Louisville Receives No. 5 Seed for NCAA Tournament, Will Open Play vs. Drake
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The bracket for the 2023 NCAA Tournament has finally been revealed, and with it, the Louisville women's basketball program now knows their draw for the Big Dance.
The Cardinals (23-11) received a No. 5 seed for the tournament, and will open play against Drake on Saturday, Mar. 18. The Bulldogs (22-9) clinched a No. 12 seed by winning the Missouri Valley Championship. Tip-off time will be determined later this evening.
Since Louisville did not receive a top-four seed, they will be not be hosting the first two rounds of the tournament, and are instead heading to the Moody Center in Austin, Tex. for the first weekend. Fourth-seeded Texas, who is matched up against 13th-seeded East Carolina, is hosting the pod.
The Cardinals were placed in the Seattle 4 Region, where Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games will be played at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington. Stanford, Iowa, Duke and the Longhorns claimed the top four seeds in the region, with the remaining No. 1 seeds being awarded to No. 1 overall South Carolina, Indiana and Virginia Tech.
Louisville had a bit of a down season by their typically lofty standards. They entered the year as the preseason favorite to win the ACC and ranked as the No. 7 team in the nation, but struggled at times during the regular season, posting double-digit losses for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
That being said, head coach Jeff Walz has Louisville currently playing some of their best basketball of the year. The Cardinals won eight of their last 11 games to clinch their 13th consecutive 20-win season, including making an appearance in the ACC Championship game before falling to Virginia Tech.
As per the usual with the program, a couple Louisville players received league and national honors following the regular season's end. Guard Hailey Van Lith was selected as a First Team All-ACC Selection, while guard Mykasa Robinson was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team. Van Lith was also one of 15 players to be named to John. R. Wooden Award National Ballot.
The 2023 NCAA Tournament is scheduled to begin with the First Four on Wednesday, Mar. 15 and Thursday, Mar. 16.
(Photo of Hailey Van Lith: Matt Cashore - USA TODAY Sports)
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