Jeff Walz Radio Show -- Softball Schedule Change -- Lacrosse Today -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Jeff Walz Radio Show

Having a rare free night I decided to venture down to Chili's in Hikes Point for the regular season finale of the Jeff Walz Radio Show last night  I arrived about 5:30, a solid 90 minutes before the start of the show and it was a full house.  Thankfully, a friend saved me a seat front and center.

I immediately dove right into the chips and salsa, the best in town, while watching a rerun of the recent 2019 UCA Championships.  Louisville, which is a part of NCA, does not participate in UCA.  At the time, Kentucky had finished their routine and would later go on and win the Division 1A Championship.

Nick Curran rolled in right about 6:00 to prepare the setup and get everything going.  Jeff Walz, then Beth Burns, both guests on the show, followed by AJ, Al Greener, and Nick Evans all strolled in in the minutes following.

The show began by talking about the Play4Kay Free Throw Challenge.  Similar to years past, Louisville is way out in front in donations.  Lehigh is all alone in second and everyone else is way behind.

We, at CARDINAL COUPLE, are in for $2 a "make".

Recently, the women's basketball officials raised $25,000 to donate to the cause as well.  TV Dee, commonly seen officiating UofL games, is on the board and was a part of the process.  Coach Walz also mentioned that she is going to be inducted into the North Carolina Basketball Hall of Fame.  He went on to joke saying that he told her that officials will have to donate 45 for each missed call in the future.

The show progressed into the question and answer part of the show.  Some questions were common, including many answered in recent pressers or by public knowledge, and other questions went further in depth.  Here are a few of the questions and answers that stuck out to me (summarized):

Q: Status of Mykasa Robinson?

A: Cleared for limited practice and hopefully will be fully cleared by tonight.  The concussion was actually believed to have happened during the first half of the Virginia game on Feb. 21st., but she did not feel its effects until the third quarter when she told the coaching staff and trainers.

Q: Memorable thing about the seniors?
A: They overcame obstacles such as rough freshmen seasons or injuries to become stars by their senior year.  No career is a straight line climb.  There will be bumps and plateaus along the way.

Q: How to handle NC State's post players?
A: "I'll tell you about 9:00 Thursday night."  Never underestimate UofL post players, as teams have to find ways to game plan and guard against Sam, Kylee, and Bionca, three great players.  It's a two-way straight on teams game planning.

Q: Will we see Lucy and Lola in the presser Thursday night?
A: No. Walz said he might bring them to the first round in game during a moment of forgetfulness.  Upon remembering, Walz cracked up and informed us that we will not get to see the duo this year.


Q: Plan for the first round of the NCAA Tournament?
A: With Walz not being allowed inside of the arena at all (NCAA rule) Steph Norman will take over for the game.  Walz will be somewhere TBD still but wants to set up a watch party with fans.  Perhaps Bobblehead Jeff will claim a seat along the team bench for the game.


The radio show, which lasts an hour, is an opportunity to interact with members of the coaching staff and ask questions they normally don't get to.  Whether you choose to arrive early and eat or just show up for the show itself I guarantee you'll have a great time.

As a reminder, if 12,900 (or more) fans show up for the game against #10 NC State Thursday night then UofL will average 10,000 fans per home game this season.  As of last night about 9,000 tickets had been sold.  Needing about another 4,000 people in attendance to reach the goal please bring as many friends and family to the game as possible!

Softball Schedule Changes

In what appears to be a case of expected freezing weather the Cardinal Classic schedule has changed quite drastically.

Louisville will play two games on Friday and two on Saturday.

Cardinal Classic Schedule (revised)
Friday, March 1
10:30 AM                   Indiana State vs. Louisville
12:30 PM                   Missouri vs. Louisville
2:30 PM                     IUPUI vs. Indiana State
4:30 PM                     IUPUI vs. Missouri
Saturday, March 2
10:30 AM                   Indiana State vs. Louisville
12:30 PM                   IUPUI vs. Missouri
2:30 PM                     Indiana State vs. Missouri
4:30 PM                     IUPUI vs. Louisville



The Cards are 7-6 on he young season and step on Ulmer Stadium turf for the first time to play an actual game.

As always, Ulmer Stadium is free admission so bring some blankets and head on out this weekend.  Paulie, Worldwide, and I will do our best to cover the games as much as possible.


Lacrosse Hosts Vandy

Middle of the week, middle of the day, expect more to come.  Lacrosse will host Vanderbilt at 1:00 at the Louisville Lacrosse Stadium.

Lacrosse will continue to play early afternoon games during the week for..

UofL is 1-3 entering the match after taking down Mercer 20-2 in their home opener Saturday.  The Commodores are undefeated at 3-0 and are averaging 18 goals per game.  They're average margin of victory is 10.3 goals, a large margin.

