Saturday, March 21
LOUISVILLE, KY
12 PM
University of Louisville
vs
No. 14 Vermont
No. 3 Cardinals Open NCAA Tournament Versus No. 14 Vermont
March 20, 2026 | Women's Basketball
It is the 15th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance for the Cardinals
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The No. 3 seed Louisville women's basketball team (27-7) is set to begin the 2026 NCAA Tournament in the friendly confines of the KFC Yum! Center this weekend as the 1st Round of the tournament is set for Saturday afternoon. Louisville opens the tournament against No. 14 seed Vermont (27-7) on Saturday, March 21, with tip set for 12 p.m and it will be broadcast on ESPN. No. 6 seed Alabama and No. 11 seed Rhode Island will follow at 2:30 p.m.
Fans looking to purchase tickets for Saturday's session are all sessions of the NCAA 1st & 2nd Rounds can visit gocards.com/marchmadness. It has all the available information on the opening rounds here in Louisville and the tournament as a whole. Single session and all-session tickets are currently both available for purchase.
The Cardinals are making their 28th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and the 16th in the 18 seasons there has been a tournament under head coach Jeff Walz. The Cardinals have 45 all-time wins in the NCAA Tournament, a mark that ranks 15th in NCAA history. 41 of the 45 wins have come under Walz as the Cardinals were just 4-11 all-time in the tournament before Walz's arrival in 2007.
The Cardinals have made 15-straight NCAA Tournament appearances dating back to 2011 (no tournament in 2020), the fourth-longest active streak in the country. Louisville has reached the Elite Eight five times in the last seven tournaments, the third-most in the country behind UConn and South Carolina. The Cardinals have 11 NCAA tournament wins since 2021, tied for the most in the ACC over that span.
This will be the seventh time the Cardinals have hosted the 1st and 2nd rounds at the KFC Yum! Center since the 2013 tournament. The Cardinals reached the Elite Eight in five of the six previous tournaments they have hosted and they reached the Final Four in three of those tournaments. This is the 11th-time the Cardinals have been selected as a Top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Date: Saturday, March 21
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | KFC Yum! Center (22,090)
TV: ESPN (Wes Durham, play-by-play; Angela Taylor, analyst)
Radio: 970-AM WGTK (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History: Louisville leads 2-1 (1-0 home, 1-1 away)
Last Meeting: W, 67-56 (Dec. 21, 2008 at Freedom Hall)
ABOUT THE CATAMOUNTS
Vermont enters the NCAA Tournament with a 27-7 overall record and are the No. 14 seed in the Fort Worth 3 Regional. The Catamounts won the American East regular season and conference tournament championship to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Catamounts have won eight of their last nine games heading into this weekend's matchup. Vermont has the America East Coach of the Year in Alisa Kresge and Defensive Player of the Year in Nikola Priede. Priede and Keira Hanson were named First Team All-Conference while Jadyn Weltz was named to the Second Team All-Conference. Vermont is one of the best defensive teams in the country as they rank fourth nationally with 51.6 points per game allowed. The Catamounts are third in the NCAA in three-point percentage defense, holding opponents to just 25.0% shooting from behind the arc. They are also very disciplined as they are second in the nation in turnovers per game (10.6) and seventh nationally in fouls per game (12.6).
Catamounts Tournament History - This will be the ninth all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament for Vermont and the third appearance in the last four years. Vermont is 1-8 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with its lone NCAA Tournament win coming in the 2010 first round over No. 7 seed Wisconsin (64-55). This is the third time Vermont will face an ACC foe in the NCAA Tournament as they went against No. 2 seed NC State last year in the first round and No. 2 seed Notre Dame in the second round back in 2010.
Series History - Louisville and Vermont will meet for the fourth time in program history on Saturday. It is the first meeting between the two schools since 2008 and the series history dates back to the 2004-05 season. The Cardinals hold a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series history and are 1-0 in games played in Louisville. This will be the first time the two teams will play at KFC Yum! Center.
Last Meeting (Dec. 21, 2008) - Louisville coach Jeff Walz promised his players four days off for Christmas as a reward for a busy early season schedule. For awhile during his team's sloppy 67-56 win over Vermont on Sunday, it appeared some of the ninth-ranked Cardinals had gone home a little early. Louisville survived a sub-par performance by star Angel McCoughtry and 22 turnovers to hold off pesky Vermont 67-56 on Sunday. The Cardinals (10-1) won their fifth straight behind 15 points, five assists and four rebounds from Deseree' Byrd and 14 points and eight rebounds from Candyce Bingham.
