(1) Louisville Soars Into Elite Eight
Published at(INDIANAPOLIS) — Russ Smith scored 31 points, Kevin Ware added 11 as (1)Louisville soared past (12) Oregon 77-69, to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.
Gorgui Dieng chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds for Louisville (32-5), who has now won 13-straight games.
Louisville coach Rick Pitino improved his record to 11-0 in regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament.
Smith’s 31 points tied a career-high. “Without Russ Smith, we couldn’t win,” Pitino said.
The Ducks (28-9) got to within 70-64 in the second half but the Cardinals made enough plays down the stretch to hold on for the win.
E.J. Singler paced Oregon with 15 points in the loss.
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