added to her already impressive home run tally put a three up on the scoreboard.

Korbe Otis sliding into third

NC State would tie it in the top of the 3rd with a solo shot on the first pitch of the inning, followed up by another run with some smaller ball play.  Louisville would re-take the lead in the bottom half of the frame when Hannah File took the ball for a ride to the right center field berm.  This would be the first of two home runs for File on the day.

In the bottom of the fifth, Louisville would finally get some separation that would stay.  Korbe Otis and Sarah Gordon would both reach with singles, and Otis would get back home on a Roby single.  A Daisy Hess single loaded up the bases, and Ally Alexander would get a single to score Mia Forsythe, pinch running for Roby, and Gordon to tack on another three in the inning.

Roby would walk a pair in the top of the 6th, and allow a run on a single, but then pitched three straight strikeouts to end NC State's scoring for the day.

Sam Booe got the start in the second game of the double-header and every inning of the game would see an out on NC State from a fielding play such as a fly out or a ground out, and two strikeouts.  Booe pitched four of those innings, and Cassie Grizzard pitched the 5th.  On the other side of the plate, Louisville would score at least two in all four of the innings that they batted in the run-rule decision.

(Hannah File finishes a trip around the diamond)

Korbe Otis started it all off with a triple and would score on a Sarah Gordon single.  Hannah File joined the basepaths with a walk, and she and Gordon would end up both in scoring position on a wild pitch.  Gordon would get home on a Daisy Hess sacrifice play.

The second inning started out at the very bottom of the lineup for the Cards, where Paige Geraghty put a nice single up the middle. 

Daisy Hess lays down a bunt.

At the top of the order, Otis drew a walk.  Gordon hit a hard hit shot right back at the pitcher that was caught, Otis had started running and needed to tag back at first but was most of the way to second already.  The NC State first baseman missed the catch however, letting Otis not only get back to tag first, but then advance to third.  Meanwhile, Geraghty scored.  Otis then scored on a wild pitch.  Next up, Hannah File got that second homerun of the day.

In the third inning, Geraghty and Otis both reached successfully and were brought home with Sarah Gordon's shot out to center field.

Paige Geraghty slides into home.

The fourth inning started with a walk for Easton Lotus, and a pair of singles by Ally Alexander and Pickle Winkler.  Lotus would be out at home with the force, but leaving the bases loaded.  An Otis single scored Winkler and Alexander.  Gordon reached on an NC State error, scoring Geraghty, then File would sacrifice to get Otis home and Roby would finish off the RBIs, with a double that brought Gordon home.

Softball will be back in action today with a 12:30 start against the Wolfpack.  Come out and enjoy beautiful Ulmer Stadium, or catch the action on the ACC Network Extra.

Lacrosse

Lacrosse welcomed the number one team in the country, Syracuse, in to the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium, and the result unfortunately highlighted the quality of the opponent.

The Cuse's Emma Tyrrell had a hat trick in just over five minutes of play, and the Orange would lead 6-0 by about halfway through the first quarter before Louisville could break through for a goal.  Chalk that one up to Hannah Morris.

It would be almost two thirds of the way through the second quarter before the Cards would score again, with Nicole Perroni extending her now 30 game strong scoring streak. Syracuse would go to halftime with a 12-2 lead, however.


Hannah Morris would score a second goal in the last few minutes of the 3rd quarter. And some signs of life in the waning few minutes of the game, but far too little, and far too late, but Izzy Seikel would score a pair to bring the Louisville total to five, but Syracuse had scored five of their own for the final score of 17-5.  Small consolation, perhaps, that Louisville tied Syracuse in the second half of play.

Louisville will look to get back on the horse with a Tuesday visit to Ohio State in Columbus.  That game starts at 4pm and there is currently no listing for video for it.

Friday Volleyball

(Knee injury?  What knee injury?)

Some quick notes here with Volleyball starting their spring exhibition schedule on Friday.  They welcome in the Kentucky Wildcats and, of course, had to go to five sets to get the win, because it wouldn't be UofL vs UK in volleyball without a five set match.  A funny moment after the fourth set, with the set scores tied 2-2, the coaches asked the teams if they wanted to play the fifth as it's not uncommon in spring play to only play four sets, even if they end tied.  All of the players, pretty much in unison, responded in the affirmative, with a tone that suggests they thought the coaches were crazy for even asking - of course they wanted to see this one to the end.

