Softball hangs on against Michigan 5-4

SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- LeCoq bails Cards out in win over #14 Michigan.

- Lacrosse travels to play Presbyterian


- BIG EAST: 1st round WBB Tournament Action

- Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Sat. 11 a.m.

Paulie delievers a stirring rendition of "Innagadadavida" at
MArkie MArk's Celebration Day festivities...

A couple of truisms about Cardinal Softball pitcher Caralisa Connell. When she's good, she's very good. When she's off, she's very off. Limiting Michigan to one run in six innings yesterday, she needed bailout relief from Obama Rachel LeCoq in the seventh inning to preserve the one run lead and win for #13 ranked UofL.

The squads battled through four scoreless innings yesterday at Ulmer Stadium in the Red and Black Classic before the Wolverines punched in a run during the top of the fifth inning. Connell allowed four hits in the inning and got out of a potentially disastrous situation by getting Michigan to ground-out with the bases loaded and two outs.

The scare must have put some life into the UofL bats...they countered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Jordan Trimble and Katie Keller both reached safely on singles to start the inning and after an intentional walk to Alicja Wolny to fill the bases with Cards with one out, Maggie Ruckenbrod smacked a two out, two RBI double to deep left that made it 2-1 Louisville.

The Cards got going again in the sixth. Whitney Arion singled, Jennifer Esteban drew a walk and Katie Keller singled home Arion to make it 3-1 Cards. Alicja Wolny got a chance to actually swing the bat for once and made UM pay with a two run RBI single. 5-1 Cards after six innings.

Caralisa was the
most popular
Cardinal Women's
Athlete of 2012
according to CARDINAL
COUPLE readers.

Connell gave up a Wolverine single in the top of the seventh and Ashley Lane's home run blast made it 5-3. A Michigan single and double produced another run with the tying run on second.

Exit Connell, enter LeCoq.

The Colgate transfer got a strikeout for the first out of the inning, a fielder's choice moved the runner to third for the second out and a groundout ended the game. 5-4 UofL.

Connell (10-2) got credited for the win, LeCoq the save...her first of the year.

Louisville returns to the field today with 2:30 game vs. Miami (OH) and 5 p.m. tilt against Austin Peay. If you plan on making a day of it...first game starts at 9:30 a.m. when Michigan plays Illinois State in their pajamas.

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Nikki Boltja is UofL's leading scorer

Louisville Lacrosse (4-1) heads to Georgia to take on Presbyterian College in Cummings, GA. The Cards are coming off a close victory over Vandy Wednesday and face a 1-5 Blue Hose (no...it's not a mis-spell) squad who earned their first win of the season against Stetson 17-7 on Tuesday.

Louisville defeated the "Prez's" last year 20-3. This UofL squad is light-years better...maybe they make it 40-6 this year.

Nikki Boltja, Louisville's leading scorer on the season, had six goals last year against the...Blue Hose. If only she'd worn her little, black cocktail dress.

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Anne Donovan, Seton Hall's coach,
is asking the ref if she can
play 10 players against UConn

The Big East WBB Tournament is off and running and in first round action...Seton Hall had a tougher time than I expected against UC, winning 60-55. Marquette lives to fight another day...thumping pitiful Pitt 66-43 and Georgetown handled Providence 81-61 in the night cap....despite 35 points by the Friars' Tori Rule.  

Seton Hall gets St. John's today at noon, Rutgers and USF go to war at 2 p.m., Marquette plays DePaul and Villanova and Georgetown close Day 2 action.

A lot of CARDINAL COUPLE Pick 'Em contestants went 3-0 on the day...good luck today with your selections. 42 brave souls are battling for the $25 Chili's Gift Card.

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CARDINAL COUPLE HOUR returns for our second broadcast today at 11 a.m. on Crescent Hill Radio.

www.crescenthillradio.com

We'll discuss Louisville women's basketball, softball, lacrosse, BIG EAST WBB Tournament and try to squeeze in a few more sports as well. I've also (hopefully) got a few sound-bytes from the Thursday Media session with the Lady Cards and Coach Walz. I think I've got Nita Slaughter and Sara Hammond interviews. Me and mechanical devices...never a good mix.

-Paulie

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Sunday Cardinal Couple -- Lady Cards 74- 60 over Hoyas

SUNDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Cards sour Sugar... Improve to 7-2 in BIG EAST

-Volleyball Banquet at PNC Plaza

30 minutes can be a very long time sometimes. In basketball minutes, it can be an eternity. The University of Louisville women's basketball team held BIG EAST leading scorer Sugar Rodgers scoreless for 30 minutes yesterday afternoon in a 74-60 win over the Georgetown Hoyas in the KFC YUM! Center in front of 10549 fans.

No Sugar tonight in my coffee, no Sugar tonight in my tea...to borrow a phrase from The Guess Who. 

Going 0-7 in the first half and 0-4 in the second half before she connected on a jumper with 10:51 left in the game and Louisville leading 55-40...Rodgers was held to six points on 2-17 shooting by the guard trio of Bria Smith, Jude Schimmel and Shelby Harper.

Pass the Splenda, there wasn't any Sugar in the KFC YUM! Center Saturday afternoon.

Coach Walz's pregame instructions and practices sessions had a very simple theme leading up to this game. Don't allow her to get the ball and guard her more closely than the Army guards the gold in Fort Knox if she does.

It worked. Georgetown shot 33.8% for the game. Sugar 12%.

This one was won for the Cards in the first four minutes of the second half. Leading 33-29 at the break, the Cards sprinted off to a 13-3 run to start second half play and led 46-32 when Sara Hammond scored in the paint with 16:02 left. A Shoni three 30 seconds later made it 49-34 Cards and Georgetown would get no closer than nine the rest of the way.

Keying the run was Shoni, who drilled two threes and had nine points in a two minute stretch.   

Nita Slaughter with a huge effort tonight, 22 points on 6-13 shooting (five of those threes) and a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line. The Cards shot 77.3% from the charity stripe...toss out Cortnee Walton's 3-6 performance and Louisville goes an amazing 14 for 16.

That's the kind of stat that takes you deep into success in tournaments.

Shoni Schimmel with a slow start hitting just one of ten attempts from the field in the first half...but shooters are going to shoot and the junior ended up with 15 points and a team high seven assists. She was nonchalant about it in the post game:  

"My shots weren't falling early so I just started finding people open whose shots were falling. It was a team effort."

