Cards WBB vs. Wildcats today at 5 p.m. (No, not those Wildcats -- the Illinois version)
What will Jeff Walz's squad face today in second round action?
Northwestern comes into the game as the #7 seed in the Alamo region and advance to the next round with a 62-51 win over Central Florida. It continued a season that saw the Wildcats make the Big Ten semifinals for the first time in five years. Northwestern was 16-8 in the regular season and 11-7 in conference play. They made the tournament despite a 85-52 shellacking by Maryland in the Big 10 semis.
The Wildcats are a guard-oriented attack squad. Lindsey Pulliam and Veronica Burton are the main two threats. Burton, a 5'9" junior guard, was named 2021 Big Defensive Player of the Year and she also led the Wildcats in scoring at a 16.3 clip a contest. She's also the main three-point threat for the Wildcats, hitting 37 out of the 122 she's attempted. Pulliam, a 5-10 senior guard, was selected to the All-Big Ten second team. She averages 16.0 points a contest and had 25 points against Central Florida in the first round of tournament action. That was a bounce back from her one-point effort against Maryland in the Big Ten semifinals.
Besides Pulliam and Burton, the Wildcats also regularly start Jordan Hamilton and Sydney Wood. They went seven-deep against the Golden Knights last time out, Paige Mott getting the start but playing just 11 minutes.
Northwestern is not a tall team. Freshman Anna Morris is 6'3" but plays just 10 or so minutes a night and averaged 2.1 points an affair. Northwestern is not a strong rebounding team -- opponents out-grabbed them by three over the course of the season. UCF had a 39-24 advantage over them on the boards.
The teams had no common opponents this season, Northwestern did face Indiana and fell to the Hoosiers 74-61. They did beat Iowa and Caitlin Clark twice, though...77-67 and 87-80. Michigan, who has advanced to the round of 16, played the Wildcats three times and beat them twice.
If Louisville can avoid the slow start that hindered them against Marist, and establish a viable post-presence against the Wildcats, they should take this contest this afternoon. If not, we could see the five-guard, under 6-foot contingent that rallied the Cards to the drubbing over Marist. In any event, it should be a good one and let's hope UofL is up to the challenge.
--sonja--
What will Jeff Walz's squad face today in second round action?
Northwestern comes into the game as the #7 seed in the Alamo region and advance to the next round with a 62-51 win over Central Florida. It continued a season that saw the Wildcats make the Big Ten semifinals for the first time in five years. Northwestern was 16-8 in the regular season and 11-7 in conference play. They made the tournament despite a 85-52 shellacking by Maryland in the Big 10 semis.
The Wildcats are a guard-oriented attack squad. Lindsey Pulliam and Veronica Burton are the main two threats. Burton, a 5'9" junior guard, was named 2021 Big Defensive Player of the Year and she also led the Wildcats in scoring at a 16.3 clip a contest. She's also the main three-point threat for the Wildcats, hitting 37 out of the 122 she's attempted. Pulliam, a 5-10 senior guard, was selected to the All-Big Ten second team. She averages 16.0 points a contest and had 25 points against Central Florida in the first round of tournament action. That was a bounce back from her one-point effort against Maryland in the Big Ten semifinals.
Besides Pulliam and Burton, the Wildcats also regularly start Jordan Hamilton and Sydney Wood. They went seven-deep against the Golden Knights last time out, Paige Mott getting the start but playing just 11 minutes.
Northwestern is not a tall team. Freshman Anna Morris is 6'3" but plays just 10 or so minutes a night and averaged 2.1 points an affair. Northwestern is not a strong rebounding team -- opponents out-grabbed them by three over the course of the season. UCF had a 39-24 advantage over them on the boards.
The teams had no common opponents this season, Northwestern did face Indiana and fell to the Hoosiers 74-61. They did beat Iowa and Caitlin Clark twice, though...77-67 and 87-80. Michigan, who has advanced to the round of 16, played the Wildcats three times and beat them twice.
If Louisville can avoid the slow start that hindered them against Marist, and establish a viable post-presence against the Wildcats, they should take this contest this afternoon. If not, we could see the five-guard, under 6-foot contingent that rallied the Cards to the drubbing over Marist. In any event, it should be a good one and let's hope UofL is up to the challenge.
--sonja--
