Carded. Defense, Durr lead Louisville WBB to 71-50 win over Michigan -- MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

FIRST FIVE MINUTES FLAWLESS IN 21-POINT UOFL WIN

Yes, the fantastic foursome of Paulie, Paige, Daryl and Sonya
enjoyed this one immensely. Photo by Jared Anderson

It was a scenario we've seen many times this year with the Louisville women's basketball squad. Crush the life out of an opponent early in the game, keep the pressure on them and run away win a convincing win. 

Michigan had no idea what hit them in the first five minutes of yesterday's second round of the NCAA Tournament in the KFC YUM! Center. Between Asia Durr, a stifling defense and a crowd of 7725 that sounded like 17,000..the Cards raced out to a 19-4 lead in the early going and kept UM at bay the rest of the way in the 71-50 win, 

May we see some ID to verify you can advance to the round of 16? Sorry, Michigan. We can't allow service.

Durr had 12 of her game-high 24 point in those frenetic, fabulous first five and a squad that put up 84 points two days ago in  a 30-point win against Kansas St. looked like a group that might struggle to reach 18 by halftime. Once the nerves settled a bit and the Wolverines returned to playing something that resembled basketball, it was too late. 

Kim Barnes Arico was not sharing in our excitement. 

When Louisville plays like they did yesterday, no one in the nation can beat them. Strong words, I know, right?

But...

When you score effortlessly, deny the opponent the chance to get a shot up -- much less shoot effectively, though -- good things happen. 22 turnovers for the young Kim Barnes Arico guards, 49 shot attempts, compared to UofL's 70. 

Consider that UM's starting five had a total of 22 points. That's right, Asia outscored the Wolverine starters. Consider that UM got off just nine threes and made only three of them. And when the Ann Arbor opponent was getting shots off, they were usually one-and-done offensive sequences. The Wolverines had just nine total offensive rebounds and 11 second chance points. 

Joining Durr in the "Mich...- uh- GONE" win was Jazmine Jones with a flashy 15 points. Other double figure scorers included Steady Sam Fuehring with 10 and Dashing Dana Evans with 10. Asia was the only Card to see over 30 minutes of action, "Won-Durr-full" went 9-23 from the floor, 5-14 from three range and even tossed in a couple of spectacular "SportsCenter moment" blocks. 

I spent time watching UM head coach Kim Barnes Arico in the final half. Gone were the fiery, competitive, referee questioning nature and actions from KBA. A resignation, of sorts. Occasionally yelling out specific points to certain players but also a lot of time questioning her assistants on certain court actions. She was complimentary and gracious in her post-game comments, but, you sensed that this was a coach who knew she was beat early on and who couldn't get back on that bus to the airport fast enough. 

So touching at the end. Raucous applause as Walz sent in subs for Asia, Sam and Arica. The trio kissing the Cardinal Bird logo at center court and making victory laps in the KFC YUM! Center. Smiles and a few moist cheeks among the players and the fans.

Arica, back from the knee scare, with seven rebounds and corralling every loose or 50/50 ball. So much non-stat sheet stuff gets done from the girl who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a jumper when she was a freshman. Transformation complete. You are a shining star, Ms. Carter. 

Sam, going 4-5 from the floor...shutting down the highly regarded Hallie Thome and upcoming Naz Hillmon. You know how Sam rolls...does work, does it well, takes off the hard-hat at the end and it's a job well done. Shrugging off the dings, dents and damage inflicted upon her every night. Sam is the princess warrior and is sovereign over all she surveys.  

This says it all....

Asia. Smiling, shouting and, at the end, celebrating a career here that started four years ago, highly lauded. Living up to that hype 100% and more. Does anyone have a more beautiful, beatific smile that "Nite-nite"? When Asia smiles, the clouds part and brilliant rays of sunshine are created for Cardinal fans to bask in. She is the "alpha" of Louisville WBB. 

We may not ever see such an effective and dynamic senior trio as Asia, Arica and Sam in the downtown arena again. Yesterday, they said their goodbyes to the Cardinal Faithful, showed Michigan the way home and advanced to face either Gonzaga or Oregon State in Albany next week.

Two down. Four to go.

The road ahead will be challenging. It always is when you get down to the best sixteen in the nation. It's about YOU, though, Cards. What will you do? Are you willing  and committed toward taking that next step? And the step after. 

Or, as Sam said in the post-game: 

"We're just trying to play our game. All the time." 

And, that game can be spectacular, as the Cards WBB squad showed yesterday.


THE FRED REPORT

Fred says: "We're headed to Albany, Lamont!" 