With Sugar salted away, sophomore forward Brittany Horne picked up the scoring yoke for the Hoyas in the first half with nine points. When Sugar still wasn't melting in the final half, freshman guard Katie McCormick grabbed the orb and produced 18 second half points for Keith Brown's 13-9 squad. McCormick, returning from a knee injury that had her on the bench for the first 11 games this year, led the Hoyas with 21 for the game. She had scored just 18 points all season. 

 6'6" center Sydney Wilson was the other Georgetown player to hit double digits with 11. She must have missed at least 10 shots from two feet or closer in, though. Does anyone use the box behind the rim on the backboard anymore?

Sara Hammond was the third double digit performer with a double-double...10 points and 11 grabs. Megan Deines added nine, Jude Schimmel seven, Bria Smith four, Cortnee Walton three and Sherrone Vails and Shelby Harper two each.

Louisville outrebounded the Hoyas 48-43. The Cards forced 16 G.U. turnovers while committing 16 of their own. Louisville won the points in the paint battle 28-24.

It wasn't pretty in the early going...Lousville and Georgetown both missing easy shots and only 26 total points had been scored in the first ten minutes. Georgetown actually led the Cards 16-10 with 9:11 left in the first stanza before UofL went on a 9-2 run to take the lead at 19-18 when Slaughter hit her second three of the half with 7:17 showing on the clock.

The Cards never trailed again.

On a afternoon where the roads had been salted several hours earlier because of an overnight snow...the Sugar remained in the cupboard and Louisville gets a sweet win....thanks to some sticky defense and Slaughter and Shoni shooting.

With Howie Lindsey and Jody Demling in attendance, the "Ho and Jo Show" was back and they asked 90% of the post game media questions for Coach Walz. Would hate to get in front of those two boys at a buffet...LINK BELOW.

POST GAME WALZ

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A crowd of over 250 packed the PNC Plaza Saturday night for the 2013 Louisville Volleyball banquet. Sean Moth served as emcee for the event that gave a few a scare when the fire alarms went off shortly after dinner was served.

Fortunately, it was a false alarm and the crowd was later entertained by the affable Anne Kordes' season in review speech and a hilarious video that featured Kordes playing freshman Katie George and George portraying Kordes.

The G.P.A. Award went to Emily Juhl and Cardinal Award was presented to UofL FCA chaplain Chris Morgan. Alumnae of the year went to Kelly Gillooly.

Kordes' keynote address covered her appreciation and association with all the players, staff and backers that have made Cardinal Volleyball the unqualified smash hit it's turned into since she arrived three years ago. She's also quite the comedian...sending the crowd into gales of laughter when she shared personal stories with players, friends and staff.

We want to meet "the Betty's"...

She has a heartfelt and deep relationship with those who make Cardinal Volleyball what it is today and it's easy to see why Julie Herrmann went after her and brought her here from the head coaching job at St. Louis.

Good times. Player Courtney Robison from Sheperdsville, KY. sat at our table with us and the D.S. who transferred her from West Virgina after one season was a friendly and charming host. Later we found out about her lifelong friendship with Katie George. Robison is the team driver and pushing catalyst. She also has two personalities, according to Kordes...so I guess we actually had two players at the table with us.

Our thanks to Louisville Volleyball for allowing us to cover the event and it was a class evening and a lot of fun!

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Saturday Cardinal Couple -- The Walz Interview and pre-game Georgetown

 
SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- The Coach Walz interview

- Georgetown preview from "Q" and "P"

( It's a long read today at CARDINAL COUPLE. But a good one. You have been warned.)

Coach Jeff Walz is a busy man. Our Friday interview with him is below. We were slightly delayed in the start of the actual interview time because of important things he had to take care of, he multi-tasked during the interview and had former Card great Becky Burke waiting to see him after we were done. It is, however, we think a great interview that takes a look at the man, the legend and the philosophies of the most successful women's basketball coach in Cardinal history. We appreciate the time he gave us...


CARDINAL COUPLE: You've had a couple of days to reflect on and watch some film from the huge win at USF. Your thoughts?

COACH WALZ: For the most part, I was really pleased with our effort. Not just our physical effort, but out mental effort. We did a really nice job of following a game plan. Those are the things we're trying to get accomplished as a staff. To get the players to do what we ask them to do. I thought they did a really nice job. USF's #10 came in the game and I told them...make her shoot the basketball. And she scores 11 in the first half, makes a big three right at halftime to cut it to a one-point game. In the locker room I told our players...hey, you did exactly what I told you to do, I'll take the blame. It's my fault. I tell them all the time, if you'll play hard and do what I ask...we can adjust to the next thing. And, I told them...USF has a problem over there now. Andrea Smith played 12 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. The freshman comes in and scores 11...which one are you playing now? I knew they weren't going to play both at the same time. So, they go with Andrea Smith, which I would have too, and the freshman ends up playing only two minutes in the second half.

Our game plan was to come out and do some different things defensively . All in all, I was really pleased with the mental side of us against South Florida.

CARDINAL COUPLE: Coaches talk about their players' "basketball IQ". Your evaluation of your players' IQ?

COACH WALZ:  Well, if they've watched our games...sometimes it's not very good. It's really an amazing thing at times. At the end of the South Florida game, we wanted Sherrone Vails to try and foul #32 McDonald. And, what you all couldn't see on the radio is that she put two arms around her and gave her a hug, grabbed her. It should have been an intentional foul on Vails. Two free throws and the ball possession. And I asked her...what are you doing?

"Well, you said to foul her."

I don't know...they don't watch a lot of basketball. They play the game, love to do that...but to sit and watch hours of basketball on TV? I'm not sure they do that. It's constantly a teaching process. Working on turnovers. We have to put them in situations and teach them the game. I joked with them after the St. John's game. We had three of the worst basketball plays in a row that I've seen in a long time at the end of that game. I mean...THREE CONSECUTIVE plays. Normally, you don't see three plays that bad over the life of a game. For us to foul somebody 28 feet away from the basket and up five...and then to drive the length of the court and shoot it with 23 seconds left on the shot clock and us up by three? Then, we get a stop, get the ball back and with seven seconds left and three time outs left and we try to throw it over the top of somebody and turn it over and give them a chance to tie the game.

Those are things I keep harping on to them. You've got to understand the situation. You can't just go out and play. You have to be thinking about what's going on. So, that's our challenge. But, we have made improvements. It's not like they're not giving good effort. I don't question their physical effort but weve challenged to take the next step defensively to get better.

