The Frogs will take on the seven seeded Cardinals with a trip to the Sweet Sixteen on the line.
After their first NCAA Tournament win in 19 years, TCU Women’s Basketball will face number seven-seeded Louisville on Sunday at 5:00 pm in Schollmaier Arena with a chance to advance to the first Sweet Sixteen in program history. The Cardinals went 21-10 during the regular season and 13-5 in conference play, good for fourth in the ACC.
Team Overview
Louisville took down number ten-seeded Nebraska in round 1 by a score of 63-58, thanks in part to an impressive performance on the offensive glass. The Cardinals collected 18 offensive rebounds against Nebraska, making a big difference in a very close game. Louisville also created extra possessions via turnover margin as they picked up 10 steals on their way to forcing 24 Nebraska turnovers while only turning the ball over 13 times as a team. Those extra possessions helped Louisville overcome an off-shooting night as they shot only 37.3% from the field, 21.1% from three, and 60% from the free-throw line. Frog fans should not expect those shooting struggles to continue as Louisville is averaging a solid 71.9 points per game this season which ranks 73rd in the nation. The Cardinals are a decent shooting team with splits of 43.1% from the field, 32% from three, and 71.3% from the line this season. Louisville has consistently been a force on the offensive glass, averaging 14.3 offensive rebounds per game which ranks 27th in the country.
Louisville’s strength is not on the defensive end as opponents average 67 points per game against the Cardinals this season which ranks 235th in the nation. Both UConn and Notre Dame scored over 80 points in games against Louisville this season and both teams did so without shooting abnormally well from three. Louisville is prone to giving up points in the paint with Notre Dame scoring 46 points in the paint and UConn scoring 38 points in the paint in games against the Cardinals.
Key Players
The Cardinals are led in scoring by Jayda Curry who averages 13.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game. Curry is a very dangerous shooter as she averages 5.7 three-point attempts per game and knocks down 35.4% of them. Curry is also shooting an impressive 91.9% from the free throw line this season meaning the Frogs need to avoid unnecessary fouls.
Freshman Tajianna Roberts is right behind Curry in scoring at 13.2 points per game along with 3.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. Roberts does damage from three as well with 5.2 three-point attempts per game but is slightly less efficient than Curry as she knocks down 31.7% of those shots. Roberts led the Cardinals in scoring in their first-round game with 16 points against the Cornhuskers.
Forward Olivia Cochran leads the team in rebounding with averages of 10.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. Cochran is not an outside shooter but is an efficient inside presence, shooting 46.2% from the field this season.
Overall
The Frogs cannot afford to have as slow of a start in this game as they did against Fairleigh Dickinson. I think the nerves of playing in the program’s first March Madness game in 15 years have worn off and TCU will start fast like they have done all season. I expect this game to be high-scoring with two very good offenses facing off, but I expect TCU’s rim protection and rebounding to be the difference for the Frogs.
Final Prediction: TCU 76, Louisville 70