The Cards hold the series 7-2 and 4-0 at the LLS, but have their work cut out for them this time.

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Louisville women's basketball faces the Orange tonight -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

#14 SYRACUSE COMES TO TOWN AT 17-4

Jeff Walz has talked about the tough stretch to start February throughout the season. The Cards, over a two week period, started with Clemson, bring in Syracuse, go to Virginia Tech and host Miami in the stretch. With Clemson dispatched on Saturday, Louisville turns to the next test...a Thursday night visit from Quentin Hillsman's Syracuse Orange WBB squad. 

Syracuse is a squad that takes nearly half their field goal attempts from beyond the three-point arc (625 out of 1405). They make 32% of those threes (200 out of those 625). When they're not bombing away from the deep, they employ a full-court press on defense, hoping to get a turnover/transition game started. SU will drop back into a 2-3 zone if they don't create the turnover. Syracuse forces a lot of turnovers...416 total for almost 20 a game. 

So, how does #2 UofL counteract this type of defensive pressure? Coach Walz didn't reveal a lot about that aspect of Syracuse's game, except to stress his players and staff had studied the scouting report and that Louisville would have to rebound and score. The Cards haven't faced a defense quite like this so far. How they handle the press will be a key aspect of this game and how they perform against the zone...can they have the success they've had from three-point range continue? 

The Syracuse losses have come at Oregon (73-75), at Minnesota (81-83 in overtime), at Georgia Tech (55-65) and hosting Miami (71-84). They haven't faced Notre Dame and NC State yet or Florida State. Key wins are Texas A&M, Clemson and North Carolina. 

Who has been getting it done for "Q"'s squad? Tiana Mangakahia leads the Orange in scoring with 15.9 points a night. She also leads them in assists with 8.1 per contest. The 5'6" junior guard from Australia was selected for the preseason All-ACC squad and hasn't disappointed. 

Containing her is a huge "must" for the Cards tonight.

Guards Gabrielle Cooper and forward Miranda Drummond are also double digit scorers for Syracuse. Digna Strautmane had a five-game double digit scoring stretch in January and 6'4" center Amaya Finklea-Guity was named to the 2017-18 All ACC Freshman team. Off the bench, Q employs Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi on the front line and guards Kiara Lewis, Isis Young and Emily Engster. 

SU has a large contingent of international players on the roster. Of the 16 that dress for games, three are from France, one from the Czech Republic, one from Canada, one from Latvia and one from Australia. 

And, then, there is "Q". He came to Syracuse thirteen years ago, so his and Walz's head coaching career are pretty much congruent. Hillsman is widely known for his flashy, stylish game-day dressing displays, a manic, expressive and emotional coaching style and has been described as "the Temptations performing at a basketball game".

He's probably my favorite opposing coach to watch on the women's college basketball sidelines and, over the years, has performed impromptu interviews with the opponent's radio crew during the contest, come back enraged from the locker room after a game to belabor a point and passed out from exhaustion/excitement during a game. 

Another tough test in the ACC. A coach that comes in 280-140 lifetime in his career but just 5-8 against Walz. The Cards lead the overall series 10-6. A chance for the Cards to stay in bed with their fellow first place bunk-mates (NC State and Notre Dame) and a chance for Syracuse to knock off one of the front runners. Notre Dame goes to Miami tonight and NC State travels to Florida State, so we'll be keeping our eyes on those two key games. 

As for this game, it's on the ACCNE with Don, Sara and Cortnee (the cookie monster) on the sidelines. Radio with Nick and AJ on 790 WKRD AM Cards Radio. A 7 p.m. start that will be officiated by Karen Preato, Jennifer Rezac and Jules Gallien. 

You might remember Karen. She was the lone female on the crew that whistled 43 fouls (28 on Louisville) back on 1/10/19 in South Bend when the Cards fell to Notre Dame.

We'll recap the action here tomorrow. 


JEFF WALZ PRE-SYRACUSE PRESSER


Coach Walz met with the media yesterday for his weekly press conference. An entertaining and factual 20 minutes ensued, with Walz talking about Monopoly, Jr, Coach Q, the Play-4-Kay Free Throw Challenge and many other items. 

WE have it linked up for you below. You can actually hear the questions we were asking Walz since the old "pass a microphone to the question-asker" strategy was employed and it worked pretty well for the most part. 

It's worth a view. 

LINK:  WALZ PRE-SYRACUSE PRESS CONFERENCE

Have a terrific Thursday. The monsoon season continues outside here locally. We have the staff chimps here at Cardinal Couple following Case's blueprint and design for a Cardinal Couple Ark. So far, they've gone through a barrel of nails, 451 2X4's, 18 injuries and a vessel that looks like a combination of a tree-house, stack of pallets and Tom Hanks' raft from the movie "Cast Away". 

