Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Michigan Wolverines

The Cardinals and Wolverines are fighting for a trip to the Final Four in Minneapolis.

No. 1 Louisville Cardinals (28-4, 16-2 ACC) vs No. 3 Michigan Wolverines (25-6, 13-4 B1G)

- Tipoff: Monday, Mar. 28 at 9:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan.
- How To Watch: ESPN
- How To Listen: WKRD 790-AM
- Betting Favorite: Louisville -4.5
- All-Time Series: Louisville lead 5-1
- Last Meeting: Louisville won 70-48 on Dec. 2, 2021 (KFC Yum! Center - Louisville, Ky.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• G Hailey Van Lith (5-7, So.)
• G Chelsie Hall (5-7, Gr.)
• G Kianna Smith (6-0, R-Sr.)
• F Emily Engstler (6-1, Sr.)
• F Olivia Cochran (6-3, So.)

Michigan

• G Danielle Rauch (5-8, Sr.)
• G Maddie Nolan (5-11, Jr.)
• G Laila Phelia (6-0, Fr.)
• F Naz Hillmon (6-2, Sr.)
• F Emily Kiser (6-3, Sr.)

Comparison

	Louisville	Michigan
NET	5th	17th
SOS	33rd	13th
Points Per Game	72.5	72.2
Opp, Points Per Game	55.3	60.4
Scoring Margin	+17.2	+11.8
FG Percentage	45.7%	45.2%
Opp. FG Percentage	36.7%	38.6%
3PT Percentage	36.1%	30.8%
Opp. 3PT Percentage	28.5%	30.5%
FT Percentage	71.6%	74.8%
Rebounds Per Game	38.4	40.5
Rebound Margin	+5.4	+10.4
Assists Per Game	15.7	14.0
Turnovers Per Game	13.9	15.7
Turnover Margin	+5.4	+0.1
Assist/Turnover Ratio	1.1	0.9
Steals Per Game	9.9	7.0
Blocks Per Game	4.5	2.6

Game Notes

Louisville

• Louisville is in the Elite Eight for the fourth straight tournament, joining UConn as the only two programs to accomplish that feat. This is their sixth Elite 8 since 2013, which is tied for the second most appearances during that span. This is their seventh overall appearance in the Elite 8, all under head coach Jeff Walz, and they are 3-3 all-time. UofL is 1-2 as higher seed in Elite 8 games and 2-1 as lower seed.
• Engstler has double doubles in back-to-back games with 20 points and 10 rebounds against Tennessee and 12 points and 11 rebounds vs. Gonzaga. Her double-double with 20 points against Tennessee marked first time she has done that since she had 21 points and 10 rebounds while at Syracuse against Louisville in the ACC Tournament last year. Her 12 double-doubles are the most by a UofL player since Myisha Hines-Allen had 16 in 2017-18. She leads the ACC and ranks 27th in NCAA with 2.6 steals per game, ranks third in ACC with 9.2 rebounds per game and ranks fifth with 1.8 blocks per game. She has led UofL in rebounds in 29 of 32 games. She had seven steals and two blocks against UAlbany and is first player since UConn’s Breanna Stewart to have seven steals and multiple blocks in the NCAA Tournament. Her seven steals are tied for the third most ever by a UofL player in the NCAA Tournament. Stephanie Edwards had 10 steals against Georgia in 1984 and Jude Schimmel had eight against Purdue in 2013. The seven steals also tie Engstler's career high, she had seven earlier this season against Pitt.
• Hailey Van Lith has put up 20 points in all three NCAA Tournament games, with 20 against UAlbany, 21 against Gonzaga and 23 against Tennessee. She is first UofL player to have three straight 20-plus point games in NCAA Tournament since Asia Durr had 27, 23 and 21 against Chattanooga, Tennessee and Baylor in 2017. She has seven 20-point games this season and 10 for her career. She leads the team in scoring with 14.3 points per game, which is the highest her scoring average has been since she averaged 15.0 points after the first two games. She has led the team in scoring 14 times.
• Kianna Smith ranks third on the team with 11.9 points per game and nine times this season has led the team in scoring. She ranks third in the ACC with a 37.4 3-point field goal percentage and ranks eighth with 1.9 made 3-pointers per game.
• Olivia Cochran is averaging 8.0 points on 10-14 (.714) shooting, while pulling down 4.0 rebounds per game in NCAA Tourney play. She had 11 points, on 5-8 shooting, while adding five rebounds and three assists in the win over Gonzaga. She had 10 points and four boards vs. UAlbany.
• From 1/23 to 2/6, Liz Dixon had a 6-game stretch where she averaged 9.2 points and was 24-28 (.857) from the field. In wins at Clemson and Syracuse, she scored a combined 30 points and was 14-14 from the floor. She scored a season-high 18 points on 8-8 shooting, while pulling down seven rebounds, in the win at Syracuse. At Clemson, she scored 12 points on 6-6 shooting.
• Mykasa Robinson was named ACC All-Defensive Team for the second straight season. She is joined by Georgia Tech’s Lorela Cubaj as the only two players to make the All-Defensive Team the past two seasons. She averages 1.4 steals per game in 20.4 minutes per game. She has drawn 12 charges on the season, eight of which came in ACC play. She has 114 deflections on the season. Last season, she drew 19 charges in 16 ACC games.
• Louisville leads the NCAA Tournament through three games with 39 steals and 20.7 turnovers forced per game. They rank second with a +12.3 turnover margin and third committing just 8.3 turnovers per game. They rank fifth with a 1.64 assist-to-turnover ratio, sixth with a +17.7 scoring margin and ninth with 75.7 points per game.
• UofL committed just seven turnovers against Tennessee, their fourth fewest ever in an NCAA Tournament game. They had just eight against Gonzaga, their sixth fewest

