Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. South Carolina Gamecocks

The Cardinals and Gamecocks are squaring off on the biggest stage in college basketball - the Final Four.

No. 1 Louisville Cardinals (29-4, 16-2 ACC) vs No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks (25-6, 13-4 B1G)

- Tipoff: Friday, Apr. 1 at 7:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
- How To Watch: ESPN
- How To Listen: WKRD 790-AM
- Betting Favorite: South Carolina -8.5
- All-Time Series: South Carolina leads 17-4
- Last Meeting: South Carolina won 83-59 on Nov. 27, 2016 (Basketball Hall of Fame women's challenge)

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.)

South Carolina

• G Destanni Henderson (5-7, Sr.)
• G Zia Cooke (5-9, Jr.)
• G Brea Beal (6-1, Jr.)
• F Victaria Saxton (6-2, Sr.)
• F Aliyah Boston (6-5, Jr.)

Comparison

	Louisville	South Carolina
NET	5th	1st
SOS	27th	2nd
Points Per Game	72.2	71.1
Opp. Points Per Game	55.2	50.5
Scoring Margin	+17.0	+20.6
FG Percentage	45.6%	42.6%
Opp. FG Percentage	36.6%	32.7%
3PT Percentage	35.9%	30.8%
Opp. 3PT Percentage	28.3%	26.9%
FT Percentage	71.7%	67.6%
Rebounds Per Game	38.2	48.2
Rebound Margin	+5.0	+17.9
Assists Per Game	15.5	13.9
Turnovers Per Game	13.8	14.4
Turnover Margin	+5.5	-0.9
Assist/Turnover Ratio	1.1	1.0
Steals Per Game	10.1	6.3
Blocks Per Game	4.5	7.6

Game Notes

Louisville

• UofL advanced to its fourth Final Four with a 62-50 win over Michigan. In head coach Jeff Walz's 15-year tenure, every four-year player has played in a Final Four. With four Final Fours since 2009, Louisville is tied for the fourth most in the country. Walz is one of 11 coaches to reach four Final Fours.
• Hailey Van Lith was named Wichita Region MOP after putting up 20 points in all four NCAA Tournament games. She is the first ever UofL player to score 20 points in four straight tournament games and she ties Angel McCoughtry for the most total 20-point games in a single Tournament by a Louisville player. She is just the 5th player in the last 15 tournaments with four straight 20-point games entering the Final Four - 2019 Arike Ogunbowale (Notre Dame), 2016 Kelsey Plum (Washington), 2016 Alexis Peterson (Syracuse), 2014 Chiney Ogwumike (Stanford). The last UofL player to have 20-plus points in five straight games overall was Dana Evans, who did it twice last year. Van Lith has eight 20-point games this season, six of which have come in the last eight games. She has 11 career 20-point games and UofL is 11-0 in those games. She is averaging 21.5 points per game in the NCAA Tournament.
• Emily Engstler was named to the All-Region team after averaging 13.5 points, 11.0 rebounds, 4.8 steals, 2.5 assists and 2.0 blocks in the first four games. She had a season-high 16 rebounds against Michigan, which marked the most rebounds by a UofL player since Myisha Hines-Allen had 16 against Pitt on Feb. 25, 2018. It’s the second most rebounds ever by a UofL player in the NCAA Tournament. Candyce Bingham had 20 against North Carolina in 2008. She also added six steals and four assists. She has 19 steals in four NCAA Tournament games, which is the most ever by a Louisville player in the NCAA Tournament. She has recorded at least five steals in three of four games. She leads the ACC and ranks 20th in NCAA with 2.7 steals per game, ranks third in ACC with 9.4 rebounds per game and ranks fifth with 1.8 blocks per game. She has led UofL in rebounds in 30 of 33 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 tied a career-high and are tied for the third most ever by a UofL player in the NCAA Tournament.
• Chelsie Hall averaged 9.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists, while shooting 52 percent from the floor and 5-11 from deep in the first four NCAA Tournament games. In the win over Michigan, she tied a season-high 15 points, she also had 15 vs. Kentucky, 13 of which came from the first half. She shot 3-4 from beyond the arc, while recording four steals. She had nine points in the win over Tennessee, all of which came in the third quarter. She added four assists.
• Leading 52-50 with 2:52 remaining against Michigan in Elite 8, Cochran scored six straight points to build lead to 58-50 with 33 seconds left, finished with nine points on 4-7 shooting and four rebounds in 20 minutes. She is averaging 8.3 points on 14-21 (.667) 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.
• Kianna Smith ranks second 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 37.1 3-point field goal percentage and ranks eighth with 1.9 made 3-pointers per game.
• 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 1.3 steals per game in 20.3 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 with 54 steals and 21.0 turnovers forced per game. They rank second with a +11.8 turnover margin, seventh with a 16.2 scoring margin, eighth allowing a 22.5 3-point percentage and ninth with a 1.39 assist-to-turnover ratio and allowing just 56.0 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. They have forced 84 turnovers, while committing just 37, a +11.8 turnover margin.

