Posted on Fri, Mar. 28, 2008

LOUISVILLE 79, TENNESSEE 60

UofL stifles Vols and scorches nets

By Chip Cosby

CCOSBY@HERALD-LEADER.COM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. --

Tennessee came in with the slightly higher profile in last night’s East Regional semifinal matcup with Louisville. The Vols were once ranked No. 1 in the country, had one of the most impressive wins of the regular season and came in a spot higher than U of L in the overall seeding.

But the Cards dominated the Vols on both ends of the floor and posted a 79-60 win last night at Charlotte Bobcats Arena. The win put the Cards (27-8) one step away from the Final Four. They now face overall No. 1 seed North Carolina (35-2) on Saturday for a trip to the national semifinals next weekend in San Antonio. The Tar Heels advanced in the opener with an easy 68-47 win over Washington State.

After struggling with turnovers in the first half, Louisville settled down in the second and finished 52 percent from the field. The Cardinals also controlled the boards against the smaller Vols, winning the rebounding battle 43-28.

Louisville’s stifling defense held Tennessee to 33.9 percent shooting from the field.

“The last three games our offense and defense have been all clicking,” U of L Coach Rick Pitino said. “Our defense has stayed constant most of the year. Guys prepared hard for a week, and we told our team this game was going to be won on the backboards.”

Tennessee sharpshooter Chris Lofton finished with 15 points in his final collegiate game but was 3-for-15 from the field, including 2-for-11 on three-pointers.

The Cards, as they’ve done all season, used a combination of zone and man-to-man to throw off the Tennessee offense. “One of the keys on defense all year has been the changing of it,” Pitino said. “When you give a team a steady diet of one defense, it’s not as good. We extend our zone almost like a halfcourt trip; we don’t give the wings good looks.”

Sophomore forward Earl Clark continued his strong play in the NCAA Tournament with a 17-point, 12-rebound performance. Clark is averaging more than 15 points and eight rebounds in U of L’s three tournament wins.

“It’s definitely time to bring your ‘A’ game,” Clark said. “I just tried to come out, be aggressive and help my team get the win.”

The Vols were slow out of the gate, and the game looked headed for a blowout early. A Jerry Smith three-pointer and coast-to-coast dunk by Terrence Williams gave U of L a 24-8 lead with 8:57 left.

Tennessee stayed in the game thanks to 14 first-half turnovers by the Cards, and the U of L lead was down to seven (37-30) by intermission.

The Vols stormed out of the second-half gate on a 6-0 run, closing to within one (37-36) when JaJuan Smith scored on a runout off an Edgar Sosa turnover.

Louisville held firm, however, re-establishing control with an 8-0 run. Center David Padgett scored on a runout dunk, and Clark added a left-handed finish in the lane and a baseline jumper to push U of L back ahead 49-39.

Clark added a back-door dunk that drew the fourth foul on Tennessee’s Tyler Smith and gave the Cards a 52-41 lead at the 12:41 mark.

A Lofton three closed the gap to 54-47 with 8:20 left, but a late flurry by Williams sealed the deal for the ’Ville.

Williams sank two free throws, scored on a drive and then flipped an over-the-head pass to Padgett for a dunk that pushed the lead to 60-47.

Tennessee got within 10 at 62-52, but Williams sank two more free throws and dished to Clark for a dunk that made it 64-52 Louisville with 4:25 remaining.

“I knew I could go by my man any time,” Williams said. “But you can’t go to the hole thinking shoot every time. When their guy stepped up, I just started feeding Earl and David.”

Tennessee finished perhaps its best season in school history at 31-5.

“We struggled all night long, and Louisville deserves a great deal of credit for that,” Tennessee Coach Bruce Pearl said. “I’ve been coaching a long time, and never has the tempo been dictated so much by the opponent.”