CARDINAL COUPLE: Every year it seems like this team has to cope with injuries. Talk a little about this year's injuries and how it's affected your coaching style.

COACH WALZ: It's not that it affects the way I coach, it's just that I have to sit back and evaluate the rotation. Figuring out who's going to play, whose not going to play. I've got Asia Taylor back to play and she's practicing more and more but I don't know if she's ready to go full strength and actually play. If she could, this last month of the season...I'd do it. It's her senior year, she's going to graduate and we play our first two NCAA Tournament games at home. I'm just a big believer in not passing up an opportunity that's right there in front of you. If she'd be able to play a solid eight-nine games, I'd play her because I think she could really help us but I'm not sure she's there yet.

On Monique Reid, Mo was kind of off and on early in the year, I was trying to watch the amount of minutes she played. She hurts her knee again doing a box-out drill in practice but we're hoping to have her back in three weeks. If that works out it's a big lift for us.

Tia Gibbs has actually been doing some running and basketball agility drills on the floor. She feels good. So, she's one I'm (originally) not thinking is going to come back and play...but there's a possibility she might. If she can, that'd be great. I love to see a kid be able to go out on her own terms and if she can go on Senior Night, I'll put her out there. I'm just not sure her body is able to handle a full season. So, would I love to red-shirt her again in which we would get a sixth year for her and have her play a whole year? Sure I would. But I just don't believe her body is going to allow her to do that. If we could get her to play the last five or six games for us, I think it would be a big lift for us.

Shawnta Dyer's surgery went very well for her ACL and MCL. She's doing a great job with her rehab and hopefully she'll be back in six months.

CARDINAL COUPLE: Give us an example of a player you've coached that you wish you could clone. In all aspects, not just points scored.

COACH WALZ: I'd probably go back to my days at Maryland. Crystal Langhorne. She's probably the best player, person and student I've coached. I've often told her that if my daughter grows up to be like her, I'd be happy. We've had some great players, some great kids here, too. In Crystal, you've talking about a kid that was a Kodak All-American a couple of years, lead the country in field goal percentage all four years she played, was a 3.9 student. Had all of it. If I could have two or three of her, it's be great. Candyce Bingham, Angel...we've had a lot of great ones here but Crystal would be at the top of my list.

CARDINAL COUPLE: Speaking of Candyce, is she going to participate in the alumni game Saturday?

COACH WALZ: She says she is and she's excited about that. We have a good turnout showing up. We have about 70 that are coming back and about 30 that have said they're playing, so it should be fun!

CARDINAL COUPLE: Have you chosen coaches for these teams?

COACH WALZ:  I'm not sure if we're going to do that. We'll have somebody out there. I've got Adrienne Johnson and Coach Sam (Samantha Williams). They're going to work on dividing up the groups. It's going to be fun! We're really trying and working on getting the alumni back on campus and getting them involved in things.

CARDINAL COUPLE: Any chance of Angel coming back over for the game?

COACH WALZ: No, no...we can't pay her enough (Laughs).

CARDINAL COUPLE: A Georgetown question...how do you plan on "unsweetening Sugar Rodgers?

COACH WALZ: We're going to have to do a good job of making all her shots tough. She's going to score. No question about that. What we have to do is try to make her earn everything she gets. It's been our focus the past couple of days. Knowing where she is on the floor. Making sure we're there on the catch. We have to communicate if they come out and screen for her. It'll be tough. We'll have our hands full.

We need to try and control the pace of the game. We have to do a really good job of dictating what they do offensively.

CARDINAL COUPLE: The team seems to have trouble at times on inbounds plays. How can you improve these?  

COACH WALZ: We need to do a better job at setting screens and coming off screens. It comes down to half-court execution. You have to take pride in going hard, coming hard off a screen. Those are things that we'd been working on and I believe we're getting that taken care of, we're getting better at it.

CARDINAL COUPLE: Tell us a little about what a coach has to do off the court with the players.

COACH WALZ: There's a whole lot that we have to do that nobody sees. It's part of it. Our job is to try and see that they're prepared to succeed in life. I tell them all the time...that if you can handle me and the way I coach you and treat you in practice...then when you get a job, your boss is going to be a piece of cake. I like to say I'm tough on them, but if they do what we ask them to do, then I'm not very tough at all. If you play hard, if you show up on time, if you give me a good effort...then I'm not hard to deal with at all. If you're not taking care of business, though, I'm a bear. I do demand that from them. Our job here is, obviously, to win basketball games but it's also to make sure they're prepared for life after this.

(We appreciate the time and the insights that Coach Walz gave us about the Cardinal women's basketball program and players and we can easily see why he is one of the best at what he does.)

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DOIN THE HUSTLE WITH THE HOYAS

After all, what is a Hoya? A lengthy attempt to define what it is -- is at the internet site "Hoya Saxa". Some say the name is rooted in Greek or Latin. It's also been suggested that the name is derived from the one-time student newspaper that was called the "Hilltopper". Curiously, the term "Hoya" can be found in the fight songs of two other Jesuit colleges in the U.S.

Holy Cross -- and the "Hoiah, Holy Cross" and Marquette's "Ring Out AHOYA!"

I know who I'd pick in a basketball game between the two...

A depiction of a Hoya with its' pointy ears conjures up an image of a character that looks a bit devilish. Father Merrin and Father Karras, once Jesuit clerics on the staff of Georgetown, were last heard from doing their best to exorcise from a lovely little girl named Regan an entity that was a little bit devilish in the 1974 movie The Exorcist.

I'm not suggesting anything paranormal might be rising at the YUM!, of course. Sugar Rodgers can play holy hell on an opponent's defense, though.

And, Rodgers is the show for first-year coach Keith Brown -- who toiled underneath Terri Williams Floruney as an assistant before she packed her bags and headed to "Sweet Home Alabama" and Auburn University.

Rodgers averages 23.7 points per game. Thus endeth the Georgetown scout. Stop Rodgers, win yourself a game.

If the Cards can play the fast, hard-nosed style of defense and score like they did against the USF Bulls, they'll "destroya the Hoyas" .

-Quentin Voigt.

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

Although I agree in the "cut off the head of the snake and the rest of the body will die" philosophy to beat Georgetown...the Hoyas, Bulldogs...whatever you want to call them...are averaging 64.5 points a game. Those extra 40 that "Sugar, Sugar" isn't scoring aren't coming from Linda Blair (who played "Regan" in the Exorcist) or from Ronald Reagan either.

