Louisville women’s basketball team, ranked No. 5, is preparing to face off against the Texas Longhorns, ranked No. 4, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday. The Cardinals are coming off a thrilling win over Drake, the No. 12 seed, in the first round of the tournament.
The game was closely contested, with neither team having a lead larger than seven points. It featured 14 ties and 12 lead changes. Hailey Van Lith led all scorers with 26 points, scoring 19 of those points in the second half. She also scored nine of the last 11 points to close out the game for the Cardinals. Mykasa Robinson also had a strong game with a career-high 14 points, seven assists, five rebounds, and three steals.
Louisville has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 17th time in program history, with the team boasting an 11-2 record in the second round under coach Jeff Walz. The team has a 11-6 all-time record in the second round and a 4-2 all-time record against No. 4 seeds. The team has won four out of five games against No. 4 seeds under Walz.
The game is set to take place on March 20, with a 7 p.m. ET tip off. The match will be held at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, with a seating capacity of 10,000. The game will be televised on ESPN.
Texas has a 26-9 record and a 14-4 record in Big 12 play. The Longhorns won a share of the Big 12 regular season title and advanced to the Big 12 championship game before falling to Iowa State. They have a strong home record, with a 15-2 record at the Moody Center this season. The Longhorns have a reputation for being one of the best shot-blocking teams in the nation, ranking third nationally with 6.0 blocks per game.
They also attack the offensive glass, ranking 13th in the nation with 15.3 offensive rebounds per game. Rori Harmon, a key player for the Longhorns, missed the earlier matchup this season between the two teams in the Bahamas. However, she is fourth nationally with 7.5 assists per game and 16th nationally with a 2.39 assist to turnover ratio.
This is the 35th appearance for the Longhorns in the NCAA Tournament, with the team making it to the second round 26 times. The team has made three Final Fours all-time and was the 1985-86 National Champions. The Longhorns have won their second-round games in each of the last two tournaments.
Louisville and Texas have faced each other only three times in program history, with the Cardinals winning two out of the three matchups. The two teams last met on November 20, 2022, with Louisville winning 71-63 in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
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