Michigan

• Michigan advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history, getting a 52-49 win over South Dakota in the Sweet 16 to advance. U-M has held all three NCAA Tournament opponents under 50 points.
• Michigan is making its 10th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and the fifth under J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family head women's basketball coach Kim Barnes Arico. The Wolverines have won eight NCAA games under KBA, highlighted by the first Elite Eight appearance in program history and a run to last year's Sweet 16. Barnes Arico is the first coach in program history to earn five NCAA Tournament berths in Ann Arbor.
• Michigan has a pair of double-figure scorers in Naz Hillmon (21.31ppg, 9.6 rpg) and Leigha Brown (14.5 ppg), with three others averaging at least 8.8 points per game in Emily Kiser (9.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg), Maddie Nolan (8.9 ppg) and Laila Phelia (8.8 ppg).
• Naz Hillmon became the first player in program history to earn Associated Press All-America firstteam honors. She was a second-team selection last season. She became the first player - man or woman - in Michigan basketball history with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. She is second in program history with 2,165 points and first with 1,052 boards. Hillmon also has been named a first-team All-American by the Athletic and Sports Illustrated this season. She has recorded a double-double in all three NCAA Tournament games.
• Michigan took home plenty of honors from the Big Ten, with J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family head women's basketball coach Kim Barnes Arico earning her second Coach of the Year to highlight the awards. Naz Hillmon (first team, all-defense), Leigha Brown (second team), Laila Phelia (all-freshman), Maddie Nolan (honorable mention) and Emily Kiser (honorable mention) were each recognized.
• Leigha Brown made her return to the lineup at No. 21 Iowa (Feb. 27) after missing five games due to an injury. She has played in the last five games, highlighted by a 20-point performance against Villanova (March 21). She had 11 points and six assists, with a +25 plus/minus in just 12 minutes against American (March 19) and went for 10 points, three boards and two assists against South Dakota (March 26). On the season, LB is averaging 14.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. She has 20 double-figure scoring games on the season, highlighted by a quartet of 20-point performances.
• Senior Danielle Rauch has picked up where she left in last season's NCAA Tournament. Rauch has started all 31 games at point guard and is averaging 5.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 32.6 minutes per game. Rauch, who never reached double figures in scoring until this season, has scored at least 10 points in seven games after scoring 13 points at Northwestern (Feb. 10). She set new career highs in rebounds (8, twice) and assists (7) against No. 21 Iowa (Feb. 6). She was Michigan's Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree.
• Junior Maddie Nolan leads the Wolverines in three-point shooting this season, hitting 65 triples at a 40.1 percent clip on the season. She has made at least one triple in 25 games and has 21 games with at least two three-pointers after hitting two against Villanova (March 21). She is one of three Wolverines to appear in all 31 games, averaging 8.9 points and 4.2 rebounds in 29.0 minutes per game.
• Senior Emily Kiser has found herself in the starting lineup as a senior and she is taking advantage of the opportunity. She has four double-doubles on the season after going for 12 points and 12 rebounds, along with seven assists, against Purdue (Jan. 24). Kiser is third on the team in scoring at 9.4 points per game and second in rebounding at 8.1 boards per contest. Her 290 points scored this season is more than in any other season, topping the 88 points scored during her sophomore season. Kiser, one of two Wolverines to start all 31 games, is also averaging a career-high 31.2 minutes per game. She is one of the most improved scorers in the Big Ten, increasing her scoring average from 2.4 points per game last season to her 9.4 points per game this season - an increase of 7.0 points per contest.

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