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.