FREE THROWS  -- Not a lot to report on here with a ref crew that swallowed their whistles pretty effectively (just 24 total fouls) for the 40 minutes. They Cards got a 3-4 performance from the line. That was in the first half, Louisville attempted none in the final 20 minutes. 3-4 = 75% and that's good for a CAPITAL "F" by my numbers. I guess you can't foul what you can't catch...and no need for silly, late-game fouls in a contest that was already over.

REBOUNDS -- Louisville takes a hard-fought 35-34 advantage here. Kylee Shook with 10 for UofL, another Card who comes to do work and is job-proficient. The Cards getting a 15-9 edge on the offensive boards, When you win the rebounding battle, you get a letter. We'll award a small-case "r" for this category. Not exactly board dominance, but quite adequate

EFFORT/EXECUTION --  If you ever want to explain to someone what Louisville women's basketball is all about, just show then the first five minutes of yesterday's game. The Cards had just 11 turnovers, allowed just three steals, shot 42.9%, won the points off turnovers battle 28-12 and second chance points column 19-11. NO QUESTION ABOUT A CAPITAL "E" here.



DEFENSE-- Louisville held a squad that averaged 72 points-a-game to just 50. The Cards capitalized on 22 turnovers and got five blocks and 11 steals. Maybe thr third quarter was the turning point here, where Louisville allowed just three made goals on 13 attempts and out-rebounded UM 13-7, No question here at all, a CAPITAL "D". 

FINAL FRED TALLY -- F-r-E-D


THEY SAID IT

Jeff Walz post-game comments:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8BgNFrEODU&feature=youtu.be

Asia Durr, Sam Fuehring and Jazmine Jones post game comments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au5NlHs_Uuo&feature=youtu.be



SOFTBALL SALVAGES A WIN SUNDAY

Holly Aprile's crew stepping up to the plate against Notre Dame yesterday and slugging out a 5-3 win in South Bend. 

The Cards taking an early lead with a run in the second inning, winning the crucial fourth inning 3-2 and tacking on a run in the sixth to go 1-2 in the weekend series against the Irish and  tacking on an insurance run late to seal the deal. 

20-10 overall and 3-3 in the ACC now for UofL Softball, who returns home for a Tuesday tilt vs. Indiana at Ulmer.  Come out, a 5 p.m. start. 


Have a marvelous Monday1

Paulie

. 

Sunday Cardinal Couple - All about the number 2

Today's post is sponsored, Sesame Street style, by the number 2.

2nd Round of Basketball

The first 2 we'll talk about is the 2nd round of the NCAA Women's Basketball tournament.

After dispatching Robert Morris with the number 2 on the coaching staff, Steph Norman, in charge, the Cards will now face Michigan at noon today at the KFC Yum! Center.  Coach Walz will be back in the arena, having served his game suspension Friday by hanging out at The Sidebar across the street.

The Cards will need to see good play from Bionca Dunham and Sam Fuerhing against Michigan's big in the center, Hallie Thome.  Speed and quickness will be the need of the day among the guards, as Michigan's guard didn't show much speed on the perimeter.

Assuming the Cards can get by the mascot-less Wolverines, they will head up to Albany, NY, and find either Gonzaga, or Oregon State waiting for them.

A quick update on the Cardinal Couple pickem' and since we're highlighting the number 2, today, I'll highlight the tie for 2nd place between Clemson Arthur, and my father, Charlie McAdams.  Each has picked 27 correct games of the 32 so far.  I find myself, somehow, in first, with 28 correct picks, so I guess blindfolding throwing at a dartboard can work?  My loses were mostly the upsets I picked, I had UNC over Cal, DePaul over Missouri State, Kansas State over Michigan, and Texas over Indiana.

Mallory Comerford Wins 2

The Cards swimming and diving team came in 4th overall in the NCAA championships, the best finish ever for the school.  I'll point out here that 2 times 2 is 4 (or 2 to the power of 2, if you wish), and Mallory Comerford won her 2nd NCAA championship of the year in the 100 free (46.26).  This is Comerford's 4th (again with 2 times 2) championship of her career.

Softball drops 2

Softball dropped both of their 2 games against Notre Dame yesterday, both by a score of 9-1.  Originally scheduled to play a 3 day, 3 game series according to current ACC scheduling, weather altered the schedule and delayed the Friday game until yesterday.

Jordyn Wolfe and Kyra Snyder were the scorers for the Cards yesterday, and the talented sophomore Danielle Watson was tagged with both losses.

Weather continues to shake things up in South Bend, with today's game set to start earlier, at 11am to avoid showers expected to move in to the area later in the afternoon.

