Louisville Cardinals
ACC (32-2, 15-1)
Louisville has been the model of consistency all season long. The Cardinals started off the season with a 95-90 win over a very good Ohio State team and everything just took off rom there. On January 11, Louisville had their showdown with Notre Dame and the Cardinals routed the Fighting Irish 100-67 at the KFC YUM! Center. That performance by Louisville would end up being enough to secure the ACC regular season championship as they won the tie-breaker over Notre Dame. Jeff Walz was the ACC Coach of the Year and has a talented, athletic squad that can beat anyone on any given night.
Big Wins: 11/12 at Ohio State (95-90), 11/19 Oregon (74-61), 1/11 Notre Dame (100-67)
Bad Losses: 1/21 Florida State (49-50), 2/12 at Connecticut (58-69)
Coach: Jeff Walz
Why They Can Surprise:
Asia Durr and Myisha Hines-Allen are a dynamic enough combination that can put a team on their back and get the Cardinals to a Final Four. Durr can beat you by attacking the basket or stretching defenses with her perimeter shooting. Hines-Allen is a force down in the post as Hines-Allen is averaging 13.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game on the season. Sam Fuehring has also had a very nice season as Fuehring is averaging 9.6 points per game this season. The overall schedule that Louisville played should also set them up nicely to succeed in the NCAA Tournament as they played a very nice mix of quality teams that play different styles.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Florida State and Connecticut both did a very nice job of causing the Cardinals to suffer through tough offensive stretches for extended periods of time. Louisville raced out to a 22-9 lead against the Seminoles but were only able to muster 27 points over the final three quarters. In the loss to the Huskies, the Cardinals fell behind 24-6 at the end of the first quarter but did outscore Connecticut 54-45 over the final three quarters in a 69-58 loss. Bottom line, its going to come down to the ability to stay patient offensively when things aren’t going well over the course of a game. If Louisville doesn’t do that then they could possibly get upset in the Sweet 16.
Probable Starters:
Asia Durr, Junior, Guard, 18.8 ppg, 2.1 apg
Jazmine Jones, Sophomore, Guard, 8.7 ppg, 2.2 apg, 4.4 rpg
Arica Carter, Redshirt Junior, Guard, 7.6 ppg, 4.0 apg
Sam Fuehring, Junior, Forward, 9.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg
Myisha Hines-Allen, Senior, Forward, 13.9 ppg, 9.8 rpg
Key Role Players:
Dana Evans, Freshman, Guard, 5.0 ppg, 3.6 apg
Kylee Shook, Sophomore, Forward, 4.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg
Bionca Dunham, Sophomore, Forward, 4.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg
Sydney Zambrotta, Sophomore, Guard, 3.7 ppg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 77.2 (30th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 56.0 (23, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 48.2 (8, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 36.8 (35, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.5 (109, 6)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 38.8 (13, 2)
Free-Throw Percentage: 74.8 (51, 2)
Rebound Margin: 8.3 (19, 3)
Assists Per Game: 16.7 (23, 2)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.6 (91, 4)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2017 NCAA Round of 64 win over Chattanooga
2017 NCAA Round of 32 win over Tennessee
2017 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Baylor
2016 NCAA Round of 64 win over Central Arkansas
2016 NCAA Round of 32 loss to DePaul
2015 NCAA Round of 64 win over BYU
2015 NCAA Round of 32 win over South Florida
2015 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Dayton
2014 NCAA Round of 64 win over Idaho
2014 NCAA Round of 32 win over Iowa
2014 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over LSU
2014 NCAA Regional Final loss to Maryland
2013 NCAA Round of 64 win over Middle Tennessee
2013 NCAA Round of 32 win over Purdue
2013 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Baylor
2013 NCAA Regional Final win over Tennessee
2013 NCAA National Semifinal win over California
2013 NCAA National Final loss to Connecticut
2012 NCAA Round of 64 win over Michigan State
2012 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Maryland
2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Vanderbilt
2011 NCAA Round of 32 win over Xavier
2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Gonzaga
2010 WBI First Round loss to Bradley
2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over Liberty
2009 NCAA Round of 32 win over LSU
2009 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Baylor
2009 NCAA Regional Final win over Maryland
2009 NCAA National Semifinal win over Oklahoma
2009 NCAA National Final loss to Connecticut
2008 NCAA Round of 64 win over Miami of Ohio
2008 NCAA Round of 32 win over Kansas State
2008 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Kentucky
2007 NCAA Round of 64 win over Brigham Young
2007 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Arizona State
*all team stats through 3/1