Not going to do a real recap of this, but will throw out a few observations.

(Hannah Sherman (11), Charitie Luper (23) and
Elle Glock (5) celebrate together.)

First, Anna DeBeer's knee recovery is going great.  She has no complaints about any pain or motion limitation at this point.  She is still wearing the knee brace, but has apparently been instructed to keep wearing that for two year after the injury.  So the brace will be with her for a while, but at this point, it's merely preventative for any re-injury.

Charitie Luper is a sophomore transfer joining us from UCLA, and you're going to like her play.  At 5'9" she's rather undersized for an outside hitter, but if you weren't paying attention to that, you wouldn't have noticed.  She has a great bit powerful serve, plays all six rotations, blocks well, and of course, hits well.  Coming in effectively as a replacement for Claire Chaussee, she gives up three inches of height, but nothing else.

(Aiko Jones and Hannah Sherman say, "Nope.")

Elle Glock got the lion's share of the setting duties, but we did see Alexis Finnvold in control some, as well as much of the third set where they were running a 6-2 offense.  So who was the other right side in the 6-2 as a counterpart to Aiko Jones?  Nina Moorer.  In addition to playing some time on the left side, she slid over to the right to provide the extra hitting option in the 6-2 and did a fine job.

We got pretty much even playing time in the middle between Cara Crese, PK, and Hannah Sherman.  All looked great.  Sherman had a few missed assignments on blocks, still learning the blocking schemes, I guess, but she did have several very impressive roofs.

Otherwise, it's mostly rinse and repeat.  We still have a transfer setter set to join the team probably in June, but we're in good shape for another good season of Volleyball in the fall.

The spring schedule continues this Friday at 6pm with a team from the Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball league continuing their spring exhibition schedule against various college teams who have players playing in the AU roster of players.  Erin Fairs is expected to be in the AU starting lineup for this matchup.  I got the chance to speak with Fairs in Omaha at the Volleyball Final Four and she was very excited about getting to return at play back in Louisville.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

(no...Kim did not join us for our podcast but she sent
her outfit with plumes over. We couldn't get it to talk...)

...

We had four of us on the call yesterday, with Jared heading out to try to get pictures and avoid getting blown away by the winds at Lacrosse.  We talked a lot of basketball, softball, lacrosse, and touched just a bit on volleyball.

Always a good time, check it out at any decent podcast directory or at it's home link, now at Spotify, at:

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/pod/show/cardinal-couple/episodes/Louisville-Advances-to-Fifth-Straight-Elite-Eight-e2144lm

-- JMcA

Jared Breaks Down the NCAA Tournament -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Jared Breaks Down the NCAA Tournament

It's good to be back! Not that I was gone long, but when you work in insurance and a massive storm comes through like the one on March 3, things get hectic.

The insurance company I work for only insures in the state of Kentucky, so the recent wind storm has hit us hard while we handle it with an "all hands on deck" approach. No, seriously, everyone from every department has turned their attention towards assisting claims as we want to try and help everyone out as quickly as possible. This has led to a massive amount of overtime and my schedule being "sleep when I can."

I was fortunate enough to catch the NCAA Women's Selection Show on Sunday and I have plenty of opinions on seeding and match-ups so I made sure I could make today's write happen.

First, Louisville is a 5-seed and will face 12-seed Drake. We now know that tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. 4-seed Texas and 13-seed ECU will tip-off shortly after, approximately around 10:00 p.m. Both games will be played at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

Besides those two games, we have 30 other games to look at in the opening round. We'll look at both seeding and match-ups while I provide some insight on some potential upsets I could see happening.

Note: This is NOT my final Cardinal Couple Pick Em predictions. This is just my initial thoughts on each game. I'll do my research this week.

Greenville 1 (This two regional thing is stupid)

1-seed South Carolina (32-0, SEC) vs 16-seed Norfolk State (26-6, MEAC)

The Gamecocks have been the team to beat all year. I don't see that changing.

Winner: South Carolina

8-seed South Florida (26-6, AAC) vs 9-seed Marquette (21-10, Big East)

The Bulls and Golden Eagles both have solid defenses and this one should be one of the better first round match-ups.

Winner: South Florida

5-seed Oklahoma (25-6, Big 12) vs 12-seed Portland (23-8, WCC)

Hey, it's Payton Verhulst's team! No, she won't be playing with the Sooners this tournament, but the Sooners held their own in one of the toughest conferences this year.