Hope springs eternal.

paulie
xxxxx 

Louisville women's basketball -- Walz pledges to help Kay Yow Cancer Fund -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

NEWS FLASH.
UofL has lost their appeal with the NCAA and the 2013 men's basketball championship banner will come down. Writer Jared Anderson will have more in his Wednesday article. It may be gone but it'll always remain in our minds and hearts. 


LOUISVILLE WBB HEAD COACH JEFF WALZ AND WIFE TO DONATE A $1 FOR EACH FAN IN ATTENDANCE OVER 10,000 THURSDAY NIGHT TO CANCER FUND AND HAS THAT OFFER DOUBLED

Kay Yow was the head women's basketball coach at North Carolina State University from 1975-2009. She died of stage 4 Breast Cancer in January of 2009. During her career, Kay won over 700 games and coached thee USA Women's Basketball team to a gold medal in 1988. 

Yow had a dream. To unite the players, coaches and fans of women's college basketball on a cause for the greater good that reached far beyond the wins and losses of college basketball. The Kay You Cancer Fund is a 501(c)3 Foundation that was designed to fight against women's cancers. 

Jeff Walz, the head women's basketball coach at the University of Louisville, is all-in on helping the foundation. In a Tweet Monday night he announced: 

#cardnation, on Thursday night my wife and I will donate $1 dollar for every fan over 10,000 to the @KayYowFund. Come out and let's see how much we can raise to help beat cancer. #onedollaratatime

Six hours later, an anonymous donor informed Walz that they would double every dollar that Walz and Lauren donated. $3 per person for the fund. 

Thursday night is the Cardinals Play4Kay night and they'll bring Virginia into the KFC YUM! Center for a Thursday night contest against JoAnne Boyle and the Wahoos. The game, itself, is important to both squads...Louisville trying to remain atop the ACC Standings and Virginia ...at 9-5 trying to win and get in the top 4 of the conference and receive the two-round bye. 

Beyond the game's positioning implications, though, Thursday is much more important than wins and losses. It is a chance for Cardinal fans to come out and show that they are humanitarians  in addition to great basketball fans. We all have known someone that has had cancer. Someone that has died of cancer. The long and debilitating fight. Yow was diagnosed in 1987, seemingly had it beat until it returned in 2004.  

Fill this place up! 

I hope that Cardinal fans pack the seats, fill the house on Thursday night. Not only to see the #4 team in the nation in their second to last home regular season game of the year, but to voice your support for an organization that is helping save lives and funding research that is trying to eliminate this deadly disease. 

Louisville attendance for night, during the week games has been a bit short of 10,000. It's time to change that. It's time to draw back those 300 levels curtains and "pack the bucket" with bodies. The question eventually arises...what will happen if the attendance doesn't reach 10,000? I'm tossing that question out. Fake news. Not going to be a problem. Cardinal fans will respond, will make the effort and fill that lower bowl. 

In return, you'll get Durr, Hines-Allen and the rest of the daring and daunting Cardinals that have been a bright spot in a bleak 2017-18 for Cardinal athletics. You'll also be helping to make a difference in another battle. A life-changing, life ending battle. 

Shortly before my mother died in 1998, her body emaciated and ravaged by cancer, she told me she wanted to go to the ocean. She did not want to die in a hospital. She wanted the serenity of watching the water come in and out. I discussed it with her oncologist. He told me she'd never survive the journey. I went ahead and booked the trip anyway. Sadly, she did die in the hospital. 

Here's your chance to make some waves, Cardinal fans. All fans. All those who would like to punch cancer right in the gut and tell it to go away and not return. 

Cancer sucks. 


paulie
xxxxx

Louisville Women's Basketball -- Strong finish leads Louisville past North Carolina -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

CARDS GO TO 27-2 WITH 67-57 WIN OVER TAR HEELS

The University of Louisville women's basketball team put together a 22-12 fourth quarter to pull away from a determined North Carolina squad Sunday afternoon in Chapel Hill 67-57. 

Tied at 45-45 after three periods, the Cards scored the first six points to retake the lead and got huge efforts from Myisha Hines-Allen, Arica Carter and Asia Durr to gradually pull away from UNC. Durr suffered an ankle injury in the fourth quarter and did not return to the contest, but Coach Jeff Walz expected that she would be ready to return for the Cards next contest on Thursday after treatment from Louisville's trainer staff.

Two three-pointers each from Durr and Carter were key for the Cards regaining the lead and extending the margin...as well Hines-Allen dominating on both ends of the court...after just 10 first half minutes on the floor.  Louisville went on a 9-0 run from the end of the third quarter to early in the fourth quarter. 

The fourth quarter was the highlight of the contest for a Louisville team that did not look especially sharp or in sync early against an inspired UNC team competing on Play-4-Kay Day in front of their home crowd. Durr later returned to the court-side but did not play as the Cards capitalized on a fatigued and short-benched Carolina squad in the final session. 