Andrea White is very capable of putting up double-doubles and shot 55% last week against Seton Hall, Rutgers and Pitt. And the team was 14-5 as of Jan 27th. , with wins over Delaware, George Washington, LSU and Temple...so they're an opponent to be feared.

Louisville leads the series 5-2 against the Hoyas and Coach Walz is 3-2. The Cards beat them 64-61 last year in Washington. Shoni, Burke, Bria and Nita had 53 of those Cardinal points and even though we won't be able to toss "Big Shot Becky" at them this year...the elder Schimmel appears to have found her groove and we hope it stays found. Maybe the Hoyas can stay around and watch Becky in the alumnae game following the BIG EAST tilt if they miss her at all. 

Two things come to mind when I think of the Louisville vs. Georgetown WBB series. The infamous fight up there back in 2010 during the pre-game warm ups and the way GU blew the doors off the Cards in the second half of the 2011 meeting in the KFC YUM! Center...winning 76-52. It may have been the team's biggest "hiccup" of the season that year.

Sugar was there for both of those days of Cardinal infamy, and she'll be there today (unless Timmy the Intern can convince her she's won the lottery and take her on a mansion-shopping spree). She's harder to handle that wet fish with greased rubber gloves on and this one could very well be a "pacemaker clutcher" -- in true "Cardiac Card" fashion.

Since I gave the team good luck by picking against them in Tampa (yeah, that's the ticket!) I'm doing it again and saying Georgetown by two. This, of course, means Louisville will win by four...if you follow the Paulie Boolean Mathematical Formula for Cardinal success based on the principal of diminishing returns for qualified gains.

What the heck did I just say? Maybe I can get CARDINAL COUPLE columnist Jeff O'Bryan to explain it to me later at the Volleyball banquet. Or Co-Co. Thanks to reader Dougie, who sent me a link for Boolean algorhythms. Made no sense at all to me...

Whatever...should be a barn-burner and we'll see ya at the arena later. Coach Walz is requesting your attendance and he's the kind of guy who would come out and shovel your driveway for you if called him and said you wanted to attend.

( You can bet your bippy we'll be back later tonight with a game recap and also a report on how the Volleyball banquet went. )

Ahoya!

-Paulie
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Quarterfiinal BIG EAST WBB reports

BIG EAST SUNDAY WBB ACTION

-DAY 3


GAME FOUR


Connecticut 49 - Rutgers 34


We didn't watch most of this one...had a lengthy post game UofL report to post and TV show we wanted to watch took priority and it's been three days of four ball games a day...so we deserved a break tonight. Figured UConn would win, and they did...but the score sure looks U-G-L-Y. The Huskies get the Red Storm in the semis. Should be a good one. Freshman Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis with five first half threes and 17 points for the Huskies. Scary moment at the end of this one...Rutgers Erica Wheeler on the floor, unable to walk and taken off in a wheelchair. Praying she's OK. Dehydration, probably, but she took a huge collision with a teammate under the basket as time expired. 


Quote of the tournament (from Geno)


"We have no fight in us. We'll punch you, but we're backing up when we do it. Hit us hard and we have no return punch."


(Maybe he should get into training boxers and turn the team over to  Chris Dailey.  YESSSS!!!)


GAME THREE


St John's 68 - Louisville 61 (Overtime)


Overtime
Louisville missed their first 10 shots in overtime and fell behind 68-58. Shoni hit a three late but the Red Storm advance to the semi-finals. Shenneika Smith six of the 12 O.T. points for St. John's and 24 for the game. Shoni 16 for the Cards and 16 for Nita Slaughter. Louisville went 7-17 from the foul stripe. Much more on this one in the Monday Morning post...


2nd half 
Louisville saw St. John's go on a 9-1 to start the half. The Cards never gave up getting within 2 at 42-40 and took a 54-52 lead on a Nita Slaughter 3. Regulation ended at 56-56, neither team scoring in the final 1:05. The officiating was horrible for both teams, including a obvious foul on Shoni with 19.8 to go that was called a turnover. 


1st half


If I told you Louisville went 1-6 from the foul line, had a 5 1/2 minute scoreless stretch and Becky Burke had but one 3-pointer...you probably expect to see Louisville down by plenty. Actually, it's 25-24 St. John's at the half. Shoni with 11 for Louisville and Asia Taylor 7. All ten Cards have played, only four have scored. Shenneika Smith 12 - Bria Smith 0. Cards are getting great looks at the goal, can't get them to drop. 20 to go...anyone's contest. Bonita Spence "the master of the walking call" and Bob Enterline keeping this one full of whistles. 


GAME TWO


Notre Dame 69 - DePaul 54


2nd half
Notre Dame began the half on a 10-0 run and led 48-26 after the first three minutes of play. It was over. DePaul managed to get within 11 at 56-45 with 7:30 to go, thanks to an 11-0 run. They narrowed it to 10 at 64-54 with 1:42 remaining...but the Irish got the final five points of the game. Final 69-54 Notre Dame. They'll get to seek their revenge against WVU tomorrow night. Four in double figures for Muffet's squad...Natalie Novosel and Devereaux Peters with 16 each, Kayla McBride with 14 and Skylar Diggins 12.  Katherine Harry paced DePaul with 14. Anna Martin just seven points...largely due to the defense of ND's Brittany Mallory. Loosely called game...DePaul attempted zero free throws in 40 minutes.  


1st half
Much better pace in this one. DePaul with an early 4-0 lead but a Notre Dame 11-2 run had them leading 18-12 with 13 minutes to go. DePaul stayed close most of the half...but a 13-5 Irish finish over the final 7:30 made it 38-26 went they went to the locker room. Kayla McBride with 11 for UND and Skylar Diggins 10. Katherine Harry with 10 for the Blue Demons and Jasmine Penny eight. This one had more first half points in it than Game 1 with 13:04 left in the half. We now know there is nothing wrong with the rims in the XL Center. Anna Martin needs to get untracked if the Blue Demons hope to win. 