Winner: Oklahoma

4-seed UCLA (25-9, Pac-12) vs 13-seed Sacramento State (25-7, Big Sky)

Take away the loss to Washington State and UCLA has been red hot as of late.

Winner: UCLA

6-seed Creighton (22-8, Big East) vs 11-seed Illinois (22-9 Big Ten) or 11-seed Mississippi State (20-10 SEC)

Creighton was one of the big surprises last year when they made the Sweet Sixteen and they hold better position this year. I'm happy to see Sam Purcell get the Bulldogs into the tournament in his first season!

Winner: Creighton

3-seed Notre Dame (25-5, ACC) vs 14-seed Southern Utah (23-9, WAC)

The Irish remain without Dara Mabrey and the status of Olivia Miles remains unclear. Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld have both stepped it up recently.

Winner: Notre Dame

7-seed Arizona (21-9, Pac-12) vs 10-seed West Virginia (19-11, Big 12)

The Wildcats have been slumping as of late while West Virginia has been just average since conference play began. This is a match-up of two teams trying to find a spark.

Winner: Arizona

2-seed Maryland (25-6, Big Ten) vs 15-seed Holy Cross (24-8, Patriot)

The Terrapins have one of the most high-powered offenses in the country. The defensive struggles will keep them from winning a championship but offense will carry them through the first round.

Winner: Maryland

Dark Horse: Creighton is a team I wouldn't be surprised to make the Sweet Sixteen and even make the Elite Eight.

Regional Winner: South Carolina. Enough said.

Greenville 2

1-seed Indiana (27-3, Big Ten) vs 16-seed Tennessee Tech (22-9, OVC) or 16-seed Monmouth (18-15, CAA)

The Hoosiers are just really good despite losing two of their last three. They're also undefeated against teams not from the Big Ten this year.

Winner: Indiana

8-seed Oklahoma State (21-11, Big 12) vs 9-seed Miami (19-12, ACC)

Both teams are so-so that finished the season in a slump. The Hurricanes and Cowgirls are veteran heavy squads with a combined 13 seniors.

Winner: Miami

5-seed Washington Sate (23-10, Pac-12) vs 12-seed FGCU (32-3, ASUN)

The Cougars are fresh off a Pac-12 Championship where they played giant killer while the Eagles are one of four teams to break 30 wins this year. FGCU is one of the highest-scoring offenses in the country.

Winner: FGCU

4-seed Villanova (28-6, Big East) vs 13-seed Cleveland State (30-4, Horizon)

Cleveland State is another team in the field with 30+ wins has lost just once in their last 14 games but goes up against the best non-Power Five player in the country in Maddy Siegrist. She leads the country in scoring.

Winner: Villanova

6-seed Michigan (22-9, Big Ten) vs 11-seed UNLV (31-2, Mountain West)

The Wolverines is no stranger to getting past the opening weekend in the NCAA Tournament and returns experience. The Lady Rebels find ways to win and haven't lost since mid-December. 

Winner: UNLV

3-seed LSU (28-2, SEC) vs 14-seed Hawai'i (18-14, Big West)

While the non-conference schedule for the Tigers was weak, they have one of the best players in the country in Angel Reese. The Rainbow Wahine have a tall task ahead of them, even if on a five-game win streak.

Winner: LSU

7-seed NC State (20-11, ACC) vs 10-seed Princeton (23-5, Ivy League)

This is an intriguing match-up. The Wolfpack lost a ton of firepower after last season, but is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers were a missed basket away from a Sweet Sixteen last year and would play an upset role again.

Winner: Princeton

2-seed Utah (25-4, Pac-12) vs 15-seed Gardner-Webb (29-4, Big South)

The Utes saw half of their losses come in the last month, but they shoot lights out on offense. The Runnin' Bulldogs haven't lost since before Christmas, but their few games against Power Five opponents ended rather poorly and were well over before the fourth quarter.

Winner: Utah

Dark Horse: FGCU is a team I wouldn't want to face in the tournament, whether at home or on the road. The can spark a Cinderella story run.

Winner: Indiana. I think they might have a battle against LSU, but the Hoosiers seem to have what it takes to potentially win a title.

