Louisville basketball coach Jeff Walz considers season enjoyable despite early NCAA exit
BATON ROUGE, La. — Jeff Walz’s favorite Louisville women’s basketball teams aren't based on records.
The Cardinals’ 17th-year head coach puts more weight on the joy he experienced while coaching the players. This season’s squad had a mix of good wins and good people, but Louisville’s campaign ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
The Cardinals (24-10) previously had never lost their first NCAA Tournament game under Walz. The last time it happened was the 2005-06 season, when Louisville lost to Vanderbilt, 76-64. The earliest a Walz-led team was eliminated from the tournament was in the second round, falling to DePaul, 73-72, during the 2015-16 season. The next year, the Cardinals made the Sweet 16.
“I can honestly say it's been one of the most enjoyable seasons that I've had,” Walz said Feb. 28. “In terms of day to day, the travels, the time you spend with them, it has been an absolute joy to work with this entire team. And, especially with our new ones because each year when you bring in a group of new players, you're trying to figure them out. You're trying to get to know them. How are they all going to mesh? How's it going to be? And I can honestly say it's been fantastic.”
Forward Nyla Harris echoed her coach's sentiments after the first-round exit against Middle Tennessee.
"We're like sisters out on the court," she said. "It was definitely one of my favorite teams that I've been a part of. Of course, I've only been a part of two teams, but this is definitely, by far, the one that I've enjoyed the most, and it's sad that it's come to an end. But there's a lot we, as returning players, (can) learn from. We've got to move on to next season."
Before the season, Walz lauded the chemistry and camaraderie among the group, which included eight newcomers — with six being transfer players.
The Cardinals jelled quickly, winning the Canada-based GLOBL Jam in June before going 11-2 during nonconference play to start the regular season. With many of the veteran newcomers having been the leading scorers at their previous schools, it created a high-scoring offense and plenty of go-to players for Louisville.
Sydney Taylor and Kiki Jefferson traded off as leading scorers early before Jefferson became the steady top scorer for the Cardinals. That included a 12-point performance in U of L’s 77-72 ACC opener at Miami on New Year’s Eve. The win was part of the team’s six-game winning streak as Louisville became the only ACC team to go 5-0 to start conference play. But the streak ended Jan. 21 at North Carolina in a 79-68 loss.
Louisville played the bulk of its tougher games on the road this season, including many in February. Despite entering the final month of ACC play with only three losses, U of L couldn’t string wins together, going 5-5 over the final 10 games of the regular season. That included series splits with Notre Dame and Syracuse and suffering its first home loss of the season to Virginia Tech, 86-70.
As the end of the season neared, each game became more significant for postseason seeding. The Cardinals posted a solid 70-55 win over Florida State but falling to Virginia, 73-68, four days prior knocked them out of the top-16 host seeds for the NCAA Tournament. The squad still had a chance to earn a double bye in the ACC Tournament but dropped to a No. 5 seed after the regular season-ending loss at Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish ended the season with a 2-1 record against Louisville after beating the Cardinals in the conference tournament quarterfinals, when turnovers and in-game lulls plagued the team. Louisville averaged 20 turnovers in the two ACC Tournament games it played and 15.5 per game for the season. Those same inconsistencies were costly for the Cardinals, the No. 6 seed, in their 71-69 loss to 11th-seeded Middle Tennessee. It was the Cardinals' second straight loss to the Raiders after falling on the road more than a year ago, 67-49.
Moving forward, Walz said he's going to "get back to doing things the way I've done them in the past."
"I've got to challenge them more. I've got to get them in shape," he added. "I've got to demand things, demand more from them. Every practice can't be comfortable. It's got to be uncomfortable so then when you get in the games, no matter how hard it goes, you've experienced that in practice. I've got to get back to just taking some things over and really challenging them and pushing them."
Despite the Cardinals falling in the first round for the first time under Walz, he’ll still reflect fondly on a team that he spoke highly of all season.
"I've had no drama. They're great kids," he said. "And I call them kids because I treat them like they're my own kids. I love them like they're my own. ... It just sucks. Nobody wants to go out this way. I mean, it was a roller coaster of a year."
Reach Louisville football, women's basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville WBB: Jeff Walz considers season enjoyable despite NCAA loss