UNC got big efforts from janelle Bailey (20 points) and Paris Kea (14 points) to grab an early lead at 6-4 and maintain it against a Cardinal squad that shot just 33% in the first half and was plagued by early turnovers and foul trouble. At the half, UNC hung onto a 31-29 lead but the Tar Heels led by as many as eight in the first quarter. 

Myisha Hines-Allen had all 10 of her points in the second half before fouling out late in the contest.

Durr led the Cards in scoring with 19 points before crashing to the floor after landing awkwardly on UNC's Taylor Koenen's foot while attempting a three-pointer early in the fourth. She was helped off the court but returned later and was seen smiling and laughing in the huddle as the Cards pulled away without her. 

"To play the number four team in the country, we did a lot of good things." UNC head coach Sylvia Hatchell commented after the game. "I'm excited about how hard we played and the progress we've made." 

Slow starts for Louisville continue to be an issue and are of concern to Coach Walz. He described the victory as "an ugly game" but had praise for the efforts of Carter and reserve Sydney Zambrotta, who hit two big threes in the first half to keep Louisville close.

Louisville went 11-26 from the three-point range while UNC connected on just five of their 16 long range attempts. 

On the Cards, Hatchell also remarked that Louisville "is very seasoned, very athletic and they have good depth, That was probably the difference in the final 4-5 minutes." 

Sometimes the wins aren't pretty or blowouts. Sometimes the calls on the floor seem to go against the Cards (Louisville was whistled for 20 fouls while UNC ended up with 14 fouls) but...somehow the Cards find a way to win. 

The slow starts are disturbing...leading one to ponder if the Cards may not be mentally prepared to take on their foes at tip-time...with the unforced errors, shooting woes and errant passes. Walz and his staff continue to work on the issue and, with just two games remaining before ACC Tournament Play...one would like to see Louisville refining and perfecting their game for the playoff and NCAA Tournament ahead. 

27-2 is an admirable record, though, even if a few of the games kept Cards fans in suspense and doubt for long stretches. 

The Cards return home after the three-game road trip to face Virginia in their Play-4-Kay game Thursday, Feb2 2nd. 


THE FRED REPORT

The late Fred Wiche
Louisville's gardening guru

Free Throws -- 10 for 12 is a nice number to report for Louisville. Sam Fuehring was spectacular with 5-5 shooting from the charity stripe. 83.3% will get you a capital "F" every time. 

Rebounding -- A squeaker here with the Cards winning 37-36. Kylee Shook continues to go to the boards strong as of late and her nine grabs led the way for Louisville. We'll offer a small case "r".

Effort/Execution -- The fourth quarter superiority was great to see but 19 turnovers is atrocious against a team that has now lost seven straight. Arica Carter may have had one of the best games of her season but, overall, we cannot award anything but a small case "e"...primarily due to the ponderous first half. 

Defense -- The Cards finally figured out how to stop Bailey late, had eight steals and forced 15 turnovers. They held UNC to 33% shooting and, as mentioned earlier, shut the home team down in the final quarter. Trailing for most of three quarters, though, means that the defense wasn't perfect or excellent (or maybe the offense was just that bad) but the small case "d" is the decisioning here. 

FINAL FRED TALLY:  F-r-e-d

Maybe, just maybe...Louisville will roll through their final two games and be primed for a ACC Tournament run. Although Walz is fairly sure that Durr will be back Thursday, it was impressive that the Cards did not fold in the final eight plus minutes she was out of the game. 

That shows maturity and teamwork in big proportions and that will be something Louisville must have if they are to make the trip successfully through Greensboro, the early rounds of the NCAA and onto Columbus and the Final Four. 

At the end of the day, though, the Cards showed enough grit and determination to pull away for the win, with their leader on the bench. For that, they draw admiration. Sometimes, they aren't pretty wins...but they still go in the "W" column.  


SOFTBALL FALLS TO OHIO STATE 4-0 

Louisville Softball ran into a rare slump at the plate against Ohio State in the ACC/BIG 10 Challenge final game, falling to the #21 Buckeyes 4-0.

Just three hits in seven innings for Louisville and five runners left on base in the shutout. OSU plated two runs in the top of the seventh to secure the victory. 

A close affair at 0-0 through two innings before a solo home run in the third gave the Buckeyes the lead. Louisville got out of a Buckeye threat in the the sixth by just allowing one run after OSU had loaded the bases. 

Danielle Watson takes the loss for the Cards to go to 4-2 with four strong innings of allowing just one run and three hits. Megan Hensley surrendered three runs in three innings. 

Louisville (6-3) heads back out on the road for five games in the D-9 Citrus Classic down in Kisimmee, FL beginning Friday, Feb 23rd. 

paulie
xxxxx