NCAA Women's Tournament Bracket: Louisville Cardinals preview

Who? The Cardinals of Louisville.

When do they play? The Cardinals will play BYU on Saturday, March 21 at about 4 p.m. ET.

What? The cardinal is the state bird, so Louisville called dibs on it. Some documentation calls him Louie, but I'm not sure if that's accurate or not.

Where? Louisville, Kentucky, which does not have an Atlantic coast.

Why? The loss at Virginia may have disrupted their seed line, but they deserve to be in, no doubt.

How? They were an at-large selection.

Surprise? Predicted to finish third in the conference, they did indeed finish third, three games back of Notre Dame.

RPI: 7

SOS: 14

Record: 25-7 (11-5 ACC)

Good wins: I'm going at California over Iowa, because road wins are tougher than home wins.

Bad losses: At Virginia.

Who's running this show? Jeff Walz, since 2007, a Norseman by alma mater.

Extra, Extra! The Courier-Journal. But some of the best Louisville women's sports coverage you'll find comes from the merry band of miscreants at Cardinal Couple. They're on top of all things women's sports there, and even the scurrilous rumors that men play sports too. Our co-conspirators at Card Chronicle may also be on the case.

Freshman forward Mariya Moore has burst onto the scene with style, leading the Cards at 13.8 points per game. Classmate Myisha Hines-Allen has also impressed at 11.5 points (in 20 minutes an outing, with minute distributions I find interesting- when she starts, she doesn't seem to play a lot). Senior Sara Hammond is physical down low, the team's leading rebounder at 6.5 per game, adding 10.8.

The statistical dynamic between the two freshmen and the upperclassmen is fascinating. I think a lot of people expected Bria Smith to have better numbers.