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Cardinals Cruise, 103-64

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The Associated Press

Published: March 28, 2009

Updated: 03/28/2009 12:33 am

INDIANAPOLIS - Rick Pitino enjoyed watching Friday night's game almost as much as his Louisville players enjoyed celebrating.

Fun-loving forward Terrence Williams danced on the sideline. Guard Edgar Sosa posed for the television camera. Even backup Kyle Kuric dunked. For the top-seeded team in the NCAA Tournament, this was more fun than a team scrimmage or a pickup game.
Earl Clark scored 19 points and had nine rebounds, and the Cardinals delivered one of the most crushing blowouts in regional history with a 103-64 victory over Arizona.

"We played great tonight because we really passed the ball beautifully," Pitino said. "It's fun as a coach to watch the guys be so unselfish."

Should they follow the same script Sunday, against Michigan State in the Midwest final, the Cardinals (31-5) will return to the Final Four for the first time since 2005.

The Big East has four teams playing in this weekend's region finals, including its regular-season and tournament champ, Louisville.

Louisville was incredibly efficient in the highest-scoring game in its NCAA Tournament history, shooting 57.6 percent from the field and dishing out 29 assists on 38 baskets. It shot 48 percent on 3-pointers.

Defensively, the Cardinals were even better.

They rattled the Wildcats with constant pressure, forcing nine turnovers in the first half and 15 in the game.

The combination put Louisville within one point of cracking the top five for most lopsided victories in a regional round. UCLA set the record with a 49-point rout of Wyoming in 1967, and the next four all occurred before 1972.

The Cardinals built a 21-point halftime lead, then quickly put it away by opening the second half on an 18-5 run that set off the revelry.
Chase Budinger led Arizona with 22 points, and Jordan Hill had 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Mich. St. Rallies To Oust Kansas
Goran Suton had 20 points and nine rebounds and Michigan State was steady from the foul line, rallying to defeat defending NCAA champion Kansas 67-62 Friday night in the other Midwest Regional semifinal.

Kalin Lucas added 18 points for the second-seeded Spartans (29-6). He was 5-for-15 from the field, but made all five of his free throws in the final minute. Overall, Michigan State went 16-of-17 from the line.

Michigan State overcame a 13-point deficit in the first half and advanced to play Louisville on Sunday for a trip to the Final Four.

"Kansas is a very, very good team. I'm very proud of how our guys fought back," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said.

Sherron Collins scored 20 points and Cole Aldrich had 17 points and 14 rebounds for Kansas (27-7).

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