Louisville

CHICAGO, Ill. - Conference USA Tournament champion Tulane and Conference USA regular season champion Louisville earned bids to the 2001 NCAA Tournament Championship. Tulane (22-9), making its seventh straight NCAA appearance, is the 10th seed in the Midwest Region and will face seventh seeded Florida State on Friday, March 16 in Ames, Iowa. Louisville (19-9) earned the 13th seed in the Mideast Region and will face fourth seeded Xavier on Friday, March 16 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Tulane carries a five game winning streak into the NCAA Championship, after winning its third consecutive Conference USA Tournament title. Tulane has captured four of the last five tournament crowns. The Green Wave are led by All-American senior center Janell Burse. Burse earned fourth team All-America honors from the Women's Basketball News Service after averaging 18.7 points and 10.8 rebounds this season. For the second straight season, she is the only player in the nation to rank among the NCAA statistical leaders in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and blocked shots. The Green Wave will make its 18th all-time appearance against Florida State, with the Seminoles leading the series at 10-7. The last time the two teams met was in 1991, when Florida State won 104-66. Tulane currently sports a 22-9 record, marking its sixth straight 20-win season.

Tulane

Louisville captured its first outright regular season title after posting an 14-2 conference record and going undefeated at home (13-0). The Cardinals started the season with a 0-5 record and went on to win 19 of its last 23 games. Freshman Sara Nord leads the Cardinal squad and was named fourth team All-American by the Women's Basketball News Service as well as being named to the first team all-freshman list. The 5-4 Jeffersonville, Ind. native averaged 13.9 points and 7.7 assists. Nord broke C-USA's single-season assist record with 216 on the year. Louisville will meet Xavier for only the second time in school history. The Cards defeated Xavier in 1976, 69-29. Xavier has the second-best record in the tournament field at 28-2, with C-USA foe Cincinnati handing them of one of their two losses. This will be Louisville's fifth Mideast region appearance and seventh all-time NCAA appearance.