U of L, UK, WKU women all in UConn's region
The Louisville women's basketball team's potential road to the Final Four is loaded with Cardinal rivals past and present, including Kentucky, mighty Connecticut and former conference foe South Florida.
Louisville's first NCAA Tournament opponent, however, will be a new one that coach Jeff Walz said he'd begin studying immediately.
The Cards (25-6), who are forced to travel this weekend because the KFC Yum! Center is being used for the men's tournament, drew the No. 3 seed in the Albany (N.Y.) Region Monday night and will play 4 p.m. Saturday against No. 14 BYU (23-9) at the Sun Dome in Tampa, Fla. That's the home of No. 6 and well-regarded USF, which was an annual U of L opponent in the Big East and American Athletic conferences.
They could meet again in the second round if the Bulls get past No. 11 LSU, another familiar U of L foe which the Cards defeated twice last year.
Top rival UK, meanwhile, was made the No. 2 seed in the Albany Region and will host the first two rounds at Memorial Coliseum. The Wildcats (23-9) will play No. 15 Tennessee State (18-12) at 2:30 p.m. Friday.
And they'll all be vying to knock off the ruler of women's basketball – defending champion UConn – the No. 1 overall seed and an old nemesis of the Cards in the Big East, AAC and two national title games.
Of having so many familiar potential opponents, Louisville senior Sara Hammond said, "We can use that to our advantage because we know what each team does."
Around these parts, no juicier potential storyline emerged during Monday's selection show than a possible UK-U of L Sweet 16 game. But Walz, whose team watched the ESPN show along with fans at Cardinal Arena, said his team's sole focus will be on the competition in Tampa this weekend.
"If we're fortunate enough to get past the first one, we've got to play a very good South Florida or LSU basketball team," he said. "And then we could have opportunity to go up to the Sweet 16 in Albany and play possibly Kentucky. But we've got a lot of work to do before we can worry about that."
It was the same sentiment held by UK coach Matthew Mitchell, whose team beat Louisville 77-68 in December. Mitchell's more concerned about his own pod of teams in Lexington. No. 7 Dayton and No. 10 Iowa State will play in the other first-rounder at Memorial.
A game with Louisville "would be incredible, a strong challenge, a tough challenge, as would LSU, as would South Florida, as would BYU," he said. "… As storylines go … there are some very intriguing matchups in the regional. From a very important practical matter, you just cannot, from a basketball team's perspective, concern yourself with that. … I understand the desire to talk about those matchups, and I will say this could be a very, very entertaining region."
Another U of L opponent this season, Western Kentucky University, coached by former Walz assistant Michelle Clark-Heard, is also in the Albany Region as the No. 12 seed, on UConn's half of the bracket. The Lady Toppers will face No. 5 Texas at 5 p.m. Friday in Berkeley, Calif.
Walz said he has no problem with all three Kentucky teams being placed in the same region.
"That's what it's all about it," he said. "We're fortunate that you've got Michelle in there, Kentucky's in there, so are we. I think it speaks volumes for our state. When you've got three teams that are being represented in the NCAA Tournament, it's an exciting time."
Walz expected to receive a No. 2 or 3 seed, and he'd thought South Florida was a realistic option to be U of L's site host, so Monday's draw was no shock.
However, as of Monday night, he didn't know a lot about BYU.
The Cougars, who won the West Coast Conference Tournament as the 5-seed, are led by guard Lexi Eaton, who averages 20.7 points per game, and WCC Player of the Year Morgan Bailey (17.3 ppg, 10.5 rpg).
Hammond and U of L guard Jude Schimmel said they know next to nothing about the Cougars.
"Any team that makes the NCAA Tournament you've got to respect them and know that they're coming in to compete and beat you," Hammond said. "It's going to be a great first matchup. Luckily we get to be in warm weather when we play them."
Beyond that, the former Miss Basketball from Rockcastle County said, of course, she noticed that U of L could wind up playing UK in the Sweet 16. She thinks it would be a fun game.
"Just like on the men's side, when Louisville and Kentucky are matched up, it draws attention," she said. "So I think we'll have a lot of fans tuning in to that game when it comes on down the road if both of us make it."
And although many teams would consider it a death sentence, she and Walz said they relish the chance to be in the same region as UConn (32-1), which tends to pummel all comers, including Louisville 16 straight times.
"If you look at it as a bad thing, there's no sense to go play," Walz said. "Two years ago, nobody wanted to be in the Baylor region, and we embraced it, accepted it, and our kids ran out there and performed extremely well."
Steve Jones can be reached at (502) 582-7176 and followed on Twitter at @SteveJones_CJ.
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No. 3 LOUISVILLE VS. No. 14 BYU
4 p.m. Saturday, Tampa, Fla.
TV: ESPN2 Radio: WKRD-790