Louisville gearing up for Sweet 16 matchup against Tennessee
The Cardinals practiced in Wichita on Friday
The Cardinals practiced in Wichita on Friday
The Cardinals practiced in Wichita on Friday
The University of Louisville women's basketball team practiced for 90 minutes on Friday inside INTRUST Bank Arena, the site of this weekend's NCAA Tournament Wichita regional games.
The No. 1 seeded Cards (27-4) will face the No. 4 seeded Tennessee Lady Volunteers (25-8) on Saturday at 4 p.m. EST.
"We're excited to be here," said UofL head coach Jeff Walz. "You play your entire year to try to continue to advance on in the NCAA tournament. We're going to have the opportunity tomorrow to play a very, very good Tennessee team. Our kids are excited for it."
This is the fifth-straight Sweet 16 appearance for the Cardinals.
"Expectations are good," Walz said. "I've learned if there's not expectations for your ballclub, you normally don't have a job very long. So the longer we can keep these expectations being high, means we're having success.
"It's still one of these where our kids follow what's going on. When the draw came out, the bracket came out, everybody picked Baylor to advance on, which is good. That's kind of the way our kids like it.
"We're in a situation where I still think people wonder how we keep winning, how do we keep doing it, how do we keep getting ourselves to a point where we can get a 1 seed or we're competing again in the Sweet 16, Elite Eight. We're just fortunate 맥스카지노 I'm fortunate to have a great staff."
The Cards know to win on Saturday, they'll have to have a big performance on the glass. Tennessee is one of the best teams in the country when it comes to rebounding, averaging 48 rebounds per game.
"I think it was the biggest focus we've had all week," said UofL guard Kianna Smith. "In our practices, we were lucky enough to have Myisha Hines-Allen back in the gym with us. Obviously, she was one of the best rebounders at Louisville. Boxing her out. Some of our post players. It was a huge emphasis. I think it's going to be probably the biggest factor in tomorrow's game."
The Cardinals are 2-2 all-time against Tennessee.
The winner of Saturday's game will face either Michigan or South Dakota in the Elite Eight.