Louisville wins ugly, as planned
ORLANDO, Fla. – It’s not always pretty with Louisville. And sometimes, it’s ugly by design.
The defending national champions shrugged off poor shooting, 19 turnovers and a subpar performance by star Russ Smith and still won handily Saturday to get back to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the third straight year.
“Everything’s not going to be sweet or pretty,” Smith said after a 66-51 victory over Saint Louis. “We’re just getting the job done.”
Luke Hancock scored 21 points and the battled-tested Cardinals (31-5) won with defense.
Saint Louis (27-7) missed all 15 of their 3-point shots and turned the ball over 18 times in losing in the third round for the third consecutive year.
“These guys have had a lot of wins under their belt, a lot of great tournament experiences,” said coach Rick Pitino, who huddled with the Cardinals after watching Florida wear down Pittsburgh in Orlando earlier in the day.
“I said, `Guys, that’s the exact game you’re going to be in,”‘ Pitino said. “And you’re going to have to be the prettiest team in an ugly game because that’s the way it’s going to be. … We grinded out a win, and that’s what the NCAA tournament is all about.”
The fourth-seeded Cardinals, who are looking for a third straight trip to the Final Four, move on the Midwest Regional semifinals in Indianapolis against either No. 1 seed Wichita State or Kentucky.
“Obvious, they’ve got a chance to repeat,” Saint Louis coach Jim Crews said of Louisville’s chances of winning it all again.
Dwayne Evans led Saint Louis, which has never been to the Sweet 16, with 16 points. Atlantic 10 player of the year Jordair Jett finished with 15.
Michigan 79, Texas 65: Nik Stauskas and Michigan are headed back to the Sweet 16.
Stauskas had 17 points and eight assists to lead the Wolverines to a 79-65 victory over Texas in the third round of the NCAA tournament.
Jordan Morgan added 15 points and 10 rebounds as Michigan (27-8) advanced to next week’s Midwest Regional semifinals in Indianapolis. The Wolverines will face the winner of Sunday’s Mercer-Tennessee game in Raleigh, N.C.
San Diego State 66, North Dakota State: 44: Xavier Thames dropped in 3s from deep, finessed floaters in the lane and carried San Diego State the way he did all season as the Mountain West player of the year.
Thames would not let North Dakota State become this year’s version of Florida Gulf Coast by sending the Aztecs home in the third round of the NCAA tournament.
Thames scored 30 points, and fourth-seeded San Diego State reached the round of 16 for the second time in school history, ending the run of No. 12 seed North Dakota State 63-44.
Dayton 55, Syracuse 53: Dyshawn Pierre scored 14 points and Jordan Sibert hit a key 3-pointer with 47.7 seconds left as Dayton stunned Syracuse to earn a spot in Sweet 16 for the first time in three decades.
Syracuse was poised to pull out another close victory, but Tyler Ennis’ 3-point attempt clanged off the rim at the buzzer.
Dayton (25-10), the 11th seed in the South Regional, advances to the regional semifinals next week and will play Kansas or Stanford.
The third-seeded Orange (28-6), who finished second in their first year in the Atlantic Coast Conference, struggled all game against the swarming Dayton defense, missing all 10 attempts from beyond the arc, while the Flyers hit seven times from long range.