Seattle 3

1-seed Virginia Tech (27-4, ACC) vs 16-seed Chattanooga (20-12, Southern)

The Hokies have the possibly most diverse starting five in the country highlighted by one of the best players in the country in Elizabeth Kitley. The Mocs will have to be able to find a way to shut down the paint while guarding the deep three threat in Georgia Amoore.

Winner: Virginia Tech

8-seed USC (21-9, Pac-12) vs 9-seed South Dakota State (28-5, Summit)

While Beth Burns' presence as the associate head coach with the Trojans has made an immediate impact, the Jackrabbits know how to run and hop their way right through the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Winner: South Dakota State

5-seed Iowa State (22-9, Big 12) vs 12-seed Toledo (28-4, MAC)

While their season was slightly down from last season, the Cyclones are heating up at the right time. The Rockets have had a lot of close calls recently, but have found ways to keep winning.

Winner: Iowa State

4-seed Tennessee (23-11, SEC) vs 13-seed Saint Louis (17-17, A10)

The Lady Vols surprised a lot of folks including myself when they snuck in as one of the last host teams, but they were the only team besides South Carolina to beat LSU. The Billikens needed a bit of magic in their final two games of the A10 Tournament to earn the automatic qualifying bid.

Winner: Tennessee

6-seed North Carolina (21-10, ACC) vs 11-seed Purdue (19-10, Big Ten) or 11-seed St John's (22-8, Big East)

The Red Storm shocked the nation when they took down UConn on the road. The Boilermakers almost threw away their tournament chances down the stretch. The Tar Heels like a slow-paced game as they rely on their defense.

Winner: North Carolina

3-seed Ohio State (25-7, Big Ten) vs 14-seed James Madison (26-7, Sun Belt)

The Buckeyes hit a speed bump with some injuries midway through the season, but they're slowly bringing those players back into the lineup. The Dukes played a weak non-conference schedule, but used the Sun Belt Tournament to power their way into the field.

Winner: Ohio State

7-seed Baylor (19-12, Big 12) vs 10-seed Alabama (20-10, SEC)

Neither team has won in March. The Lady Bears have won three of their nine games. The Crimson Tide holds four wins over that same stretch.

Winner: Baylor

2-seed UConn (29-5, Big East) vs 15-seed Vermont (25-6, American East)

Injuries have plagued the Huskies and they've been able to get away with just five losses. The Catamounts last lost on New Years Day, but have to go to Storrs. Postseason in Storrs is a different game.

Winner: UConn

Dark Horse: 12-seed Toledo has had a quietly good year and may get overlooked by opponents.

Winner: Virginia Tech brings a ton of experience and leadership in a starting five of one junior and four seniors and have had a strong season. UConn has been an automatic lock for the Final Four for over a decade. This has potential to be one of the better regional finals where I think Virginia Tech finds a way to pull out the win.

Seattle 4

1-seed Stanford (28-5, Pac-12) vs 16-seed Southern (18-14, SWAC) or 16-seed Sacred Heart (18-13, NEC)

While I felt like Stanford should have been a 2-seed behind Iowa, the Cardinal does have the dynamic duo of Hailey Jones and Cameron Brink, who can power their team into the title game.

Winner: Stanford

8-seed Ole Miss 23-8, SEC) vs 9-seed Gonzaga (28-4, WCC)

While the Rebels got closest to giving South Carolina a loss this year, they've spent much of conference play having to grind out wins. The Bulldogs are looking for their second straight second round appearance after having one of the better mid-major showings this year.

Winner: Gonzaga

5-seed Louisville (23-11, ACC) vs 12-seed Drake (22-9, MVC)

The last time the Cardinals were lower than a 4-seed they upset Baylor and made the championship game before falling to UConn. The Bulldogs did upset Nebraska this season and took down some decent mid-majors in Belmont and Missouri State, but they've struggled defensively.

Winner: Louisville

4-seed Texas (25-9, Big Ten) vs 13-seed ECU (23-9, American)

Both teams pride themselves on defense, but the Longhorns can also do damage on offense.

Winner: Texas

6-seed Colorado (23-8, Pac-12) vs 11-seed Middle Tennessee (28-4, Conference USA)

This is a match-up I think could be one of the better opening round games. Both teams tend to be more defensive-minded, but the Blue Raiders can also go on scoring runs. The Buffaloes have lost three of their last five games.

