Michigan is one win away from the program’s second-ever Elite Eight berth. To get there they must beat three-seed Louisville, a team with a remarkably similar 2025-26 resumé. The game tips off on Saturday at 12:30 pm Eastern on ABC.
The Cardinals survived a 15-point deficit in three-point shooting and a fourth-quarter push by Alabama to advance with a 69-68 home-court win on Monday afternoon. Ranked #10 on both Torvik and Her Hoop Stats, Louisville has done an impressive job taking care of the teams they’re supposed to beat.
UL’s seven losses this season have all come against either top-ten teams (UConn, Kentucky, South Carolina, Duke twice) or fellow Sweet Sixteen participants (Virginia and Notre Dame). In fact, all of those teams are still alive in the tournament. They’ve been competitive in almost every game — a 13-point loss to UConn counts as impressive, they lost by ten against UK at home, and their other five defeats came by a combined 13 points.
Much like Michigan, the losses are almost more impressive than the wins. Their best victory is either a ten-point overtime triumph at #16 North Carolina, their eight-point win over the Tar Heels in the ACC semifinals, or an eight-point road win in South Bend. Louisville hasn’t lost to a bad team; they’ve also yet to break through against an elite one.
Personnel
Even more so than the Wolverines, Louisville features a balanced offensive attack and a tight rotation. Seven players averaged between 8 and 12 points per game this season, but one of them — reserve guard Skylar Jones — left the team prior to the NCAA Tournament after a decline in playing time.
Coach Jeff Walz was rather blunt about his approach in the aftermath [emphasis mine]:
The Arizona transfer is no longer with the program, according to head coach Jeff Walz, who said Jones' departure is "best for all parties."
"I think if you go back to the past month, it's really not going to change much," Walz said about the team's rotation of players. "In our ACC (Tournament) finals, Mack (Mackenly Randolph) played all 45 minutes. ... We have plenty of players. At this time of year, look what Siena men did with five. You're just putting your best ones out there. Unless they're in foul trouble or they're about to just keel over and die because they're exhausted, you keep playing them."
Walz settled into to a six-player rotation against Alabama, nailing 6’3” starting center Anaya Hardy to the bench after some defensive struggles in the opening three minutes. The other four starters played at least 36 minutes.
Unselfish, versatile 6’2” forward Laura Ziegler earned first-team All-ACC honors after transferring from St. Joseph’s for her senior season. A three-level scorer who hits 51% of her twos and 36% of her threes, Ziegler is an effective two-way rebounder and skilled passer. While not an exceptional post defender, she plays extensive minutes because she rarely commits fouls.