Lacrosse

No 2s to be found here, as Lacrosse drops a close game against Virginia Tech, 17-16.  The Cards led by as much as 13-9 in this one.  Tessa Chad put 6 into the back of the net, but it wasn't enough as the Hokies rallied to come back for the win.

TeeterPower has a bit of a chance to recharge with a week off, and the next game Sunday the 31st in a non-conference match against Delaware here in Louisville at noon.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

We had a full house in the studio yesterday with 5 of us on mics (which may be a first for the CCRH).  The contingent was all of the regulars with Paulie, Case, Jared, Daryl and myself.

As typical, you can check out the replay on Facebook Live.  We obviously talked about a lot of basketball, but also got in some quick updates on Softball, and Swimming and Diving.

You can find the livestream at:

https://www.facebook.com/WCHQfm/videos/2213785168887005/

-- 

JMcA

WBB One Step Closer to a Championship; Comerford Already There -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Force Colonials into Tactical Retreat

Louisville was without Head Coach Jeff Walz and their starting point guard, Arica Carter, but it ultimately didn't matter as the Cards took down Robert Morris University with a final score of 69-34. Longtime Louisville assistant Steph Norman was at the helm yesterday, and she was able to rest starters and mix lineups effectively on the way to the big win. It's not quite as flashy as some might hope, scoring fewer than 70 points against the 16 seed, but there are six games in a row that need to be won to be an NCAA champion. Winning the first while resting starters for half of the game is valuable, indeed.

Louisville won the opening tip, and right away, Asia Durr showed that she was prepared for this new challenge. The Cards ran their offense, worked through the shot clock, and Kylee Shook found Asia with 6 seconds left for an open three. She didn't miss it. Robert Morris was not stunned, though, as they worked open their leading scorer, Nneka Ezeigbo, for a layup underneath. Leading 3-2, it was Asia Durr again, driving the lane and nearly getting the basket and the foul. Instead, she calmly sank both free throws. The Colonials were still not ready to go down quietly, as they found Ezeigbo in a comfortable position on the block and she sank a short jumper fading towards the corner. 

That Robert Morris basket came with 8:20 remaining on the clock in the first quarter. The Colonials would not score again until there was 3:37 remaining on the clock in the second quarter. Louisville's defense locked down and prevented RMU from scoring for nearly 15 minutes. The Colonials did manage to score 11 in that final three and a half minutes of the half, though it came mostly against a rotated side for the Cards. Louisville had stretched to a 32-4 lead by that point, and deep substitutes were getting some run. The Cards still managed to win the quarter 16-11 and led by 22 at the break.

Coming out of the locker room for the second half, Louisville again chose the domination route. Robert Morris kept it "close" for the first five minutes of the quarter, maintaining the deficit around 20-25 points. With 5:04 left, Ezeigbo scored RMU's final basket of the quarter, and the Cards finished the third on a 14-0 run, including a buzzer beating three by Dana Evans. The fourth quarter saw the only period in which the Cards were outscored, as the Louisville bench (primarily) played a losing 11-9 ten minutes. Durr and Sam Fuehring both sat out the entire quarter. It's not great to lose any segment to a team like the Colonials, but they were their conference champions and, to their credit, they did not roll over and stop playing hard. Robert Morris was there to play, and they showed resolve to continue to give a strong effort when the game was well out of hand.

As I said, this was a game that Louisville was able to rest starters. In fact, they were able to rest most of the team, pretty well. Arica Carter was allegedly available, but played 0 minutes. Durr and Fuehring combined for 38 points and 14 rebounds and played only 22 and 23 minutes respectively. Bionca Dunham played the most minutes on the team, and finished with only 29 minutes on the floor. Steph Norman did a fantastic job keeping the team motivated, rotating well, and got the players the rest they needed to be prepared for their next game.

I mentioned it briefly, but Fuehring and Durr deserve more credit, as they beat the Colonials on their own in just over a half of play. Durr was tied with RMU at the half with 15. Asia finished with 18 points and 3 boards. She added an assist, a block, a steal, and only turned the ball over twice. She shot 50% from the floor, 60% from three, and 4-4 from the free throw line. I think she's ready for a deep run. Sam also scored 19, had a double-double with 11 rebounds, added an assist and two blocks, while only turning it over once. She was perfect from the floor, with her 9-9 only two made baskets away from tying the NCAA tournament record for consecutive made baskets. They weren't all bully baskets, either, as her perfect shooting day included a three and a couple of jumpers. 