Winner: MTSU

3-seed Duke (25-6, ACC) vs 14-seed Iona (26-6, MAAC)

The Blue Devils love to play defense and will slow the pace down.  Coincidentally, so will the Gaels. This sounds like we'll be watching the ACC Quarterfinal between Duke and North Carolina where the first to 45 wins.

Winner: Duke

7-seed Florida State (23-9, ACC) vs 10-seed Georgia (21-11, SEC)

The Seminoles have one of the best freshmen in the country in Ta'Niya Latson, if she's healthy enough to play. The Bulldogs were great at beating teams that didn't make the NCAA Tournament, but had difficulty against teams that did.

Winner: Florida State

2-seed Iowa (26-6, Big Ten) vs 15-seed SE Louisiana (21-9, Southland)

Caitlin Clark is unstoppable and Iowa is looking for something better than a second round exit like last year. The Lady Lions have been great at defense, but been poor against Power Five teams.

Winner: Iowa

Dark Horse: I think MTSU got a great draw for their first two rounds. They could be in the Sweet Sixteen and I wouldn't bat an eye.

Winner: This is another 1 vs 2 battle where Stanford and Iowa will look for bragging rights on who deserved to be the 1-seed. Iowa drops off a lot if Clark is shut down while Stanford has a few threats on their team. I see the Cardinal coming out on top.

PICK EM

Remember the days of the rest of the field playing for second behind UConn? That's what this tournament feels like for South Carolina. The Gamecocks have a good chance for a perfect season and they have a pretty easy path to the Final Four.

This is just my initial thoughts on the bracket so don't base your entire bracket on my thoughts, especially with food gift cards on the line.

Don't forget to participate in the Cardinal Couple Pick Em! We are not including the play-in games in the Pick Em so you have until Friday to get your picks in. Tip-off of the first game is 11:30 a.m. on Friday, so ideally we'd like to have your bracket by 10:30 a.m. at the latest. The tiebreaker is once again the combined score of the championship game.

I can hear the dull roar of the Cardinal Couple Chimps in the war room down the hall here in the clandestine, heavily-guarded Cardinal Couple headquarters, deep below the UofL Belknap campus. The current debate concerns who let both Iowa and Iona in the tournament and why is the Cardinal Couple golf cart missing two wheels and painted blue? Madness, yes, sweet madness reigns.... 

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Softball Falls in Extras -- Lax at Cardinal Stadium -- Final Four -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Softball Falls in Extra Innings

Last night was not kind for Louisville softball, who fell to Liberty in eight innings, 9-7. Early game and late game hitting helped the Flames push past the Cards, who dropped to 18-13 on the year.

It was Liberty to put a run on the board first, piecing together a couple hits and a Louisville error for a run in the first inning. The Cards answered with a three-piece immediately after. Four walks were the key component of the inning to go along with a single by Taylor Roby.

Four hits and a fielding error allowed Liberty to jump back ahead, posting four runs in the second inning. Louisville would go on to even the score later that inning. Carmyn Greenwood led off with a triple. The wind almost gave her enough edge for an inside-the-park home run... almost. An Ally Alexander walk followed by a Roby single would drive Greenwood home and Alexander would capitalize on a throwing error in the same play to race home. 

Liberty would go on and add a run in each of the third and sixth innings to pull by ahead by two. Louisville found an answer with a two-run rally in the sixth inning. Alexander reached base on a hit by pitch and Roby followed with a homer out by the scoreboard.

Not following the traditional runner on second in extra innings, both teams would open up the eighth inning with the bases clean. Runner or not, Liberty rallied with a home run for a two-run lead. Louisville would get a pair of runners on base with the game-winning run at the plate multiple times, but could not bring any runners home.

Roby was in the circle for the entire game and dropped her record to 8-5. She allowed 12 hits and nine runs, only five earned.

On the offensive end, Roby led the way with four of the Cards' nine hits. Alexander reached base three times through a hit, a walk, and a hit by pitch. The freshman has reached base safely in 14 straight games.

The Cards travel to NC State this weekend for a three-game series before returning home to host Kentucky next Wednesday.

Lacrosse Hosts Ohio State for Match at Cardinal Stadium

Two evening matches at Cardinal Stadium last season were popular enough to warrant more matches there this season. The first of two matches at Cardinal Stadium this season will be tonight when the Cards host Ohio State at 7:00 p.m.

