Louisville Receives No. 6 Seed for NCAA Tournament, Will Open Play vs. Middle Tennessee
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The bracket for the 2024 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 (24-9) received a No. 6 seed for the tournament, and will open play against Middle Tennessee. Tip-off date and time against the Blue Raiders (29-4), who clinched a No. 11 seed by winning the Conference USA Championship, 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 Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La. for the first weekend. Third-seeded and defending national champion LSU, who is matched up against 14th-seeded Rice, is hosting the pod.
The Cardinals were placed in the Albany 2 Region, where Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight games will be played at MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y. Iowa, UCLA, LSU and Kansas State claimed the top four seeds in the region, with the remaining No. 1 seeds being awarded to South Carolina, USC and Texas.
By their typically lofty standards, Louisville had a bit of a down season. They entered the year as the No. 17 team in the nation, but struggled at times during the regular season. This was especially the case down the stretch, with Cardinals entering the NCAA Tournament having dropped six of their last 11.
That being said, Louisville was able to clinch their 14th consecutive 20-win season, and 16th overall in 17 seasons under head coach Jeff Walz. As per the usual with the program, a couple Louisville players received league honors following the regular season's end, with guard Kiki Jefferson and forward Olivia Cochran both being named Second-Team All-ACC.
The 2023 NCAA Tournament is scheduled to begin with the First Four on Wednesday, Mar. 20 and Thursday, Mar. 21.
(Photo of Sydney Taylor: Matt Cashore - USA TODAY Sports)
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