Dana Evans and Bionca Dunham also scored in double figures, with Evans adding 5 assists and 6 rebounds to her 13 points. There is a negative from yesterday's game, though, as Louisville's other five guards outside of Durr and Evans combined for 4 points, 8 turnovers, 5 assists, and 7 fouls. To Jazmine Jones' credit, she added 3 blocks and 6 rebounds to help make up for it, but March success is about strong guard play, and although the Cards didn't have Arica Carter in this one, they'll need more consistency from everyone if they want to end up in Tampa.

The CASE Report

Louisville played a pretty rotated side for much of the game, and mixed lineups quite a bit, so some of these stats should perhaps be taken with a grain of salt, but let's see how the Cards performed statistically in the blowout.

C - Care: Louisville turned the ball over 17 times. So that doesn't sound great right off the bat. On the plus side, RMU was only able to score 6 points off of those 17 turnovers. On the negative side, RMU only turned the ball over 15 times themselves. The Colonials were very dependent on opponent turnovers this season, though, as they were 23rd in the country, forcing 20.28 per game. 17 is more than 80% of that average though, so we're going to have to award no letter.

A - Assists: Any time you turn the ball over 17 times, it's going to be nearly impossible to earn a 2.0 ATO, especially having scored only 69 points. Louisville would need to have gotten that score line by scoring 34 two point baskets and assisting on every one. That's not what happened. Louisville did assist on 15 of their 26 made baskets, though, so that's good for a lowercase 'a'.

S - Steals: Louisville earned 7 steals, which is alright, but it's below the baseline of 7.5 and tied with RMU for the full game total. Normally, that would be no letter. However, I have to go out on a limb here. Louisville blocked 6 shots in the game, outrebounded RMU by 19, and held the Colonials to only 23.1% shooting from the floor (22.2% from TWO!!). I have to give credit for their defensive effort somewhere, so I'm choosing to go rogue and do it here. Capital 'S' for an all around solid defensive effort. It's my ranking and I can do what I want.

E - Efficiency: Louisville shot 48.1% from the floor and 40% from three. That's pretty good. They didn't make the most of their free throw opportunities, shooting 11-15 for 68.8%. (Another shoutout to Sam for her 100% night and Asia and Dana for their 50% individual performances). However, as a team, the Cards only earned a lowercase 'e'.

So there you have it. In their first game of the tournament, Louisville ends with a generous _-a-S-e in the CASE Report. I've belabored the point about why that poor statistical performance likely exists, but let's hope it was put behind them. I am hoping that the nerves are out of the way and that the team is open to receiving what Coach Walz was able to see from his different perspective across the street from the Yum! Center. 

The Cards will need to be back to their best efforts when they take on Michigan on Sunday, as the Wolverines absolutely housed Kansas State in the 8-9 matchup. It's a rematch of the men's 2013 National Championship Sunday at noon in the KFC Yum! Center as the women's team looks to knock out the team in maize and advance to the Albany regional. 

Comerford Wins Third Straight Title

Mallory Comerford found herself setting another UofL record yesterday when she became the first performer to win an NCAA Championship in the same event three times. Comerford's win in the 200 freestyle extended Louisville's swimming and diving program streak to 8 consecutive seasons with a national champion. Comerford's time was nearly a full second slower than her record setting swim last year, but it was about a 10th of a second faster than second place, which is ultimately all that matters. 

The Cards have maintained some success in this event as an overall team, holding on to fourth place going into the final day of prelims. However, a podium finish for the team looks unlikely as the Cards are 70 points behind third place. A fourth place overall finish would be nice, but they'll need to hold off a crowd, as the 6 teams behind them are all within 40 points. Action gets underway at 10AM, and can be followed by the UofL Swimming and Diving Twitter feed.

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour

After being held out last week for an illness, I'm back to join the other four regulars for a full house during March Madness on the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour. Tune in as we talk about all the action in the women's NCAA tournament, and you can hear everyone laugh at me as I sit squarely in a position where I could get my money back (last place) in a 300+ bracket pool at work for the men's tournament. The CCRH is brought to you by WCHQ FM and can be heard on 100.9 FM, the WCHQ App on Apple or Android, wchqfm.com, or live on Facebook. As always, we'll get things started at 11AM.

Until next time, Go Cards!

-CH-

Swim Update -- Louisville WBB First Round Action -- FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Swim Records Fall

Yesterday was a good day for the Louisville women's swim team.  Three UofL records fell.

Lainey Visscher, Mallory Comerford, Avery Braunecker, and Casey Fanz broke their own school record in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:26.71.  They finished fourth, giving UofL its best finish in history in the event.

Comerford placed third in the 50 free and broke the UofL record with a time of 21.49.  Her third place finish ties for best finish in school history.