Admission is still free for fans, and Gate 2 will be open for fans to enter, per GoCards. Gate 2 faces Floyd Street.

The Cards hope to break a three-game losing streak and get back to .500 on the year with a win against the 7-4 Buckeyes.

Scoring by committee has been the theme this year for Louisville, with four players having scored 20 or more goals this season. Hannah Morris is the frontrunner with 32 goals and Nicole Perroni is hot on her tail with 29.

Goalkeeping remains to be one of the biggest questions this season. J Pleck and Sara Addeche have split time in goal nearly 50-50 and have a combined .353 save percentage and 79 saves.

The weather appears to be more promising this evening than last night, but you'll still want to bundle up with the temperature hovering around the low-50s and high-40s.

Final Four is Nearly Here

The Final Four is nearly here! 1-seed Louisville will go up against the top overall 1-seed South Carolina on Friday at 7:00 p.m. ET. 1-seed Stanford and 2-seed UConn will then tip off around 9:30 p.m.

South Carolina is 33-2 on the year. They received an at-large bid after falling to Kentucky by two points in the SEC final. Their only other loss was a one-point loss at Missouri to close out 2021. Their NCAA Tournament path for the Gamecocks has featured wins over 16-seed Howard, 8-seed Miami, 5-seed North Carolina, and 10-seed Creighton.

Stanford boasts a 32-3 record. They were an automatic qualifier after winning the Pac-12. Their three losses came against Texas, South Florida, and Stanford, all NCAA Tournament teams. Their road in the tournament features wins over 16-seed Montana State, 8-seed Kansas, 4-seed Maryland, and 2-seed Texas.

UConn had a "down year" with a 29-5 record. They earned an automatic qualifier bid after winning the Big East Tournament. The Huskies lost to South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Oregon, and Villanova, all NCAA Tournament teams. As a 2-seed, UConn is the only remaining team to pull off an upset by seed. Their path includes wins against 15-seed Mercer, 7-seed UCF, 3-seed Indiana, and 1-seed NC State.

Louisville is the team we are all familiar with. At 29-4, the Cards earned an at-large bid after falling to Miami in the ACC Quarterfinals. Their other three losses came to Arizona, NC State, and North Carolina, all NCAA Tournament teams. Louisville's NCAA Tournament wins have come against 16-seed UAlbany, 9-seed Gonzaga, 4-seed Tennessee, and 3-seed Michigan.

Hopefully, we will see the Cards get the win on Friday and that it won't be an April Fool's joke. Speaking of April 1, today marks the completion of the first quarter of 2022.

Happy Thursday and Go Cards!

Jared

Cardinal Couple NCAA Pick Em -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Cardinal Couple NCAA Pick Em 

With the announcement of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday, it’s time to bring back the world famous Cardinal Couple NCAA Pick Em. Our ACC Pick Em a couple weeks ago had a record number of entries and we hope to have even more for this one.

The NCAA Pick Em is a much bigger beast to knock out as opposed to 14 games in the ACC Tournament. Officially, 68 teams make the NCAA Tournament, but with eight of those competing in four play-in games, what we consider the ‘real’ bracket holds 64 teams and has 63 games.

After a little bit of discussion and comparing how other bracket entry places handle brackets, we decided, at least for this year, to run on the 63 games and exclude the play-in games. Afraid your 63-0 won’t look as good as 67-0? Have a perfect bracket and we’ll talk further and even let you be our honorary Bracket Czar!

Since we aren't counting the play-in games, our first game begins at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. To make sure all brackets are submitted in time, please have it submitted by 11:00 a.m. on Friday. Ideally, if you can get it in by Thursday that's even better to get it together on my end and on Paulie's end. My wallet was stolen while photographing softball over the weekend so I've been running around like crazy trying to get new cards and documents for everything so the more time for me to get brackets together, the better.

Like always, you can leave your picks in the comments section of an article or send them directlt to me ( eupherjared@gmail.com ) or Paulie ( cardinalcouple@twc.com ) Leaving them in a comments section seems to be the most popular way. Don't forget that total score of the final game !

I have not made my bracket yet, but here's some teams that I think could have the potential to pull off an early round upset as a non-high seed:  10-seed South Dakota, 10-seed Arkansas, 11-seed Dayton or DePaul, 11-seed Princeton, 12-seed Belmont, 12-seed Florida Gulf Coast, 13-seed IUPUI. These are just some early round upsets I think COULD happen, not WILL happen, so don't blame your losses on me.

