CRAWFORD | Walz: Louisville will have to play its best game to beat South Carolina in Final Four

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The University of Louisville women's basketball team got home at about 6:15 a.m. Tuesday, and head coach Jeff Walz was in his office to speak with the media by 11 a.m.

There is not, as you might imagine, time built into that schedule to get into any kind of significant study of No. 1-ranked South Carolina (33-2), which will be the opponent for Louisville (29-4) at 7 p.m. Friday.

But Walz doesn't need a lot of cramming to know how good South Carolina is and he has coached with Dawn Staley in USA Basketball. He knows what they are about.

"They're a great basketball team," Walz said Tuesday morning. "You know, Dawn does a fantastic job. I was fortunate enough to be an assistant with her with USA Basketball. She does a great job. She motivates her players. They play hard. Aliyah Boston, obviously, is you know, one of the best players in the country, if not the best. We're going to have our hands full."

Still, it's a good problem to have. In Minneapolis, Walz will have to take a rain check on being a court coach for the USA basketball team to coach his team in the Final Four. And he's thrilled about that. The practices will take place close by, so the Cardinals will get to be around former Cardinal Angel McCoughtry, who took the program to its first Final Four back in 2009.

"I'm glad," he said. "This is the one thing that I'm excited, that I'm not able to be a court coach with the national team this week. You know, it was something I was really looking forward to doing, because I love when I get the opportunity to work with those great players and USA Basketball. It's something that means a lot to me. It's really special when you're representing your country, and to have Angel being a part of that, and then hopefully we'll get a chance to see her and she'll stop by the hotel. It's great. I mean, she's the one that that really took us to our first Final Four and put us on the map, and now, we've got a bunch of them. I mean, it's, you know, Asia Durr, Dana Evans, Myisha (Hines-Allen), Shoni Schimmel. We've had a list of players now that have gone on. They've had great careers, and a lot are still playing. But Angel, obviously, being a two-time Olympic gold medalist, is at the top of our chart when it comes to success in the NCAA Tournament and then with USA Basketball as well."

IMAGES | Louisville celebrates after defeating Michigan to secure Final Four bid

For Louisville, Walz said, the challenge is simple. When you get to this level, everyone has to play her best. You can't have an off-night and advance. It is an A-game situation. That doesn't mean pressing or trying too hard, but it does mean playing your best basketball of the season.

The Cardinals will be underdogs. The women's basketball analytics site HerHoopStats.com projects South Carolina as a six-point favorite and gives the Gamecocks a win probability of 70.3%.

"We'll get a chance to watch some film later but we're going to have to play our best, there's no doubt," Walz said. "At this time of the year, it doesn't matter. You've got to play your best or you aren't going to win. But we're looking forward to the opportunity, because, you know, you can't win if you don't play the game. So, we're fortunate enough to still be playing."

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