Alina Kendzior, Mariia Astashkina, Grace Oglesby, and Comerford placed fifth in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:28.22, another school record.

After the end of the second day of the NCAA Championships Louisville sits in fourth place with 100 points.  Stanford (173.5), California (173), and Michigan (129) are all ahead of the Cards currently.


WBB Starts First Round Action

David Watson gave us a great preview of the first round match-up for the Cards in yesterdays article.  The 1-seeded Cards will face 16-seed Robert Morris at noon at the KFC Yum! Center.  They are also on ESPN2.

As a 1-seed and the owner of home-court advantage Louisville should play a nighttime game, in my opinion.  It helps bring in a larger crowd, adding to the home court advantage.  The lower seeds should play the earlier games.  On the bright side, Louisville gets to kick off the tournament.

Steph Norman will take the court as head coach, but Jeff Walz's presence will be felt even with him not in the arena.  Fans are planning to bring bobble heads and the enlarged fat heads to push the NCAA's buttons.

In the event Louisville wins their first round game they will play the winner of 8-seed Michigan and 9-seed Kansas State on Sunday at a time TBD.

Walz seems to be having a bit of fun with the one-game suspension the NCAA put on him last year for his "colorful" remarks. In yesterday's presser, he categorically denied he would attempt to don a blonde wig and fake beard and sneak into the arena.

Where would you like to see Walz watch the Robert Morris game? Waffle House with his daughters? Sidebar Tavern or Bearno's by the bridge? At Derby City Casino trying his luck on the machines? Let us know...

Paulie will be present for Friday's game.  Sonya with him on media row and Worldwide in the stands. I'll be assisting people that decide to make a trip to the bank.  Yes, a lot people come to the bank during basketball games, surprisingly.

Coach Walz is encouraging people to attend and stay around for the second game as well He will be allowed in the arena at the conclusion of the game, can sit in the coaches "scouting"area but can not do any interviews.

Finally, someone has figured out how to keep Walz quiet for a few hours. Which leads to...


Walz Presser From Thursday

Coach Walz talks hoops in Thursday presser and gets faux mad at Paulie. Typical:

Thanks, Daryl Foust for the feed.

LINK: VIDEO OF WALZ THURSDAY PRESSER


Cardinal Coupe WBB NCAA Pick Em

The deadline for entries is here!  Make sure to comment or email in before noon!  I'm looking forward to being overwhelmed with brackets I have to keep track of.  Don't forget to add a final score for the championship game.

You can add your entry in our comments section below. You can also send them via e-mail to me at...eupherjared@gmail.com or to Paulie at...cardinalcouple@twc.com. Your choice of a $25 Panera or Cracker Barrel Card if you win.

Here's my pick em:




Baylor, North Carolina, Florida State South Carolina, Kentucky, NC State, Drake, Iowa
Mississippi State, Clemson, Arizona State, Miami, South Dakota State, Syracuse, Texas, Oregon, Notre Dame, Central Michigan, Marquette, Texas A&M, DePaul, Iowa State, BYU, Stanford, Louisville, Michigan, Little Rock, Oregon State, UCLA, Maryland, Rutgers, UConn

------------------------------

Baylor, Florida State, NC State, Iowa
Mississippi State, Miami, Syracuse, Oregon
Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Iowa State, Stanford
Louisville, Oregon State, Maryland, UConn

------------------------------

Baylor, NC State
Mississippi State, Oregon
Notre Dame, Stanford
Louisville, UConn

------------------------------

Baylor, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, UConn

------------------------------

Baylor, UConn

------------------------------

Baylor (76-70)

As much as I want to pick the Cards the whole way I find it difficult for them to beat UConn again this season.  Jeff Walz is 1-100 (or so it feels like) against Geno and the Huskies. I hope I am wrong

Typically I go into the weekend scheduling but a few things have been postponed from Friday to Saturday due to weather and today is all about basketball.  We will cover the scheduling as usual on air Saturday.

Happy Friday and Happy NCAA Tournament!

Jared

Louisville women's basketball -- Know the Foe -- From Thursday practice/presser with Paulie -- THURSDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

JUST ADDED: PAULIE REPORT FROM THURSDAY PRACTICE AND PRESSERS


CARDS FACE ROBERT MORRIS FRIDAY AT NOON

Good morning Cardinal fans! 

David Watson with you this morning, per Paulie request, to give you a little bit of a preview of the Louisville women's basketball squad's first game in the NCAA Tournament. Writing this article is a nice change of pace from my frantic opening NCAA Tournament weekend marathon party plans and preparation. 