GAME ONE


West Virginia 39 - Georgetown 32 (yes...this is a final score)

2nd half
It did get a little better in the second half. A little. West Virginia got three straight threes from Taylor Palmer midway thru the second half to take a 34-24 lead with 6:51 left. Final was 39-32, which is the lowest combined score for two teams in the history of the BIG EAST Tournament. By 16 points. Ouch! Also, 32 points from Georgetown ties the lowest total by a team for the tournament history. Sugar Rogers, between rescue inhaler breaks, had 14 for G'Town. Waiter, more coffee please! This one was like an old time 45 "single" record being played at 33 RPM album speed. 


Announcers Brooke "Wise Broad" and Beth Mowins were probably exchanging arm punches to stay awake. Sonja suggested first team to 40 wins. It's still be going on if her idea had been put into effect.  


1st half

This, by far, is the worst half of basketball of the tournament. 15-12 West Virginia leads. That's being kind..because neither team is playing leadership basketball. A defensive struggle at times...but mostly just bad shooting. Here's a timeline:

14:46  4-4
8:46   11-8 WVU
4:37   15-10 WVU
1:37   15-12 WVU

Early drama when Sugar Rodgers suffered an asthma attack and sat for a few. A few seconds later, Adria Crawford took  and elbow shot to the mouth from Asya Bussey. No foul, of course. It's a Denise Brooks ref crew, so expect mediocrity. Sugar Rodgers has three made baskets for G'Town. The rest of the team is 1-25 from the floor. Bussey and Dunning for WVU have been replaced by "Busted and Done" or Brooks and Dunn. This one needs to pick up dramatically...it's a certified "yawn-fest".  
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Swimming narrowly loses at IU...Watson comments on Villanova game

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MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

-Women's swim team close against #12.

-Good read on Big Shot Becky...

-Watson reviews the UofL vs. Villanova WBB game

-A look at the BIG EAST.

The #24 ranked University of Louisville's women's swimming team narrowly lost in a dual meet against IU Saturday. Congratulations to the men's team...who knocked off the #11 ranked Hoosiers! Here's the honor roll...

-Raine Thompson...winner in the 100-fly and 200-free relay

Gadd took second in
the 3 meter board.

-200 medely relay had Krissie Brandenburg, Lindsay Rodgers, Raine Thompson and Aileen Cole finish second.

-1000 free placed Victoria Mitchell second.

-100 back with Eszter Povazsay second and Mary Mittel third.

-100 breast got Fanny Lillestrom second and Gisselle Kohoyda third.

-Aileen Cole won the 50 free and Lacey Bobo followed in second.

-Lillestrom finished second in the 200 breast.

-Dani Barbiea, Bobo, Grite Apanaviciute and Cole won the 200 free relay.

The Cardinal swim teams return to the water Friday.

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Thanks to columnist Jenny O'Bryan for sharing this excellent read she found on senior Becky Burke. Great article by Scott Walsh. Click the link and enjoy! Why not send him an e-mail, too to show your appreciation for his Lady Cards and Becky Burke props?

http://m.thetimes-tribune.com/sports/becky-burke-trying-to-make-most-of-remaining-time-at-louisville-1.1264626

E-mail Scott at swalsh@timesshamrock.com


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(David Watson chimes in on the 62-58 UofL win over Villanova)

The announcers Sunday were raving about 2200 attending the Georgetown vs. Rutgers game in D.C. They'd probably go into a coma if they saw almost 11,000 fans...as was the case when the Lady Cards downed 'SweeneyNova' by four Saturday.

What dastardly deeds did David
do in the high seats?

And it was the Sweeney show for the Wildcats. Schooling the Cards on the baseline, in the paint, on the boards and over the skies of Louisville. Sara Hammond watched her go by her several times Saturday but I hope she was watching even closer than that. This is the type of player Hammond could become if she picks up the foot speed a little bit, learns to drive and use the backboard and drops a few pounds. No one stopping her. Reach out and do the work, Sara. You have seen what the future could be. Go get it.

Games at the KFC YUM Center are always entertaining. We chose to traverse to the upper seats for this one...hadn't seen one from there ever. Loved the kids around us making a ton of noise and flashing their signs...despite the fact that no one on the lower deck knew we were up here. 

Sitting up high does have a few advantages. I could see the Cards spacing very clear offensively and it needs some work. If Asia Taylor is going to lead the "charge of the light brigade" through the paint and to the hoop for this Louisville team...clear out and give her some room, Lady Cards. 

I also watched the way Villanova works on offense sets to free up Sweeney. Very effective, organized and exacting. With a little practice and experience, the Lady Cards could do the same. Louisville had an almost certain "two" or trip to the line when Monique Reid would get the orange thing inside. Same with 'Nova. Say, could someone ask Mo to share that ability with Asia the rest of the year? She can have it back for the 2012-13 season.

Finally, make no mistake about it. This is Shoni Schimmel's team. Even though the Wildcats did a very passable job in trying to contain her, "Sho-time" came through. I don't quite understand why Coach Walz's didn't play her sister Jude a bit more with "Show". They seem to work well together in the offense. Maybe it's because they'd played together since they crawled out of the cradle. I on't know, but it makes sense to me.  

Who knows? Walz doesn't need advice from a guy who sits in the 300 level. I, though, need advice on how to get an escalator like the one in the YUM Center to put adjacent to my Uncle Scott's grain silo. 

Those who worried about Cierra Warren's scant minutes shouldn't. She'll get the full workout against DePaul (as long as she can keep the whistles quiet). Katherine Harry and Anna Martin are unleashed pit-bulls in the paint. Big players in the BIG EAST. The battle will be a good one. Maybe Sara will get a chance to mix it up with them.

(Then again, it's Walz. The "big guy" has a plan. It'll work. We wait excitedly.)

( David..good luck with the escalator hunt. I suffer from slight vertigo and can't ride on the thing or sit in 300 level seats with my eyes open. Thank goodness for elevators and press passes. I miss my buddies in Sec.115...but they understand).  

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Now that all of the teams in the BIG EAST have played at least eight conference games...it's time to look at some standings and make some wild and unfounded guesses about the second half of the season. 

Harry Perretta, the affable Villanova head coach, nailed it down the fairway when he said after the game that the 3-12 positions were still wide open for the second half of the season. Especially since Rutgers got unceremoniously thumped by Georgetown yesterday. 

Let's face it. Either Notre Dame finishes with no conference losses or one...because no one will beat them unless UConn can in the XL Center at the end of the year. UConn will finish second, with one or two losses...depending on the outcome of that Feb. 28th. game. It's a two horse match race for the regular season title. 