Here's some dark horses that are not a 1-seed or 2-seed I think could make a big run in the tournament: 3-seed Iowa State, 3-seed Michigan, 5-seed Virginia Tech, and 6-seed Ohio State. These are teams I could see finding a way to the Elite Eight or beyond. Once again, don't hold me to it.

1-seed Louisville is one of eight teams from the ACC dancing. The others include 1-seed NC State, 5-seed Notre Dame, 5-seed Virginia Tech, 5-seed North Carolina, 8-seed Miami, 8-seed Georgia Tech, and 11-seed Florida State. Boston College and Duke were both bubble teams, but found themselves on the outside looking in.

The SEC has had eight teams make it in the tournament: 1-seed South Carolina, 3-seed LSU, 4-seed Tennessee, 6-seed Kentucky, 6-seed Georgia, 7-seed Ole Miss, 10-seed Florida, and 10-seed Arkansas.

The Big Ten had six teams make it in the tournament: 2-seed Iowa, 3-seed Indiana, 3-seed Michigan, 4-seed Maryland, 6-seed Ohio State, and 8-seed Nebraska.

The Big 12 also had six teams make it in the tournament: 2-seed Baylor, 2-seed Texas, 3-seed Iowa State, 4-seed Oklahoma, 8-seed Kansas, and 9-seed Kansas State.

The Pac-12 is another conference that had six teams make it in the tournament: 1-seed Stanford, 4-seed Arizona, 5-seed Oregon, 7-seed Colorado, 7-seed Utah, and 8-seed Washington State.

                                                     *********************************

#1 seed Lindsey Duvall pops a three over #16 seed Paulie

Here's a sample bracket but will not be included in the entries:

Rd 1: South Carolina, Miami, North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa State, Colorado, Iowa

Stanford, Kansas, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Ohio State, LSU, Utah, Texas

Louisville,
Nebraska, Oregon, Tennessee, BYU, Michigan, Ole Miss, Baylor

NC State, Washington State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Indiana, UCF, UConn

Rd 2: South Carolina, Arizona, Iowa State, Iowa

Louisville, Tennessee, Michigan, Baylor

Stanford, Maryland, LSU, Texas

NC State, Oklahoma, Indiana, UConn

Rd 3: South Carolina, Iowa, Louisville, Baylor

Stanford, Texas, NC State, UConn

Rd 4: South Carolina, Louisville, Stanford, NC State

Rd 5: Louisville, NC State

Rd 6: Louisville (combined score 150)

We wish all of you the best of luck and enjoy your bragging rights!

Happy Tuesday and Go Cards!

Jared

NCAA Regionals -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

NCAA Regionals Teams

Paulie is out this morning as his eyes are recovering from an eye doctor appointment yesterday. It was so bad I flipped him the bird and he thought it was Louie flying around. Okay, so that last part may or may not be true.

With the NCAA Volleyball Regionals just one day away we take a look at the four teams in the Louisville, KY region and how they got here.

1-seed Louisville

Photo courtesy of Louisville Athletics

This is the easy one. We all know how great of a season it was for Louisville and we gave plenty of coverage throughout the season. A 28-0 regular season record was truly remarkable. It featured seven wins over ranked opponents and another ACC title. The Cards continue their best season in program history, now 30-0, as they have reached the Sweet Sixteen for the seventh time in program history, including three straight years.

The Cards hosted UIC in the first round of the tournament and easily won 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 25-11). They then took on Ball State in the second round. Ball State was a little bid formidable of an opponent, but Louisville still walked away with a 3-0 sweep (29-27, 25-11, 25-19).

8-seed Georgia Tech

Photo courtesy of Georgia Tech Athletics

The second ACC team in this region is Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets were one of the favorites in the ACC behind Louisville and Pitt. A 25-5 overall record and 14-4 conference record was plenty reason to keep them in the Top 25 all year. They were surprised by falling to fourth in the ACC when Miami tied Pitt for second. A ranked UCLA team got the best of Georgia Tech early in the year with their other four losses coming in conference play to Louisville (twice), Pittsburgh, and Notre Dame.