Louisville begins their quest to travel to Tampa and the Final Four tomorrow against the Robert Morris Colonials in the KFC YUM! Center. It's the first matchup against the Colonials, out of the Northeastern Conference in Louisville women's basketball history.

So, what do we need to know about the Colonials? Here a dossier. 

Robert Morris went 22-10 during the regular and conference tournament slate. They were 16-2 in the NEC and won the tournament as a #1 seed taking down Mt. St. Mary 69-65 and Saint Francis 69-54. 

Robert Morris and Louisville had no common opponents in the 2018-19 season. This will be the furthest south the Colonials have traveled in games this year. 

It was a rough start to the season for the Colonials. They began 1-7, but began to get it together as the schedule morphed into conference play and finished 8-1. As they go into the NCAA as a #16 seed, this is their sixth overall appearance in the NCAA and third in the last four years. 

Their mascot is the patriotic, slightly neurotic looking Romo. Not to be confused with ex-Dallas QB and TV analyst Tony Romo. 

The Colonials prefer a slower pace, averaging about 63 points a game while allowing just 55. They are top 25 ranked in creating opponent turnovers and getting steals. The only real bad "beat" I can find on them was the 92-63 loss at Iowa.


Nneka Ezeigbo, a 6'2" post player, is the main offensive and rebounding weapon for RMU. She's a junior, from Ewing N.J. and averages 12.6 points per game and 7.8 rebounds.

Honoka Ikematsu, from Japan, she is the leading three-point shooter for the Colonials and puts up about five a game (162 on the season). She's made 53 on the year. I wonder if she knows Norika Konno, a recent Louisville signer from the land of the rising sun?

Freshman guard Isabella Posset has been named to the All-NEC Rookie team and leads RMU in assists and steals.




WATSON ANALYSIS

Louisville should win this one fairly easy if they come out and play Louisville basketball.

With Walz not on the bench, Coach Norman and staff will most likely try to regulate minutes to the starters, play Carter and Fuehring sparingly, as they come off injuries and apply that scary good Louisville defense.

I know, it's tournament time and anything can happen, but, I see the Cards advancing to Sunday pretty easily.


CARDINAL COUPLE TOURNAMENT CHALLENGE

Paulie wanted me to remind you that Cardinal Couple is holding a NCAA Women's tournament pick 'em challenge.

With that now done, pick wisely, with your head and not heart and good luck. You can put your entry in the comments section or e-mail Paulie at cardinalcouple@twc.com

For questions, or to submit a bracket, go to tournament director Jared Anderson. His e-mail is eupherjared@gmail.com

Have a fun weekend and thanks again to Paulie for giving me a chance to grace these majestic pages once again !! 

David Watson


Paulie From Media/Practice Day at the KFC YUM! Center

Sonya and I joined TCZs and Cardinal Couple Radio regular Daryl Foust to attend the Thursday presser for Louisville head coach Jeff Walz and players Asia Durr, Sam Fuehring and Arica Carter. Here are the audios from each: 

LINK:  Jeff Walz Thursday presser

Coach seemed to be in a good mood and engaged in playful banter with Paulie near the end of the presser. 

LINK:  Arica, Asia and Sam at 3/21/19 presser

All three seemed ready to go and discussed the upcoming game, their status and their preparation for the game against Robert Morris Friday.

Practice was light but spirited with the Cards encouraging each other a lot and hitting a ton of shots. A good sign...Arica worked out, while we were there with trainer Kaitlynn Jones and a stretch rope. 

paulie
xxxxx


PHOTOS FROM THURSDAY

Arica warming up

Team Drills I

Team Drills II

Coach Walz with Beth Mowins

Sonya and Daryl

Swimming Starts NCAA Championships -- Two Days Til Tipoff -- WEDNESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Swimming Starts NCAA Championships

Austin, TX will be busy the next few days as women swimmers and divers from all across the country prepare to stand atop the podium at the NCAA Championships.  For UofL, 16 Cardinals will attempt to bring home the gold.

Here are the Cardinals and their events:

• Mariia Astashkina (100 breast, 200 breast)
• Sophie Cattermole (200 free, 500 free, 1650 free)
• Mallory Comerford (50 free, 100 free, 200 free)
• Molly Fears (platform, 3 meters)
• Morgan Friesen (100, breast, 200 breast)
• Alina Kendzior (100 back, 200 back, 200 IM)
• Alena Kraus (200 free, 500 free, 200 fly)
• Grace Oglesby (100 fly, 200 fly, 200 IM)
• Arina Openysheva (100 free, 200 free, 500 free)
• Michaela Sliney (1 meter, 3 meter)
• Maria Sumida (200 IM, 400 IM, 400 fly)
• Lainey Visscher (50 free, 100 free)
• Kaylee Wheeler (100 breast, 200 breast)
• Avery Braunecker (relay)
• Diana Dunn (relay)
• Casey Fanz (relay)
• 
  

Last season the Cards set a program record by finishing 5th overall.  Mallory Comerford won an individual national championship (her second straight) in the 200 free, where she enters this season as the top-ranked swimmer.

