Model of consistency: Louisville women's basketball earns third No. 1 seed in past four years
The Louisville women's basketball team is back in the NCAA Tournament.
That was never a doubt for a Louisville team ranked fourth nationally in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll, but now we know the Cardinals will be the top seed in the Wichita region. Louisville (25-4, 16-2) received one of four No. 1 seeds and will open the NCAA Tournament against Albany on Friday ( the time has yet to be announced).
If Louisville wins it will face the winner of No. 8 Nebraska and No. 9 Gonzaga on Sunday.
With the release of the women's bracket, Louisville becomes the only team in the country to be a No. 1 seed in three of the last four NCAA Tournaments. Last season was the only exception, when Louisville was a No. 2 seed.
Tennessee is the No. 4 seed in the region, along with Oregon as the No. 5 seed. If Louisville advances out of the first weekend, it could meet Baylor, the No. 2 seed, in the Elite Eight. Michigan earned the No. 3 seed in the region, as well.
The Cardinals team put together another stellar season. For the fourth straight year under coach Jeff Walz, Louisville enters the NCAA Tournament with four losses or fewer and one of the best teams in the country.
The Cardinals are led by a stout defense, giving up just 55 points per game, which is ranked No. 18 in the country.
Their résumé, as well, speaks for itself, too. Louisville has wins over numerous NCAA Tournament teams including Connecticut, Michigan, Kentucky, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame (twice), Miami and Georgia Tech.
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Louisville's four losses came to NCAA Tournament teams, as well: a road loss at No. 1-seed NC State, a road loss to No. 5 seed North Carolina, and two neutral site losses to No 4 seed Arizona and No. 8 seed Miami. Those losses were by a combined 14 points, with the Arizona loss coming in overtime and North Carolina and Miami coming down to the final shot in regulation.
Still, the last memory for Louisville is the loss to Miami in the ACC Tournament, which came after blowing a 15-point fourth-quarter lead. Regardless of that loss, Louisville remains an extremely dangerous team in the tournament.
While the defense is the key for Louisville, its offense has improved as the season went on.
Hailey Van Lith has been one of the best scorers in the ACC during the conference schedule, averaging 15.4 points in the last eight games, before struggling in the ACC Tournament. Kianna Smith is one of the most efficient scorers in the conference, averaging 11.8 points and shooting 43% and leads the team in assists. Then there's Emily Engstler, who was an All-ACC First Team and conference All-Defensive Team performer this year, averaging 11.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and shooting 47% from the field.
Those are Louisville's main three, but the Cardinals depth has been the reason they've succeed so much this year. Louisville has 10 players averaging double figures in minutes and is a team that can go nine deep at any point in the game. That should benefit the Cardinals in the tournament.
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Now that it's NCAA Tournament time, Louisville's season could end at any moment. The Cardinals' have been great in the NCAA Tournament, recently, though.
Louisville has made three straight Elite Eight appearances and made the Final Four in 2018. Under Walz, Louisville has failed to make at least the Sweet 16 just one time in the last eight NCAA Tournaments. If Louisville makes the Sweet 16 this season, it will be the first time in program history Louisville went undefeated at home for the entire season.
To continue those streaks, and set a new feat, Louisville will have to beat Albany on Friday and then be locked in for the winner of Nebraska and Gonzaga a few days later.
Cameron Teague Robinson CTeagueRob@gannett.com; Twitter: @cj_teague.