FOLLOW LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For the latest on Louisville women's basketball, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Instagram account at @LouisvilleWBB, X account at @LouisvilleWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/louisvillewbb.
Fans looking to purchase tickets for Saturday's session are all sessions of the NCAA 1st & 2nd Rounds can visit gocards.com/marchmadness. It has all the available information on the opening rounds here in Louisville and the tournament as a whole. Single session and all-session tickets are currently both available for purchase.
The Cardinals are making their 28th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance and the 16th in the 18 seasons there has been a tournament under head coach Jeff Walz. The Cardinals have 45 all-time wins in the NCAA Tournament, a mark that ranks 15th in NCAA history. 41 of the 45 wins have come under Walz as the Cardinals were just 4-11 all-time in the tournament before Walz's arrival in 2007.
The Cardinals have made 15-straight NCAA Tournament appearances dating back to 2011 (no tournament in 2020), the fourth-longest active streak in the country. Louisville has reached the Elite Eight five times in the last seven tournaments, the third-most in the country behind UConn and South Carolina. The Cardinals have 11 NCAA tournament wins since 2021, tied for the most in the ACC over that span.
This will be the seventh time the Cardinals have hosted the 1st and 2nd rounds at the KFC Yum! Center since the 2013 tournament. The Cardinals reached the Elite Eight in five of the six previous tournaments they have hosted and they reached the Final Four in three of those tournaments. This is the 11th-time the Cardinals have been selected as a Top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Date: Saturday, March 21
Time: 12 p.m. ET
Site: Louisville, Ky. | KFC Yum! Center (22,090)
TV: ESPN (Wes Durham, play-by-play; Angela Taylor, analyst)
Radio: 970-AM WGTK (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History: Louisville leads 2-1 (1-0 home, 1-1 away)
Last Meeting: W, 67-56 (Dec. 21, 2008 at Freedom Hall)
ABOUT THE CATAMOUNTS
Vermont enters the NCAA Tournament with a 27-7 overall record and are the No. 14 seed in the Fort Worth 3 Regional. The Catamounts won the American East regular season and conference tournament championship to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Catamounts have won eight of their last nine games heading into this weekend's matchup. Vermont has the America East Coach of the Year in Alisa Kresge and Defensive Player of the Year in Nikola Priede. Priede and Keira Hanson were named First Team All-Conference while Jadyn Weltz was named to the Second Team All-Conference. Vermont is one of the best defensive teams in the country as they rank fourth nationally with 51.6 points per game allowed. The Catamounts are third in the NCAA in three-point percentage defense, holding opponents to just 25.0% shooting from behind the arc. They are also very disciplined as they are second in the nation in turnovers per game (10.6) and seventh nationally in fouls per game (12.6).
Catamounts Tournament History - This will be the ninth all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament for Vermont and the third appearance in the last four years. Vermont is 1-8 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with its lone NCAA Tournament win coming in the 2010 first round over No. 7 seed Wisconsin (64-55). This is the third time Vermont will face an ACC foe in the NCAA Tournament as they went against No. 2 seed NC State last year in the first round and No. 2 seed Notre Dame in the second round back in 2010.
Series History - Louisville and Vermont will meet for the fourth time in program history on Saturday. It is the first meeting between the two schools since 2008 and the series history dates back to the 2004-05 season. The Cardinals hold a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series history and are 1-0 in games played in Louisville. This will be the first time the two teams will play at KFC Yum! Center.
Last Meeting (Dec. 21, 2008) - Louisville coach Jeff Walz promised his players four days off for Christmas as a reward for a busy early season schedule. For awhile during his team's sloppy 67-56 win over Vermont on Sunday, it appeared some of the ninth-ranked Cardinals had gone home a little early. Louisville survived a sub-par performance by star Angel McCoughtry and 22 turnovers to hold off pesky Vermont 67-56 on Sunday. The Cardinals (10-1) won their fifth straight behind 15 points, five assists and four rebounds from Deseree' Byrd and 14 points and eight rebounds from Candyce Bingham.
FOLLOW LOUISVILLE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For the latest on Louisville women's basketball, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Instagram account at @LouisvilleWBB, X account at @LouisvilleWBB or on Facebook at facebook.com/louisvillewbb.
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