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Louisville Beats Tennessee 79-60
Rick Pitino leads Louisville on their way to the Final Four in a victory against Tennessee.
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March 31, 2008 (FPRC) -- Wayne Chism attempted to recover the loose ball for Tennessee when he was outnumbered Louisville players Thursday night. Ultimately, the ball ended up deflecting off of Chism and out of bounds, leaving the Cardinals one win away from a 6th trip to the Final Four. Earl Clark scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds. Rick Pitino made things difficult for Tennessee in a 79-60 win that put Louisville in the East Regional final.
Pitino has won an NCAA title and has taken 3 teams to the Final Four. Thanks to him, Louisville has been playing well this year. After their 2 victories last weekend, Pitino held back the Volunteers to 34% shooting. The veteran coach improved to 8-0 in regional semifinals and secured a date with top-seed North Carolina on Saturday night.
Both Andre McGee and Terrence Williams scored 13 points. David Padgett scored 10 points and 8 rebounds for Louisville which almost blew all of a 16 point first half lead. The Cardinals are competing for their 2nd Final Four trip in 6 years.
Chris Lofton scored 15 points for Tennessee, even though he was 3 for 15 in his last game with the Volunteers who never made it past the round of 16. Despite a tough beginning, Tennessee got within 37-36 early in the 2nd half. Their defensive pressure forced 20 turnovers. Clark had a driving lay-up, hit a baseline jumper and converted a 3 point play in a 13-5 run.
The Cardinals hit all 9 free throws over the final 5 minutes to keep Tennessee at bay. Even though Tyler Smith got 11 points and JaJuan Smith had 12, the Volunteers continued their NCAA tournament shooting slump.
Tennessee went 5 for 20 from 3 point range and finished 11 for 58 in 3 games. The Volunteers haven't been able to get into the round of 8. They dropped to 0-5 in the regional semifinals, finishing with a team record for victories in a season.
The Volunteers got off to a bad start. Chism got 2 fouls in the first 2 minutes of the game and Louisville's extended 2-3 zone bottled up Lofton. When the Cardinals weren't turning it over, they were scoring baskets in transition. Louisville took a 24-8 with 8:58 remaining.
Despite Lofton not offering very much, Tennessee got within 7 at halftime and cut the deficit to 1 early in the 2nd half. Lofton was up against a defender every time he got the ball. He missed his first seven 3 point attempts. He was 2 for 11 from 3 point range but Louisville took the lead in the last minute. Louisville's defense were covering Lofton so tight that he couldn't make his shots.
The Cardinals will play against North Carolina next. They were supposed to play in Las Vegas but the Cardinals were upset by Brigham Young. The Cardinals are a confident this time around, thanks to their defense.
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Keywords:
NCAA, Final Four, basketball
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