After that, it gets interesting. With the Rutgers loss, five teams have either 2 or 3 losses. Rutgers still has UConn and Notre Dame to face. So do Louisville and St. John. Georgetown and West Virginia just have one of the top two left to play. Those are eight automatic losses. 

Just behind these are USF, DePaul and Providence with four losses each. Out of the four, one would think DePaul might have a slight advantage to climb. The Louisville games won't be easy for them, they have to go to South Bend and play the Irish...but five out of the eight final game for them are at home and include rollovers like Cincy, Villanova, Marquette, and Syracuse. USF has a tougher road. They travel to St. John and Notre Dame and still have West Virginia and Providence to deal with. 

Paul would like to see "those
dad-gum Blue Demons" lose
Tuesday.

The 12-16 spots will belong to Marquette, Syracuse, Cincy, Pittsburgh and Seton Hall...probably in that exact order. Louisville catches a break...they have three of these (SU, Pitt and SH) left to play and should be OK in these. Add in DePaul twice, at West Virginia and hosting UConn and Notre Dame...and it's not hard seeing the Lady Cards go 5-3 or better the rest of the way. 

Is 11-5 good enough for 3rd. place in the BIG EAST regular season standings? Can Rutgers, St. John's, Georgetown or West Virginia duplicate or top that?

Rutgers (6-2) still has Notre Dame, UConn, St. John's, West Virginia and Villanova left to tangle with. We're thinking they'll handle Seton Hall, Providence and Marquette without too much trouble. If the Scarlet Knights can win three out of the five against the Irish, Huskies, Red Storm, Mountaineers and Wildcats...they could finish 12-4. Gonna depend on how quickly Khadija Rushdan can return after the nasty head bump she received yesterday at Georgetown. They carted her off on wheels. She did return to watch...but concussions take time. And, Rutgers has Notre Dame, Connecticut, St. John and West Virginia as their next four. It's possible that could equal four straight losses.

St. John's has a tough road remaining. Breathers at Pitt and Seton Hall before taking on USF, Rutgers, Connecticut West Virginia, Villanova and Georgetown to finish the season. Only three of these at home. It's not hard to see them finishing 4-4 in their final eight...which would put them at 9-7.

As for Georgetown...gotta like the Hoyas chances to grab third place. Currently at 6-3, they host Seton Hall, Providence and St. John's...and go to Cincy, Connecticut, Villanova and Syracuse. We can see five wins here pretty easily, maybe six if they can defeat the Red Storm to end the season. 12-4 is within their reach. 11-5 very possible.

West Virginia has their work cut out for them. Despite four in a row at home and five of the remaining eight in the Coliseum...they aren't easy ones. A trip to USF could be rough for them. Louisville, Notre Dame, Rutgers and DePaul visit after that and we can't see them doing any better than 2-2 in the home stand. Then, they go to St. John's before finishing at Cincy and hosting Pitt. 4-4 in the final eight is the guess here and would put them at 9-7.

OF course, this is the BIG EAST. Upsets are common. Who would have figured the beat down Georgetown put on Rutgers yesterday?

Some great conference games early this week:


Tuesday
Louisville at DePaul
Notre Dame at Rutgers

Wednesday
West Virginia at USF.

Stay tuned, the second half of the BIG EAST schedule is going to be a brawl and a ball. We'll preview DePaul against Louisville tomorrow. Have a great Monday!
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Lady Cards beat Hoyas 64-61 behind Shoni's 19

.
GAME REPORT

-Cards survive G'town run, scorekeeper to win by 3

In a wacky and wild finish, Louisville fails to score a basket in the final 6:38, Georgetown gets credit for a phantom free throw and Georgetown attempts 30 more shots than the Lady Cards in a 64-61 Louisville win. Shoni led UofL with 19 points, Sugar Rodgers ended up with 24 for the Hoyas.

STARTERS: Vails, Warren, Smith, Burke and Shoni

Louisville jumped out to a 5-0 lead to begin the contest after Cierra Warren scored inside and Becky Burke bombed a three in the first minute of play. The Hoyas responded with nine straight, though...capped by Sydney Wilson hitting a jumper with 16:37 to go in the first half. The Cards needed a timeout to solve the Hoya full court pressure, responsible for four straight Cardinal turnovers. Shoni was on the bench, after just two minutes of play.

Shoni overcame
a slow start to
get 20 points.

Whatever Walz said worked. Louisville regained the lead 13-11 after a Burke three and Nita Slaughter added two free throws to give the Lady Cards a 15-11 advantage with 12:19 to go. Shoni returned to the game and bombed a three to make it 18-11. Her jumper increased it to 20-13 with 9:10 left.

The Hoyas rallied to cut the advantage to 23-22 after a Rodgers jumper with 4:20 left. Warren hit from inside, though to push it to 25-22. After a Hoya three tied it at 25...the Lady Cards got the final four of the half when Warren scored on a putback and Shoni created a steal and nailed a jumper with 40 seconds in the half to lead 29-25 at the break.

Becky Burke led the Cards in the first half with nine points, all threes and Shoni had seven. Slaughter finished with five, Warren had four and Shawnta Dyer and Sherrone Vails added two each. Walz played all but Hammond and Harper in the first twenty minutes. Sugar Rodgers totaled 10 for G'Town. The Cards shot 52% in the first half, compared to the Hoyas 25.6% efforts...18 more shots by Georgetown (39-21) but one less basket.

Louisville came out with Taylor in for Warren in the final twenty minutes and got an opening three from Burke. Taylor got a nifty pass from Shoni and Louisville had a nine point lead with 90 seconds gone. A Shoni three had it 37-29 Cards with 17:44 left.

Georgetown responded with a 10-0 run over the next two minutes and grabbed a 39-37 lead after threes from Rodgers and Tia Magee. Shoni quelled the tide, though with her second trey of the half to make it 40-39. After G'Town responded with a Rubylee Wright three to regain the lead 42-40...the teams battled back and forth until another Shoni three and a "plus 1" for Bria Smith gave Louisville a 49-44 advantage with 11:35 left. Shoni added a free throw to push the Cardinal lead to 50-44. Louisville made their last field goal of the game when Slaughter knocked down a three with 6:38 remaining to give UofL a 55-46 lead.

From then on it was a matter of the Lady Cards hitting from the charity stripe. A Smith free throw put the Cards up by ten. Four straight points from Magee cut it to 56-50 with 4:20 left. Shoni and Smith responded with four straight free throws to give Louisville a 60-50 lead.

