Saturday, March 28
Fort Worth, Texas (Dickies Arena)
12:30 PM
University of Louisville
vs
No. 2 Michigan
No. 3 Cardinals Set to Face No. 2 Michigan in Sweet 16
March 27, 2026 | Women's Basketball
This is the third time in program history the two teams have met in the NCAA Tournament
FORT WORTH, Texas — The No. 3 seed Louisville women's basketball team (29-7) is back in the Sweet 16 for the 13th time in program history. They are set to face the No. 2 seed Michigan Wolverines (26-7) in Fort Worth Regional 3 at Dickies Arena on Saturday, March 28. The Cardinals and Wolverines are set to face off at 12:30 p.m. ET and it will be broadcast nationally on ABC.
All 13 Sweet 16 appearances for the Cardinals have come under head coach Jeff Walz. Among active coaches, he is tied for third with 13 career Sweet 16 appearances. He is tied with Dawn Staley and is behind just Geno Auriemma and Kim Mulkey. The Cardinals are one of six teams to appear in seven of the last nine Sweet 16's.
The Cardinals are coming off a thrilling 69-68 win over No. 6 Alabama in the Round of 32. In a game that had eight ties and 18 lead changes, the Cardinals took the lead with under four minutes left in regulation and did not look back as they clinched a berth in the Sweet 16. Imari Berry hit two clutch free throws to make it a two-possession game with under 10 seconds left that proved to be the difference.
Tajianna Roberts, Elif Istanbulluoglu and Laura Ziegler were the trio in double figures for the Cardinals. Roberts and Istanbulluoglu led the team with 18 points and Ziegler added 12 of her own. Mackenly Randolph had a career best 13 rebounds to lead the team. She has had 11+ rebounds in both the NCAA Tournament games this season. She joins Angel McCoughtry and Myisha Hines-Allen as the only Louisville players to have 11+ rebounds in back-to-back NCAA Tournament games.
Date: Saturday, March 28
Time: 12:30 p.m. ET
Site: Fort Worth, Texas | Dickies Arena (13,000)
TV: ABC (Ryan Ruocco, play-by-play; Rebecca Lobo, analyst; Holly Rowe, analyst)
Radio: 93.9-FM The Ville (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History: Louisville leads 6-1 (5-0 home, 0-1 away, 1-0 neutral)
Last Meeting: W, 62-50 (March 28, 2022 at Wichita, Kan.)
ABOUT THE WOLVERINES
Michigan enters the Sweet 16 with a 27-6 record and were 15-3 in Big 10 play. The Wolverines defeated No. 15 seed Holy Cross 83-48 in the first round and advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 92-63 win over NC State in the second round. Michigan has one of the best offenses in the country as they rank ninth nationally and second in the Big 10 with 83.9 points per game. The Wolverines rank seventh nationally and second in the Big 10 in scoring margin with a +21.4. Michigan also creates havoc defensively as they lead the Big 10 and rank 13th nationally with 21.8 turnovers forced per game. They also lead the Big 10 and rank eighth nationally with a +7.4 turnover margin. Olivia Olson is one of the better scorers in the country as she is third in the Big 10 and 30th nationally with 633 points on the year. She averages 19.2 points per game, a mark that is 32nd nationally. Brooke Q. Daniels is second in the Big 10 with 82 steals and Syla Swords ranks second in the league with 80 three-pointers made.
Wolverines Tournament History - This is the 14th NCAA tournament appearance in program history for Michigan and the eighth appearance in the last nine NCAA Tournaments. Michigan is 12-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and this is the third appearance in the Sweet 16 in program history. They have advanced to the Elite Eight once in program history back in 2022 when they matched up with the Cards in Wichita.
Series History - This will be the eighth meeting all-time between the two schools and Louisville holds a 6-1 series advantage. This will be the third time the teams have faced off in the NCAA Tournament and the Cards are 2-0 against the Wolverines. The last time the two teams faced off was the 2022 Elite Eight and the Cards advanced to their fourth Final Four in program history.
Last Meeting (March 28, 2022) - Walz's gutsy bunch of Cardinals answered every body blow from Michigan in a physical 62-50 victory on Monday night that has them playing in the Final Four for the fourth time in program history. ''He's (Walz) meant the world to me personally,'' said Emily Engstler, who offset a poor night shooting with 16 rebounds and some big defensive plays. ''He lets you be yourself and he protects you and you can trust him, and that's hard in this industry." The No. 3 seed Wolverines were within 52-50 with less than 3 minutes to go when the Cardinals, using some nifty ball movement to get out of a half-court trap, found Cochran for a layup. Then at the other end, Michigan star Naz Hillmon was called for charging, and Cochran added another bucket to give Louisville some breathing room. The Cardinals (29-4) finished off their second win over the Wolverines this season from the foul line.
