Round 1 went to Louisville, but will Texas win the rematch and a Sweet 16 invitation?

At a press conference ahead of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Jeff Walz had only one minor complaint about Austin and Texas coach Vic Schaefer.

"I just would like to state that I wish Vic would have done a better job with the weather," the Louisville coach joked. "It's the one thing I ask from him and he can't even bring that. Unbelievable."

It's hard to fault Walz for being disappointed. Nobody comes to Austin in March expecting 60 degrees and overcast weather. Plus, the Cardinals were having fun in the sun the last time they saw the Longhorns. Back in November, Texas and Louisville played in a tournament in the Bahamas.

Exactly four months after that 71-63 Louisville win, a lot more is on the line.

The fourth and fifth seeds in the "Seattle 4" region of the NCAA Tournament, Texas and Louisville are reuniting for a second-round NCAA showdown. Whoever wins at Moody Center on Monday evening is heading to the Sweet 16.

In the Cardinals' conquest on Nov. 20, there were five ties and six lead changes. Both teams grabbed 32 rebounds. Louisville shot 43.4% from the field. Texas shot 40.7%. The Longhorns had 19 turnovers to Louisville's 16, and Louisville outscored Texas by a 22-14 margin off them.

Not that the numbers from that box score matter.

Texas will tell you it is not the same team that played Louisville in November. Louisville has a similar claim.

Texas, for example, started Shaylee Gonzales, Sonya Morris, Aaliyah Moore, Taylor Jones and Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda. It's likely that only Gonzales will start in the rematch, and the senior was playing out of position in November as UT's point guard. Moore, who scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds, hasn't played since suffering a season-ending injury on Dec. 11. Morris just returned after a 10-game absence. Jones and Mwenentanda have transitioned into reserve roles.

Then there's Rori Harmon.

Harmon missed the first five games of this season with a toe injury. One of those was the Louisville loss. Since her return, the point guard has compiled 225 assists. That's the fourth-most assists in program history, and her average of 7.5 assists per game is currently a school record.

Harmon traveled with the team to the Bahamas, but did not play in any of UT's three games at the Battle 4 Atlantis. "That was a long time ago," she said Sunday.

"To be on the sideline is a completely different perspective than actually playing the basketball game," Harmon continued. "We've obviously improved a lot since that game. And if we just stick with what worked and we got better at what didn't work and just keep them off the boards, I think we'll be very pleased with ourselves."

The Louisville lineup looks a little different that it did a few months ago, but four of those November starters are still significant contributors. Since that game in the Bahamas, Louisville has gone 20-10. The Cardinals reached the championship game at the ACC tournament, then opened the NCAA Tournament with an 83-81 win over Drake.

"Simply put, like we're just a lot better in every facet of the game," UL guard Hailey Van Lith said. "We're a lot better at defense. Our offense is a lot more efficient. We play a lot harder. I think on every cylinder we've improved and made big strides. But most importantly, I think our defense has come a long way."

Even though the first meeting between Texas and Louisville happened so long ago, the two teams haven't thrown out that film. Schaefer thinks there's value in evaluating how Louisville hurt Texas in the Bahamas. Walz said it's easier to gauge the quickness of UT's players from the November film because he can compare those Longhorns to his players.

"I think you can take what you want from it," Schaefer said. "It was really a good teaching film this morning to show some things."

The players have also come up with their own scouting reports for the rematch.

"I feel like obviously they're the same team," Gonzales said of Louisville. "We've played them before so we know what we've got to do to win. We just gotta watch their guards. They have some guards that can shoot the ball, jump shots, and then we just have to box out and make sure that we're focused and just ready for the game."

Analyzed Van Lith: "I can see them trying to crash on us, get second-chance points. They're going to try and beat it in the post, beat us down low. Maybe get us in foul trouble in our bigs a little bit. But we're going to do the same thing.

Monday's game

NCAA Tournament second round: (5) Louisville at (4) Texas, 6 p.m., Moody Center, ESPN, 105.3

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas, Louisville women reunite in NCAA basketball tournament