Then, with 2:16 remaining, Sugar Rodgers missed two free throw attempts. Except in the official scorekeeper's eyes, who credited her for hitting one. After Vails made 1 of 2 from the line, Rodgers canned a trifecta to cut the UofL lead to 61-55 (or 56) with 1:38 left. Another G'town score after a Cardinal turnover made 61-57 (or 58) and 1:19 left. Bria Smith hit two free throw to give the Cards 63 points but the scoreboard showed the Hoyas with 58 points instead of 57. Rodgers cashed in two charity tosses and it was 63 to 59 (or 60..)

The ESPN girls were confused, so were we at home and it got better.

We had it 63-59 and I was wondering what I missed. Turned out...not a thing.

Protests from the Louisville bench and a Walz timeout with 18 seconds left sent officials Dennis DeMayo and John Enterline to the scorer's table to ask for the ESPN2 feed to be rewound to the 2:16 mark. Once it was confirmed that no Rodgers free throws hit the mark at that point in the game, the score was changed to 63-59. Keeping score while watching, Sonja and I were correct. Maybe we should apply for the job in D.C.

Becky Burke got 1 of 2 from the stripe to make it 64-59 with 16 seconds left. A Wright putback cut it to 64-61 with 1.3 seconds remaining. Louisville inbounded safety to Slaughter at halfcourt, though....and it was a final. 64-61 Cards on the road.

Shoni led the Lady Cards with 19 points. She was joined in double figures by Burke with 13 and Slaughter adding 11. Smith contributed 10 points...all in the second half. Warren finished with four, Vails three and Taylor and Dyer two each. Jude played but did not score. Harper & Hammond never hit the court.

(We were originally informed Shoni had 20 and Bria nine points but a check of the official box score says differently. Wonder if it was the same person that kept trying to slide Sugar an extra free throw?)

Rodgers led the Hoyas with 24 points (on 26 shots). Rubylee Wright and Magee added 11 each for the Hoyas.

Louisville shot 47.5 % for the game on 19-40 shooting. They attempted 23 threes and hit 11 for 44%. The Cards were 15-21 from the freethrow line and committed 25 turnovers.

Georgetown went 33% for the game...with 70 attempts and 23 baskets. They were 8-27 from beyond the arc (33%) and 7-12 from the free throw line. They outrebounded UofL 38-35 and committed 15 miscues.

A huge road win for Louisville, maybe their biggest this season so far on the road. After the close misses at St. John's and Rutgers, it's good to see them get one away from home against a top 20 opponent.

It didn't come easy, though. Blowing a 10 point lead with 2:16 left isn't what we like to see. 25 turnovers, mostly unforced...against the Georgetown pressure is disappointing.

But, it's a win and the Lady Cards now get a little time off from action until Villanova visits Saturday. Time that can well be used to hone and refine the Cardinal ball-handling.

What we liked...

Sho-time again. After a rough couple of outings, Shoni found the range again and her 13 seconds half points were key to the win. Maybe it's when the nationwide cameras are on is the key to getting her on fire. Can we televise all the finals games?

Let 'three-dom' ring! Threes from three different players today. Good to see Nita hit a few clutch ones and she also had 31 minutes on the court today. Let's hope it's the start of a consistent rest of the season for her.

Hitting the free ones when it counts. Louisville made free throws when they needed to. The final 6:38 of the game. Four different players involved in the mix, too. They needed to. They weren't getting shots to go...

-Things to improve on...

Ball control. It was a nervous final two minutes with the Lady Cards shaky ball-handling, which allowed G'Town back into the game. It's only going to get tougher with pesky Villanova, Notre Dame, UConn and DePaul (twice) ahead. Keep growing up fast, Bria and Jude.

Rebounding. The Cards had one first half offensive rebound. They lost the rebounding battle against a guard-oriented Hoya squad 38-35. Gotta get better positioning and more grabs, ladies!

On an afternoon where the Lady Cards finally got a quality win over a top 20 opponent on the road, Louisville grew up a lot today. Sure, there's still some things to improve on and get better at...but a national audience saw a Louisville team that didn't fold on the road today.

And that's a step in the right direction.
.
..
...

Louisville women's basketball with tough test today

.
SUNDAY CARDINAL DEUCE...

-HOYAS HOST CARDS

-SATURDAY BIG EAST WBB

Jeff Walz and the Lady Cards will test the tough Georgetown women's basketball team today at 5 p.m. on ESPN 2 and 3. The 17/19 GU squad is 15-4, 4-2. So is 15/18 Louisville.

The Hoyas come into the game after a Monday romp over Syracuse. Prior to that, they ran into the Notre Dame freight train and lost. Sugar Rodgers earned a third trip to the BIG EAST honor roll...gathering 23 points against the Orange and 13 versus the Irish.

Against S.U., the Hoyas won going away...67-39. They forced 29 turnovers and had 22 steals. They also out rebounded the Orange 48-35.

Sugar can sour opposing
team defenses.

Rodgers is the leading scorer on Terri Williams-Flourney's squad with 19.8 ppg, which is also tops in the BIG EAST. Her high this season was 39 against Dartmouth. She shoots 85.4 from the charity stripe and has a team leading 48 steals. 

Others on the Hoya squad...

-RubyLee Wright, a play making senior guard who leads with 92 assists.

-Tia Magee, another senior...11.1 ppg and leading board grabber with 6.8 rpg.

-Taylor Brown...a freshman with 5.5 ppg a contest. 

-Adria Crawford is a strong rebounder for the Hoyas.

Georgetown has won the last two meetings between the squads. Last year, the Hoyas came into the KFC YUM! Center and defeated the Cards 76-52 after trailing 30-19 at halftime. Rodgers led the way with 26 points.

The Hoyas play in McDonough Arena and should get a pretty sizable turnout for this afternoon's televised event. For the four letter network, Beth Mowins and Kara Lawson will be the voices.

Cards could use
a big game from
"Big Shot" Becky

Louisville travels to Georgetown after an impressive 64-48 win over Providence in the KFC YUM! Center. The Lady Cards had balanced scoring...Bria Smith with 12, Becky Burke 11, Nita Slaughter 10 and Asia Taylor with eight points and 10 rebounds. 

Lifetime, the Hoyas are 2-4 against UofL. Two years ago, they defeated Louisville 60-56 in the McDonough...a pre-game fight breaking out between the two squads after a tripping incident when the Cardinals took the court. 

