March Madness has host Louisville treating NCAA opening weekend like a road trip

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Louisville Cardinals start their March Madness run at home for the first time since 2022, and that's why coach Jeff Walz is treating the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament as a road trip.

The KFC Yum! Center has not been the friendliest of confines for Louisville especially this season where the Cardinals (27-7) lost five times this season. All five teams that beat Louisville made the NCAA Tournament, and four of the losses were by three points or fewer.

Now the No. 3 seeded Cardinals play 14th-seeded Vermont on Saturday, and that's why Walz has Louisville staying in a hotel like the ACC Tournament despite being a host in the Forth Worth Region 3.

“It’s more so just making sure we can keep them focused,” he said Friday.

Much has been made about the Cardinals' inability to close out games. Louisville led Duke by four in the final minute of the ACC Tournament championship only to lose in overtime. Walz said they had chances to win in the final minute and that he also botched a play at the end of the first quarter that led to a Duke 3-pointer.

“We just need to control what we can control,” sophomore guard Imari Berry said. “When it comes down to the wire, we just be focused and execute what Coach Walz has drawn up on the board.”

The Catamounts (27-7) are no strangers to playing power teams on the road. The two-time American East tournament champions played at Washington in the regular season and played at North Carolina State in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament.

Seniors Keira Hanson and Nikola Priede also played a first-round game at UConn as freshmen.

“Seeing it on TV is much different than actually feeling it,” Hanson said. “Playing at N.C. (State) last year was also a super valuable experience. I thought I was going to throw up before the game, but then obviously the nerves settle. It’s all the same game.”

Clash of styles

No. 6 seed Alabama plays 11th-seeded Rhode Island in the other game in Louisville, and this is the fourth consecutive NCAA trip and fifth in six years for the Crimson Tide.

The Crimson Tide (23-10) last reached the Sweet 16 in 1998 and face the Rams (28-4) in their first trip to the tournament in 30 years. Rhode Island does have some big-game experience beating N.C. State in Raleigh in November.

Keeping Alabama off the 3-point line will be key. The Crimson Tide shot 36% from beyond the arc in the regular season, 18th-best in Division I.

“They’ve got a lot of 3-point shooters,” said Rhode Island coach Tammi Reiss, whose Atlantic 10 championship team holds opponents to 28.9% shooting from the arc. “A lot. Defend the three, run them off the 3-point line, make them take tough, contested twos.”

The Rams play some stingy defense. They rank sixth nationally giving up just 53.8 points a game.

Alabama coach Kristy Curry said Rhode Island does a good job of dictating tempo.

“They’re just so well-coached, and they’re very disciplined,” Curry said. “They don’t beat themselves. They don’t turn the ball over. So, it will be a great test for us.”

Jones no longer with Louisville

Guard Skylar Jones is no longer with the Cardinals. The 6-foot junior transferred from Arizona last year and played in all 34 games for Louisville this season. She ranked fifth with 8.4 points per game.

"We’ve just parted ways,” Walz said. “It’s best for both parties.”

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