2014 NCAA Tournament Louisville Region Elite Eight Breakdown
#3 Louisville vs. #4 Maryland (Louisville, Kentucky)
Thanks to a career high 33 points from Alyssa Thomas, Maryland upset Tennessee to reach the Elite Eight. The Terrapins have not had much success against the Lady Vols, but Thomas changed all of that. Now they will go for their first Final Four appearance since they won it all in 2006. But Louisville and the home crowd stand in their way. The Cardinals have yet to be seriously tested in this tournament despite contests against good teams like Iowa and LSU. The Cardinals beat Idaho handily in the first round and defeated Iowa by 30 in Iowa City. In the Sweet Sixteen, Louisville got off to a 18 point halftime lead and never looked back, winning 73-47.
After beating Tennessee, Maryland has the ability to knock off Louisville; even in front of the Cardinals crowd. Thomas is obviously a big time player and she will have to be the leader on the floor. But Maryland will need other scorers to step up. Freshman Lexie Brown scored 14 points against the Lady Vols and Laurin Mincy added 11. Those are the two players who can stretch out the Louisville defense with their outside shooting ability. That will free up space for Thomas to attack the basket and she will need to have another big game if Maryland is going to pull off another minor upset.
On the other end of the floor, Louisville can be susceptible against a big defense like Maryland’s. Bria Smith, Shoni Schimmel, Antonita Slaughter and Sara Hammond can knock down shots with the best of them, but the Cardinals prefer to attack the basket and open up space that way for the shooters. The Terps have a ton of size in the paint, but none of them are true shot blockers. Centers Alicia DeVaughn and Brionna Jones will start beside Thomas in the frontcourt. That trio may look intimidating on the defensive end to Louisville’s talented backcourt, but Schimmel should be able to get to the basket and finish and lead her team back to the Final Four.