Can the Cards better last year's finish? Will anyone give Comerford a challenge in her three events?

Follow the UofL Swim and Dive twitter for the latest news at @uoflswim_dive  You can also follow the Tweets for Card Couple Radio that are over on the "Right Side of the Site" Here.

Here's hoping Arthur Albiero's Cards make waves !

Almost Tournament Time

Despite the fact that Louisville got cheated by having to play at noon on Friday with many folks stuck at school or work there is a couple bright spots to it.

It's the very first game of the NCAA Women's Tournament so all eyes will be on the Cards for it.  Coincidentally, Louisville's men are also the first for their respective tournament.

Also, assuming UofL wins it gives the team a couple hours of rest as well as a couple extra hours of scouting and preparation for the Sunday game, time TBD.

If you have not started your bracket there is still plenty of time!  You can't do any worse than Charlie Creme, right?

There are many ways in which you can fill your bracket out:

• Coin flip
• Favorite colors
• Favorite teams
• Higher seeds
• Upsets
• Expert picks
• Random guesses
• Lots of research

I personally prefer to go with the latter as I find it has a better rate of success than other methods.  I have my 'rough draft' completed but have not begun the revision and editing stages quite yet.  A few of you have already submitted your brackets and others of you are taking your time like myself.  Here are a few match-ups in the tournament (assuming teams get to that point) I would like to point out that have potential to be fairly close with a higher chance of upsets based on higher vs lower seeds:

• 12-Little Rock vs 5-Gonzaga (1st rd)
• 9-Clemson vs 8-South Dakota (1st rd)
• 10-Buffalo vs 7-Rutgers (1st rd)
• 12-Rice vs 5-Marquette (1st rd)
• 10-Auburn vs 7-BYU (1st rd)
• 6-Kentucky vs 3-NC State (2nd rd)
• 6-South Dakota State vs 3-Syracuse (2nd rd)
• 5-Florida State vs 4-South Carolina (2nd rd)
• 3-Syracuse vs 2-Oregon (Sweet Sixteen)
• 3-NC State vs 2-Iowa (Sweet Sixteen)

Of course, upsets in women's basketball are far fewer than that of their men counterparts, but upsets still happen.  5-seed vs 12-seed and 7-seed vs 10-seed are the games where upsets happen the most, scientifically speaking.

Do not rely solely on what is listed above as those are just some games where upsets seem more probable than others.

Please aim for clarity when submitting your bracket, either in the comments section or emailing Paulie (cardinalcouple@twc.com) and myself (eupherjared@gmail.com).  Like the ACC Tournament, I will send Paulie updates periodically to have him double-check me to help reduce the margin of error if unfortunate circumstance were to occur.

Best of luck with your brackets and happy picking!  Your odds of a perfect bracket are 1 in 9,233,372,036,854,775, 808 (approximately 9.2 quintillion), according to Duke math professor Jonathan Mattingly.

Note: This link should take you directly to a downloaded PDF of the bracket that you can print-

https://i.turner.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/images/2019/03/18/2019_wbb_bracket.pdf

Happy Wednesday and Go Cards!

Jared

Louisville women's basketball -- CARDS #1 SEED IN ALBANY -- TUESDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

UOFL WBB BEGINS THE NCAA QUEST #1 AND WILL PLAY FRIDAY AT NOON ON ESPN2

Maybe a surprise to some, but certainly acceptance and excitement about the Louisville women's basketball team getting the #1 seed in the Albany Region during the (leaked too early) bracket reveal on Selection Monday. 

The texts and e-mails started hitting Cardinal Couple around 5 p.m. ESPN U had inadvertently leaked the Albany Region while broadcasting a men's selection show production and showed that the Cards would be playing Robert Morris at noon Friday as the #1 seed in the Albany Region of the NCAA WBB Tournament. 

Early April Fool's prank? Disgruntled ESPN employee getting the last laugh before heading home? Whatever the circumstances were that surrounded it, the reveal was accurate and ESPN's Maria Taylor made a "oops, we messed up" statement on ESPN 2 apologizing to the NCAA for spilling the coffee two hours before it was supposed to be served. 