Georgia Tech was one of the 32 at-large bids. They met with the Citadel (a military school in Charleston, S.C.) in the opening round and got the 3-0 win (25-21, 25-15, 25-16). They then met up with a tough team from Conference USA in Western Kentucky. Once again, they got the 3-0 sweep (25-21, 25-18, 25-23).

9-seed Ohio State

Photo courtesy of Ohio State Athletics

The Big Ten has six teams still dancing in the NCAA Tournament and Ohio State is one of them. The Buckeyes went 25-5 in the regular season and their 15-5 conference mark was good enough to place them in a three-way tie for third place in the Big Ten. They don't have a bad loss as all of their losses came against ranked opponents (Purdue, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Minnesota twice). They have ranked wins over Washington, Purdue, Nebraska, Illinois, and Penn State.

Ohio State opened the tournament against Howard and disposed of them quickly 3-0 (25-12, 25-7, 25-10). The second round was a bit more challenging as Ohio State squared off against Tennessee. They would go onto in 3-1 (25-18, 14-25, 25-21, 25-21).

16-seed Florida

Photo courtesy of Florida Athletics

The final SEC team standing after just two rounds- the SEC had five teams in the tournament- is Florida. The Gators finished the regular season 20-8 and third in the SEC with a 14-4 conference mark. Most of their losses weren't bad losses as they have fallen to Stanford, Florida State, Baylor (twice), Mississippi State, LSU, and Kentucky (twice). Their two ranked wins are against Minnesota and Tennessee.

The Gators opened the tournament against Florida A&M and easily won 3-0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-8). They squared off against a tough Miami team and handled them with ease 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-16).

As of 10:30 last night, there were 67 tickets in the lower bowl remaining. The upper bowl already had several hundreds of seats taken, but there's still plenty of seats available for the upper bowl at Freedom Hall.

Tickets are reasonable at $40.00 per ticket and free for students. With a few thousand seats already filled, Louisville Volleyball is hoping for a record crowd tomorrow at 1:00. Have you gotten off work yet? Jeff will be in the stands and I hear he may paint up like Gary Redbird does. I'll be somewhere in the arena taking pictures.

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Bracketology? -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

 Uhhh... Bracketology???

Normally, late December is quite a bit early to be looking at bracketology. And it is way too early to be concerned with bracketology projections. But sometimes disrespect needs to be called out.

ESPN released three different potential brackets yesterday: 64-teams, 48-teams, and 16-teams. All three are possible as the NCAA weighs the possibilities as we continue through the COVID-19 pandemic. The concern is that Louisville, the #2 team in the country, a team that other teams fear, a team that has turned every head since their annihilation of DePaul, is a projected 2-seed.

Just so we're clear, not the #2 seed overall. The #2 seed in one of the four brackets. 

Stanford is ranked first right now. They get a 1-seed. NC State is 8-0 and holds a victory over South Carolina. It's hard not to give them a 1-seed.

I'm gonna go review this, guys...

UConn is 4-0and ranked #3, one spot behind the Cards. A #3 ranking would make sense to earn a 1-seed, but the Huskies haven't played anyone noticeable. South Carolina is 5-1 and ranked #5. They have a pair of ranked wins but lost at home to NC State. They're borderline 1-seed/2-seed.

Louisville is projected as a 2-seed alongside Oregon, Baylor, and Arizona. But why a 2-seed? The Cards are ranked #2 and hold a blowout victory over a ranked DePaul team. They hold a win over another NCAA Tournament-caliber team in UT Martin.

The 16-team layout would feature just two ACC teams in Louisville and NC State. A 48-team tournament would add Syracuse and Georgia Tech. That layout would give the Top 16 teams (top four in each region) a first-round bye. Moving onto the traditional 64-team tournament we see Florida State, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech join the party.

With no home court advantage and still qualifying for a first round bye in the event of a 48-team tournament there shouldn't be too much of an issue. Besides, there is still plenty of season remaining. Still, it can be viewed as a bit disrespectful to put the Cards as a 2-seed.

We will have plenty to discuss about basketball this Saturday on air. It should be noted that our Sa
turday Cardinal Couple Radio Hour-ish Podcast will be without Case, as he celebrates his birthday and Daryl, as she celebrates her mother's birthday. 

Paulie, Worldwide, and I will be glad to still put on a show and maybe even talk about how much coal Santa left each of us.

Happy Thursday, Happy Christmas Eve, and Go Cards! You can send any unwanted Christmas gifts my way.

Jared