WBB: Cardinals Open NCAA Tournament With Nebraska; 6:00 Friday Night

Mark BlankenbakerMarch 21, 2025

The No. 7 seed Louisville Cardinals (21-10) are set to begin the 2025 NCAA Tournament down in Fort Worth, Texas on Friday against No. 10 seed Nebraska (21-11). This is the 14-straight NCAA tournament the Cardinals have been selected for and the 16th tournament they have been in during head coach Jeff Walz’s 17 seasons where a tournament has been held. The Cardinals and Huskers will play the second game from on Friday and are set to begin at 6 p.m. ET and will be aired nationally on ESPN.

This is the fourth time in program history that the Cardinals are a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament and the third time under Walz. The first time they were a No. 7 seed was their first ever NCAA appearance in the 1983 tournament. The previous two times occurred in back-to-back years in 2011 and 2012. In 2011, the Cardinals upset No. 2 seed Xavier in Cincinnati to advance to the Sweet 16.

Walz is 14-1 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and the Cardinals are 31-6 as the higher seed under Walz. The Cardinals are 7-3 against current Big 10 teams under Walz but this will be the first time the Cards and Huskers will meet in the NCAA Tournament.

Even though the Cardinals have nine freshmen on the squad, the team still has a wealth of NCAA experience. Olivia Cochran and Merissah Russell are entering their fifth NCAA Tournament and have advanced to three Elite Eight’s and one Final Four. Nyla Harris is in her third NCAA Tournament after advancing to the Elite Eight in 2023. Ja’Leah Williams is in her third NCAA Tournament after two appearances with Miami, including a run to the Elite Eight in 2023. Jayda Curry is in her second-straight tournament after transferring to Louisville last season.

Date: Friday, March 21
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Site: Fort Worth, Texas | Schollmaier Arena (8,500)
TV: ESPN (Brenda VanLengen, play-by-play; Andrea Lloyd, analyst)
Radio: 93.9-FM The Ville (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History: Louisville leads 3-1 (2-0 home, 1-1 neutral)
Last Meeting: W, 85-68 (Nov. 29, 2018 at KFC Yum! Center

ABOUT THE CORNHUSKERS
Nebraska heads into the NCAA Tournament with a 21-11 overall record and were 10-8 in Big 10
play. The Huskers advanced to the quarterfinals of the Big 10 conference tournament before falling to eventual champion UCLA. Nebraska has played three games against common opponents of the Cardinals this season. They dropped both matchups against UCLA and fell on the road against Georgia Tech on Dec. 21. Nebraska is one of the best teams in the Big 10 and nationally from behind the arc this season. They lead the league with 22.2 three point attempts per game and lead the lead with 8.3 three-pointers made per game. The 8.3 threes made per game is 29th in the nation. Nebraska also gets strong production from their bench as they rank second in the Big 10 and 19th nationally with 26.1 bench points per game. The Huskers also average 17.9 assists per game, which ranks 12th nationally. The Huskers are led by Alexis Markowski, who averages 16.5 points per game and 7.9 rebounds per game. She has 12 double-doubles this season, which is sixth in the Big 10 and 39th nationally.

Cornhuskers Tournament History – This will be the 17th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament for Nebraska and the third appearance in the last four years. Nebraska is 9-16 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and have advanced to the Sweet 16 twice in program history, most recently in 2013. In the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Nebraska defeated Texas A&M in the first round before falling to Oregon State in the second round. In the 2022 tournament, Nebraska traveled to Louisville but fell to Gonzaga in the first round. This is the fourth time the Huskers have faced a current member of the ACC in the NCAA Tournament. They are 0-3 all-time against current ACC teams in the NCAA Tournament.

Series History – Louisville and Nebraska will meet for the fifth time in program history on Friday in a series that dates back to 1998. The Cardinals lead the all-time series 3-1 and this will be the first matchup since the 2018-19 season. In their most recent game, Louisville defeated Nebraska 85-68 on Nov. 29, 2018 at the KFC Yum! Center. This will be the first matchup between the two teams in the NCAA Tournament. The series is tied 1-1 in games played in neutral venues.

Last Meeting (Nov., 29, 2018) – Asia Durr finished with 25 points and a career-high eight assists as Louisville women’s basketball downed Nebraska 85-68 on Thursday night at the KFC Yum! Center to claim victory in the 2018 ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Durr finished the night with 25 points on 8-17 shooting, including 4-9 from 3-point range. She also added a career-high eight assists, five of which came in the fourth quarter. Sam Fuehring tallied a double-double with 14 points and a season-high 10 rebounds, while Arica Carter and Bionca Dunham rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Kylee Shook grabbed nine boards to set a season-high, while adding eight points. The Cardinals shot 51.6 percent from the floor, eclipsing the 50 percent mark for the fifth time this season. On the defensive end, they held Nebraska to 42.3 percent shooting. They have yet to allow an opponent to shoot above 50 percent this year.