We'll have a post game report here at CARDINAL COUPLE for you. GO CARDS!

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

BIG EAST Saturday:

Notre Dame had no trouble with Villanova in a 76-43 destruction of the Wildcats. Diggins 20, Peters 19. VU head coach Harry Perreta missed the clash due to a family death.

UConn doubled up DePaul 88-44. Husky Caroline Doty left early with more knee trouble but Geno says nothing to worry about. DePaul missing Hampton big time.

Rutgers travelled to Tampa and beat the USF Bulls 72-66. April Sykes enjoying the rec center where the Bulls play currently with 23 and 10. The Russian Rocket Inga Orekhova had 15 for Jose Fernandez's bunch.

St. John's trounced the Cincy Bearcats 51-34. Three Red Storm in double figures. 21-14 at halftime.

WVU won the backyard brawl over Pitt 54-43. Chrystal Caldwell with a double-double for the Eers 17/12. Another one over at the half...32-16 WVU.

WE were a disappointing 4-2 on the day. Rutgers and Providence ruining the party. Five BIG EAST teams won on the road yesterday...a rarity. Only N.D. held home court advantage. 
.
..
...

Georgetown next for Lady Cards

.
FRIDAY CARDINAL COUPLE...

-Watson looks at Georgetown

-BIG EAST WBB update and weekend

(David Watson is a special correspondent for CARDINAL COUPLE. He may never win any popularity contests, but...knowing him...he'd ask for a recount and wouldn't accept one if he did...)

David likes Splenda
not Sugar.

Hoya paranoia. Yes, readers it is real. When one thinks of the Georgetown squad, Sugar Rodgers comes to mind first - unless you're a mascot junkie and go with that ugly dog, monster or whatever it's supposed to represent. You could consider Sugar as a monster as well. She's atop the BIG EAST scoring leaders with 19 points per game. If she isn't the top guard in the BIG EAST, I'll demand a recount. Arguments will be made for Diggins, Hartley, and maybe Shoni. I will still disagree. The previously mentioned three are all part of the larger scheme on their teams. It's Sugar in the morning, Sugar in the evening, Sugar with a cup of tea for Terri Williams-Flourney's team. (Apologies to the McGuire sisters.)

Of course, she's not the lead singer, guitarist, drummer and roadie all rolled into one for the Hoyas. They do put four people out on the court with her. Rubylee Wright is the set up guard, piling up assists by the truckload - fifth in the conference. Tia Magee and Adria Crawford rebound. Brown helps out where she can. McBride scores when Sugar doesn't. But, it's pretty much Sugar Rodgers and four or five girls named Mary when the final analysis comes into play. ( A Rick Pitino non-sequiter, altered for Cardinal Couple purposes.)

So, how do the Lady Cards defeat these Hoyas? Feed Sugar misinformation about game time and site is my suggestion. Or, study the DePaul game film (they beat Georgetown back on Jan. 3rd.) Glance at the Notre Dame, Maryland and LSU DVD's also - they put "L"s in the Georgetown win-loss slate. Survive their full-court, in your face, relentless pressure. Rebound. Send them to the line - they're 14th in the conference in free throws. And, keep Sugar out of the recipe.

Both teams are 15-4. Both teams are 4-2 in the BIG EAST. They may look even at a statistical glance, but this one isn't being played on paper. It's a ESPN2 game, so viewers will probably get Beth Mowins and someone like Kara Lawson or Rebecca Lobo getting a Sugar rush. Maybe they could get 70's pop-icons The Archies to sing thier bubble gum classic "Sugar, Sugar" at halftime. Maybe the Cards could counter with the Guess Who crooning "No Sugar Tonight". Maybe I listen to too much of the "oldies" station.

Good luck, Lady Cards. Bring some Splenda, a great sugar substitute. Let's hope the ugliness that occurred two years ago in the pre-game doesn't rear its ugly head again Sunday. This bunch of Lady Cards are bigger, stronger and meaner than the bunch that travelled up there in 2010 and would wipe the table clear of Sugar and the other Georgetown condiments.

-- David Watson puts salt in his coffee, pepper on his strawberries and oregano on his cereal. We call him 'Sweetness' (behind his back.)

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

Skylar and Natalie still
sit atop the standings.

Going into the weekend, the BIG EAST race remains pretty much the same as it was last week. All Notre Dame, all of the time. Rutgers took a surprising conference loss Tuesday night, so the Irish sit atop the conference standings. Here's the deal.

Notre Dame                6-0
Connecticut                5-1
Rutgers                       4-1
Georgetown               4-2
St. John's                    4-2
Louisville                   4-2
DePaul                       3-2
WVU                          3-2
USF                            3-2
Marquette                  3-3
Villanova                   2-3
Providence                2-3
Syracuse                    1-4
Cincinnati                  0-5
Seton Hall                  0-5
Pittsburgh                  0-6

Good games ahead for the weekend. Here's the line-up and predictions. We're 8-1 this week, only blemish was St. John's upset win over Rutgers.

Saturday action:

Villanova at Notre Dame. Irish in a rout. Only question here is if they can hit 100 points against the Wildcats. 
West Virginia vs. Pitt. The WBB version of the 'backyard brawl' Pitt hasn't won yet in the BIG EAST. We're not seeing it happen here. 
St John's at Cincy. The Red Storm has hit hurricane strength as it heads inland to blow away the winless in conference Beermats. Poor Cincy...their last three have been Notre Dame, UConn and now the Red Storm. Someone call in the Red Cross. 
Rutgers at USF. This is the pick of the week in "games we wish we could attend." Rutgers is reeling from the St. John's loss. USF strong like bull after beating DePaul. We'll go with the Russian Rocket and take USF. 
Connecticut at DePaul. With Keisha Hampton, we'd be tempted to predict an upset. Keisha isn't walking through that door, though. UConn wins. Anna Martin goes for 20+ for Doug Bruno.
Providence at Marquette. Another toughie to pick. Providence is 0-3 on the road in the BIG EAST, so we choose Plouffe-quette .


Sunday action:

Syracuse at Seton Hall. (Yawn...) The "Q" gets a road win over the Pirates. Syracuse wins. Next?
Louisville at Georgetown. We're divided on this one. Paul taking the Hoyas, Sonja sticking by her Lady Cards...so we're not including this one in our picks. (sue us).
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