The No. 1 seed Louisville Cardinals destroyed the No. 16 seed North Carolina A&T Aggies and advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament in the Midwest Region Thursday evening, 79-48.
In the most lopsided game so far in this year’s tournament, Louisville showed why the Cardinals are the overall number one seed. Louisville never gave North Carolina A&T a chance. With 16:37 to go in the first half, Louisville went on a 10-0 run that gave them a 16-4 lead.
The Cardinals extended their lead to as much as 21 points in the first half, but the Aggies kept it around a 15 point deficit until the middle of the second half.
With 15 minutes remaining in the game, Russ Smith made a layup that started Louisville’s final large run. Smith and Peyton Siva combined for 14 points to put Louisville up 68-37 with 10:11 to go in the game.
Russ Smith led the Cardinals with 23 points on 10-16 from the floor. Smith also contributed eight steals. Wayne Blackshear added 12 points. Siva only scored six points but he had eight assists. Louisville shot 57.4 percent from the floor. The Cardinals struggled from the line, making only 13 of 22 free throw attempts.
Louisville’s 20 steals in one game set an NCAA tournament team record.
Bruce Beckford led the Aggies with 12 points and four rebounds. He was 4-7 shooting from the floor.
The Cardinals will face the No. 8 seed Colorado State Rams on Saturday. The time is still to be determined. Colorado State defeated the No. 9 seed Missouri Tigers Thursday, 84-72.
For more information, visit www.NCAA.com
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