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.
All 13 Sweet 16 appearances for the Cardinals have come under head coach Jeff Walz. Among active coaches, he is tied for third with 13 career Sweet 16 appearances. He is tied with Dawn Staley and is behind just Geno Auriemma and Kim Mulkey. The Cardinals are one of six teams to appear in seven of the last nine Sweet 16's.
The Cardinals are coming off a thrilling 69-68 win over No. 6 Alabama in the Round of 32. In a game that had eight ties and 18 lead changes, the Cardinals took the lead with under four minutes left in regulation and did not look back as they clinched a berth in the Sweet 16. Imari Berry hit two clutch free throws to make it a two-possession game with under 10 seconds left that proved to be the difference.
Tajianna Roberts, Elif Istanbulluoglu and Laura Ziegler were the trio in double figures for the Cardinals. Roberts and Istanbulluoglu led the team with 18 points and Ziegler added 12 of her own. Mackenly Randolph had a career best 13 rebounds to lead the team. She has had 11+ rebounds in both the NCAA Tournament games this season. She joins Angel McCoughtry and Myisha Hines-Allen as the only Louisville players to have 11+ rebounds in back-to-back NCAA Tournament games.
Date: Saturday, March 28
Time: 12:30 p.m. ET
Site: Fort Worth, Texas | Dickies Arena (13,000)
TV: ABC (Ryan Ruocco, play-by-play; Rebecca Lobo, analyst; Holly Rowe, analyst)
Radio: 93.9-FM The Ville (Nick Curran, play-by-play; Cortnee Walton, analyst)
Series History: Louisville leads 6-1 (5-0 home, 0-1 away, 1-0 neutral)
Last Meeting: W, 62-50 (March 28, 2022 at Wichita, Kan.)
ABOUT THE WOLVERINES
Michigan enters the Sweet 16 with a 27-6 record and were 15-3 in Big 10 play. The Wolverines defeated No. 15 seed Holy Cross 83-48 in the first round and advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 92-63 win over NC State in the second round. Michigan has one of the best offenses in the country as they rank ninth nationally and second in the Big 10 with 83.9 points per game. The Wolverines rank seventh nationally and second in the Big 10 in scoring margin with a +21.4. Michigan also creates havoc defensively as they lead the Big 10 and rank 13th nationally with 21.8 turnovers forced per game. They also lead the Big 10 and rank eighth nationally with a +7.4 turnover margin. Olivia Olson is one of the better scorers in the country as she is third in the Big 10 and 30th nationally with 633 points on the year. She averages 19.2 points per game, a mark that is 32nd nationally. Brooke Q. Daniels is second in the Big 10 with 82 steals and Syla Swords ranks second in the league with 80 three-pointers made.
Wolverines Tournament History - This is the 14th NCAA tournament appearance in program history for Michigan and the eighth appearance in the last nine NCAA Tournaments. Michigan is 12-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and this is the third appearance in the Sweet 16 in program history. They have advanced to the Elite Eight once in program history back in 2022 when they matched up with the Cards in Wichita.
Series History - This will be the eighth meeting all-time between the two schools and Louisville holds a 6-1 series advantage. This will be the third time the teams have faced off in the NCAA Tournament and the Cards are 2-0 against the Wolverines. The last time the two teams faced off was the 2022 Elite Eight and the Cards advanced to their fourth Final Four in program history.
Last Meeting (March 28, 2022) - Walz's gutsy bunch of Cardinals answered every body blow from Michigan in a physical 62-50 victory on Monday night that has them playing in the Final Four for the fourth time in program history. ''He's (Walz) meant the world to me personally,'' said Emily Engstler, who offset a poor night shooting with 16 rebounds and some big defensive plays. ''He lets you be yourself and he protects you and you can trust him, and that's hard in this industry." The No. 3 seed Wolverines were within 52-50 with less than 3 minutes to go when the Cardinals, using some nifty ball movement to get out of a half-court trap, found Cochran for a layup. Then at the other end, Michigan star Naz Hillmon was called for charging, and Cochran added another bucket to give Louisville some breathing room. The Cardinals (29-4) finished off their second win over the Wolverines this season from the foul line.
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.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's BasketballWBB: NCAA Sweet 16 Preview Press Conference (Michigan - 3.27.26)
Friday, March 27
WBB: Jeff Walz Preview Press Conference (Michigan - 3.25.26)
Wednesday, March 25
Round of 32: Louisville vs. Alabama
Tuesday, March 24
WBB: NCAA 2nd Round Postgame Presser (Alabama - 3.23.26)
Monday, March 23
