Tag: Jeff Walz

Virginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks talks Notre Dame ahead of rematch

See what the next opposing coach had to say about the Irish.

After Notre Dame defeated Louisville in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, Virginia Tech beat Miami, 55-47. That sets a semifinal rematch between the Irish and top-seeded Hokies after the teams met in South Bend only a week ago. The Irish won that game, so the Hokies will be out for revenge.

The big question surrounding the Hokies is the health of three-time ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley, who was injured in the Hokies’ regular-season finale at Virginia and didn’t play Friday. In fact, she won’t play at all in this tournament.

Hokies coach Kenny Brooks was asked about the upcoming rematch in his postgame news conference and said the following:

“Bruh, can I just enjoy this one for a second? Notre Dame is playing as well as anyone in the country right now. We experienced it last week, their physicality – they’re a little bit different than they were last year. They’re tenacious on the defensive end, obviously with the addition of (Hannah) Hidalgo.

They got off to a great start today. And bless his heart, I’m in my locker room, and I think we’re on like a three, four, five-second delay in watching the game and what happens, and Jeff Walz gets thrown out. He gets thrown out, and two seconds later, boom, my door flies open, and it’s Jeff Walz.

I did thank him for their comeback and making Notre Dame play harder down the stretch, to be able to do that.

They’re playing well. They’re playing extremely well. Hidalgo really makes them go. (Sonia) Citron – I’ve said it before – is one of my favorite players. She just doesn’t get rattled. (Maddy) Westbeld is playing really well right now. They don’t play a lot of people, but the people who play are playing well.

We know it’s going to be a tough task. We’ll get back, and we’ll figure some things out, and we’ll try to see what happens.”

This shows the Hokies won’t take the Irish lightly, so the Irish better be ready to play whether Kitley is available or not. Whatever the case though, it should be a good game.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame survives late Louisville surge to win ACC Tournament opener

A pretty close call, but they’ll play Saturday.

The ACC Tournament is here, and Notre Dame got its first taste of it in the quarterfinals against Louisville. The Irish beat the Cardinals in their regular-season finale Sunday, and now, they had to do it again five days later. It got a little tense towards the end, but the Irish advanced to the semifinals with a 77-68 win.

The Irish (24-6) never trailed in the game and led by as much as 22. Even with the lead cut to 12 going into the fourth quarter, they had to feel good about themselves. But the Cardinals (24-9) chipped away at the lead further with inspired play on both ends, even forcing four Irish players into at least four fouls. They ultimately got to within three with just over half a minute left.

By the time the Cardinals made it a one-possession game though, it was late enough in the game that were forced to foul, and [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] made two free throws to put the Irish back up five. A steal by [autotag]KK Bransford[/autotag] on the next possession finally iced the game, and she and Citron made four more free throws in the final seconds to wrap up the Irish’s scoring. Two of those were prompted by Cardinals coach Jeff Walz picking up his second technical foul, resulting in his ejection.

Citron led all scorers with 26 points, which including make 10 of 11 free throws. [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag], who scored 21 points, shot only 5 of 16 from the field but was 11 of 14 from the charity stripe, and she also had a game-high six assists. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] had 13 points and also joined Hidalgo and the fouled-out [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] in a group whose members grabbed six rebounds apiece.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Jeff Walz’s personal slide at Louisville’s practice facility is college basketball’s coolest form of transportation

Who needs stairs when you have a slide?

If you’re like us here at Bet For The Win, you’re probably counting down the days until college basketball season gets off and running. The sounds of shoes squeaking and fans screaming at the top of their lunges at on-campus arenas are like very few things in the world.

But we’re not quite there yet, and we’ve got some time to spare to mess around a bit before things get serious on opening night. Apparently, so do players and coaches.

You’ll love to learn that Louisville women’s basketball’s head coach, Jeff Walz, has put a new slide into the team’s practice facility. The slide takes you from the second floor. where the offices (likely) are, on down to the court.

This is not a joke.

Are y’all feeling this? Honestly, I’m kind of torn.

I’m all about efficiency — and I’m someone with awful knee pains — so being able to avoid going up-and-down stairs when there’s an easier alternative just sounds way better.

But from the players’ perspectives, I’m not sure I’d like this. Imagine seeing your coach childishly slide down the tube just to yell at you. Or your coach appearing from the slide only to make the team run laps.

I’d be pretty annoyed.

But I do think this is funny. And overall, it might be a “good vibes” move as the Cardinals get ready to kick off their season, and they’ve got +2000 odds at DraftKings Sportsbook to win this season’s National Championship.

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A look at previous matchups between Kellie Harper versus Jeff Walz

NCAA Tournament Tennessee-Louisville preview: A look at previous matchups between Kellie Harper versus Jeff Walz in their head coaching careers

No. 4 seed Tennessee (25-8) will play No. 1 Louisville (27-4) Saturday in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.

Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. EDT at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas. ESPN2 will televise the Sweet 16 matchup.

Tennessee defeated Buffalo, 80-67, in the first round. The Lady Vols were victorious against Belmont, 70-67, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Louisville defeated Albany, 83-51, in first-round play, while the Cardinals were victorious against Gonzaga, 68-59, in the second round.

Third-year Lady Vols’ head coach Kellie Harper has competed against 15-year Louisville head coach Jeff Walz throughout their head coaching careers.

The two head coaches have played against each other twice.

 

Dec. 3, 2013; Louisville, KY; Louisville Cardinals head coach Jeff Walz reacts during the second half against the Missouri State Bears at the KFC YUM! Center. Louisville defeated Missouri State 91-49. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

 

Harper and Walz’s most recent meeting took place Dec. 13, 2013. The Cardinals defeated Missouri State, 91-49, in Louisville, Kentucky. Harper was in her first season as Missouri State’s head coach.

In Walz’s first season as Louisville’s head coach, Harper and Western Carolina defeated the Cardinals, 77-72, on Nov. 17, 2007. The contest took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the Subway Classic.

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