South Carolina

• South Carolina is playing in its fourth Final Four in the last seven NCAA Tournaments, the second-most appearances of any program in that stretch. The Gamecocks advanced to the title game once, winning the National Championship in 2017.
• Tonight's game is the Gamecocks' sixth against a top10 opponent this season – its fourth against a top-five foe. South Carolina leads the nation with 12 wins over ranked opponents this season.
• South Carolina’s 2022 NCAA Tournament story has been the story of their entire season – primarily a defensive plot line with a subplot of impressive rebounding.
• The Gamecocks have held their four opponents to just 41.2 points per game with #17/18 North Carolina (3/25) scoring the most of the group at 61 points.
• South Carolina has a +23.5 advantage on the glass through four games and has out-rebounded all four teams by at least 15.
• The Gamecocks’ 79-21 win over Howard in the opening round set NCAA Tournament first/second-round records for fewest points allowed in a first half (4), in a game (21) and tied the record for field goals allowed in a game (8). South Carolina also tied the record for rebounds in a game. (69) and was second in rebounding margin (+41).
• In defeating Miami (FL) 49-33 in the second round, the Gamecock defense set a record for fewest points allowed in the opening two rounds combined. Their 54 points allowed bested the previous record of 71.
• Aliyah Boston was named MVP of the Greensboro Regional, and Destanni Henderson was an All-Tournament selection.
• South Carolina's rebounding effort has been at a high level all season with the Gamecocks' 1,686 total rebounds the program's most since 1977-78. Leading the nation in rebounding margin (+17.9), South Carolina grabs an SEC-best 45.9 percent of its own missed shots, turning 17.2 offensive rebounds per game into 16.4 points per game.
• South Carolina’s defense has been deceptively smothering throughout the season, leading the nation in field goal percentage defense (.327) and third in scoring defense (50.5). Yes, the Gamecocks lead the nation in blocked shots (7.6 per game), but they are barely in the top 300 in steals per game and, for the season, have a -0.9 turnover margin.
• The Gamecocks' already stalwart defense – third in the nation yielding 50.5 points per game – has been even more vise-like in the NCAA Tournament, during which opponents have averaged just. 41.2 points.
• National Player of the Year Aliyah Boston captured that title via consistent dominance in the form of an NCAA-best 28 double-doubles, but she is punctuating it with an outstanding NCAA Tournament. Her 16.8 points and 14.3 rebounds per game lead the team, and she's tied for the team lead with eight assists. 
• Senior forward Victaria Saxton has elevated her glass work in the NCAA Tournament, twice resetting her game career high boards. Her 11.5 rebounds per NCAA Tournament game are second on the team.
• Junior Brea Beal's versatility has been on full display in this NCAA Tournament. Against Howard, she was solid on the glass with six rebounds, including five offensive. Against North Carolina, she led the team with four assists. Against Creighton, she hit 5-of-9 field goals for 12 points to tie for second on the team.

(Photo of Emily Engstler: William Purnell - USA TODAY Sports)

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