The Cards still held the bracket-watch party, Walz spoke earlier than planned to the media, and a huge crowd still showed up at Cardinal Arena to celebrate the news that a lot of the nation already knew. Baylor, Notre Dame, Mississippi State and Louisville were the four #1 seeds. UConn, still remaining in the Albany Region but placed there as a #2 seed.  

Walz, with daughters Lucy and Lola on his lap, patiently and happily answered the ESPN talking heads questions while the crowd cheered in the background. All was right in Cardinal-ville and the NCAA had finally done something right when it came to Louisville athletics. 

"WHAT !! #2 SEED? waaah, waahhh, waahhh..."

All in all, eight ACC teams headed to dance. A bit of disparity in the regional assignments. Besides Notre Dame getting a #1 seed in Chicago, #9 North Carolina, #3 NC State and #5 Florida State will head to Greensboro to start play. Out in Portland, #9 Clemson, #4 Miami and #3 Syracuse will take on competition that had just two PAC 12 teams in the western bracket...but very good ones in #2 Oregon and #5 Arizona State.

I feel for Kenny Brooks and Virginia Tech. Not included in the dance, the nation will not get to see starts Regan Magarity and Taylor Emery play, unless they tune in WNIT action. Surely, Kenny must be the "Rodney Dangerfield" of the NCAA. Two  years in a row now and no respect. 

So, download your brackets I got mine from http://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/tournament/bracket and get busy! 


We are having the Cardinal Couple Tournament Pick 'Em again this year, details below. 

Today, I'll give you three teams, possible long-shots, that could crash the Sweet Sixteen: 

1) Central Michigan. Yes, they ended up as a #8 seed and have to battle through #9 Michigan to get a shot at the Irish in Chicago/Souh Bend, but the Chippewas gave Louisville all the wanted early in the season and can shoot 

"What, Paulie? I'm not upset-mention worthy?" 

2)Arizona State. Another squad that pushed Louisville to the edge in regular season action and woud have to face dangerous Miami if they can dispose of UCF...but the #5 seed Sun Devils just might be primed to pull an upset in Coral Gables

3) BYU. A #7 seed in Chcago, they get mid-pack Auburn to open and I can see them giving Stanford and maybe Iowa St. tough times down in Palo Alto. They were 25-6 in the regular season and ended up second behind Gonzaga in the WCC. Don't overlook them.

Good luck and Happy Tournament to all ! 


CARDINAL COUPLE NCAA WBB BRACKET CHALLENGE

63 games. A chance to win a $25 Cracker Barrel or Panera Card. A test of your skills and prognostication abilities. Enter the Cardinal Coule "pick 'em" 

It simple, fun and free ! 

1) Fill out your bracket. 

2) Put your picks in any Cardinal Couple comments section today, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday (by noon) 

3) One point per correct pick and highest point-total takes the prize. Submit a total points guess for the final game in case there is a tie. 

The CARDINAL COUPLE chimps spent considerable time last night, pouring over the matchups, pouring banana daiquiris over the brackets, chasing neighbors down the sidewalk on tricycles, wrestling over decisions and emerged a bit fatigued, hammered and dizzy...but offer their selections as a example of a format to follow. They unanimously discredited this year's "bracket chairman" Jared Anderson and had plans of locking him in the WCHQ 100.9 basement at first opportunity. 

If you have questions, comments or inquiries, hit Jared up with an e-mail at: 

eupherjared@gmail.com   or e-mail me at:  cardinalcouple@twc.com   Feel free to 
enter the contest that way if you like, if you don't want anyone seeing your picks or such.

We'll probably reply. 

THE CARDINAL COUPLE CHIMPS BRACKET SELECTIONS 

FIRST ROUND WINNERS: 

Baylor, California, FSU, Belmont, Princeton, NC State, Missouri, Mercer,
Miss St., S. Dakota, Ariz. St., Miami, SDST, Syracuse, Indiana, Oregon, 
Notre Dame, CMU, Rice, Texas AM, DePaul, Iowa St., Auburn, Stanford
Louisville, Michigan, Little Rock, Boise St., Tennessee, Maryland, Rutgers, UConn

THEN THERE WERE SIXTEEN:

Baylor, FSU, NC State, Mercer, Miss. St., Miami, Syracuse, Oregon 
Notre Dame, Rice, DePaul, Stanford, Louisville, Boise St., Maryland, UConn


THE GREAT EIGHT

Baylor, Mercer, Miami, Syracuse, Rice, Stanford, Louisville, UConn

FINAL FOUR

Baylor, Miami, Rice, Louisville

TWO TO GO ! 

Miami, Louisville

CHAMPION 

Louisville


Have a terrific Tuesday!

Paulie
xxxxx