Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Drake Bulldogs (2024)

Louisville Cardinals (23-11, 12-6 ACC) vs. Drake Bulldogs (22-9, 14-6 ACC)

- Tipoff: Saturday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m. EST
- Location: Moody Center in Austin, Tex.
- How To Watch: ESPN2
- How To Listen: 93.9 FM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville: -5.5
- All-Time Series: First Meeting
- Last Meeting: N/A

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• G Chrislyn Carr (5-5, Gr.)
• G Hailey Van Lith (5-7, Jr.)
• G Mykasa Robinson (5-7, Gr.)
• F Nyla Harris (6-2, Fr.)
• F Olivia Cochran (6-3, Fr.)

Drake

• G Katie Dinnebier (5-8, So.)
• G Sarah Beth Guelder (5-9, Sr.)
• F Grace Berg (6-0, R-Sr.)
• F Maggie Bair (6-3, Sr.)
• F Anna Miller (6-3, So.)

Comparison

Game Notes

Louisville

• At 23-11 this season, Louisville is a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history. The other time Louisville was the No. 5 seed was the 2013 tournament when the Cardinals knocked off No. 1 seed Baylor in the Sweet Sixteen and No. 2 seed Tennessee in the Elite Eight en route to the program’s second Final Four at the time. The Cardinals advanced to the championship game after defeating No. 2 California in the national semifinals.
• Louisville is making its 25th NCAA Tournament appearance and 14th in 15 tournaments under head coach Jeff Walz. The Cardinals are playing in their 12th-straight NCAA Tournament. Louisville is 41-24 all-time. They were 4-11 in their first 11 appearances and are 37-13 in their 13 appearances with Walz. They have moved on to the Sweet 16 11 times, the Elite Eight seven times, Final Four four times (2009, 2013, 2018, 2022) and twice advanced to the title game.
• Eight ACC teams (Virginia Tech, Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State and Notre Dame) were selected to compete in the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, the most of any conference. It marks the fifth-consecutive NCAA Tournament that the ACC has had eight teams selected, leading all conferences or tied for the conference lead each year. In the last six NCAA Tournaments, ACC teams have earned 47 selections to compete in the field, also the most of any conference. It is the ninth-straight year the ACC has had at least one No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Cardinals inserted some new starters ahead of the Jan. 29 matchup against Syracuse and they are 8-3 since that game. Hailey Van Lith has led the team with 17.8 points per game and has averaged 4.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 steals in the last 11 games. Van Lith has scored 15 or more points in 10 of her last 11 games. Chrislyn Carr is second on the team with 12.4 points per game over the previous 11 games. She scored the second-most points by a Cardinal player in the ACC Tournament in school history with 27 against No. 3 seed Virginia Tech. Mykasa Robinson has led the team in a several categories since she has been in the starting lineup. She is first on the squad with 6.6 assists, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game while she has scored 7.5 points per game. Robinson leads the ACC with a 2.31 assist/turnover ratio this season. Nyla Harris has also done well in the starting five as she has set career-highs in points against Syracuse (18) and rebounds against North Carolina (12). Liz Dixon has tallied two doubles-doubles off of the bench in the wins over Boston College and Miami. Merissah Russell scored a career-high 13 points in the win over Boston College and had 12 points at home against #10 Notre Dame.
• The Cardinals put together one of the best defensive performances in ACC Tournament history in the semifinal win over No. 1 seed Notre Dame. Louisville limited the Irish to 38 points in the game and held them to just 15 points in the first half. It was the fewest points allowed in a semifinal game for about two hours until Virginia Tech limited Duke to 37 points in the second semifinal game of the day. It was the fewest points scored by a No. 1 seed in ACC Tournament history. The 38 points were the fewest scored in a game for the Irish since January 24, 2004, when they scored 38 against Villanova.
• Louisville is 13-0 all-time in first round games under Coach Walz. They have been the higher seed in all 13 games. UofL’s scoring margin in first round games under Walz is +26.5. The Cardinals are 17-7 all-time in the first round and were 4-7 prior to Walz’s arrival.
• Mykasa Robinson has played a team-high 13 NCAA Tournament games and is the only player entering her fourth NCAA Tournament at Louisville. This will also be the fourth overall NCAA Tournament for Morgan Jones, as she made the tournament three times while at Florida State. For Josie Williams, this will be her second appearance in the NCAA Tournament after appearing with Utah Valley in 2021.
• For the first time since the 2015 NCAA Tournament, the Cardinals will be on the road for the first and second rounds. The Cardinals have had a lot of success away from home in the first two rounds under head coach Jeff Walz. Louisville is 12-2 under Walz on the road in the first two rounds of the tournament.
• Louisville has been playing stingy defense over the past 11 games. In the last 11 games, the Cardinals are limiting opponents to 60.0 points per game, a mark that would rank fifth in the ACC for the season. In those 11 games, they have held opponents to 60 points or less six times and are 6-0 in those games.
• Louisville guard Hailey Van Lith is having one of the best seasons by a player in the Power Five conferences this season. She is one of two players (Caitlin Clark) to average at least 19 points, four rebounds and three assists per game this season. This past week, Van Lith was named an Honorable Mention All-American by the AP and USBWA and she is also a Second Team Academic All-American by the College Sports Communicators.

Drake

• Drake was the No. 4 seed in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and defeated No. 1 seed Illinois State and No. 2 seed Belmont to win its eighth tournament championship in program history.
• Drake is in the Top-10 nationally in a number of categories this season. The Bulldogs lead the country in defensive rebounds per game (32.1) and rank third nationally in assists per game (20.8), fifth in blocks per game (5.8), fifth in field goal percentage (.480) and fifth in rebounding margin (+10.5).
• The Bulldogs are led by Katie Dinnebier, who is 15th nationally in assists per game (5.7) and 19th in assist/turnover ratio (2.34). Maggie Bair is 11th in the nation with a .603 field goal percentage.
• This will be the 14th all-time appearance for Drake in the NCAA Tournament and their first since the 2019. They have made one Elite Eight (1982), two Sweet 16’s (1982, 2002) and advanced to the second round four times in their program history.
• This will be the fourth time they have faced an ACC opponent in the NCAA Tournament. They defeated Syracuse in the first round in 2002, dropped their first-round game against Clemson in 2000 and fell to then-ACC school Maryland in the Elite Eight in 1982.
• This is the second time the Bulldogs have played in Austin in the NCAA Tournament as they dropped their first-round game to Texas in the 1984 NCAA Tournament.

(Photo of Mykasa Robinson:William Howard - USA TODAY Sports)

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