By Andrew Koob | National Desk The Louisville Cardinals became the second Big East team to earn a spot in the Final Four, following Syracuse to Atlanta for a shot at championship glory. Coach Rick Pitino, following an awful injury to guard Kevin Ware, used the rallying cry "bring it home for Kevin" for the remainder of the game...
By Andrew Koob | National Desk
Louisville guard Russ Smith (2) goes up with a layup against Duke defenders during the first half of the Midwest Regional final in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 31, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
The Louisville Cardinals became the second Big East team to earn a spot in the Final Four, following Syracuse to Atlanta for a shot at championship glory. Coach Rick Pitino, following an awful injury to guard Kevin Ware, used the rallying cry "bring it home for Kevin" for the remainder of the game as the Cardinals ran away from Duke in the second half of a 85-63 victory.
Here's a look at how the Cardinals punched their ticket to Atlanta for a matchup with the Wichita State Shockers and a chance to hoist the championship trophy:
Most Valuable Player:
Russ Smith, Louisville
"Russdiculous" stole the the show in the Cardinals' Elite Eight win, scoring a game-high 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Smith collected nine of those points from the free-throw line and added two rebounds, two steals and a block.
Honorable mention:
Kevin Ware, Louisville
Prayers and best wishes go out to Ware, who suffered one of the most gruesome injuries ever seen in a college basketball game. Seriously, I don't know how anyone can endure the level of pain that must result from having your leg literally snap in half, nor do I know how Ware's teammates continued playing at such a high level after such a traumatic moment. Ware, even from a hospital emergency room, was the driving force behind the Cardinals' second-half domination.
Least Valuable Player:
Rasheed Sulaimon, Duke
Sulaimon was a huge reason why the Blue Devils reached the Elite Eight, scoring 21 points against Creighton and 16 against Michigan State. The freshman guard had no such luck against the Cardinals, scoring just three points on 1-of-10 shooting. While the Big 3 of Mason Plumlee, Ryan Kelly and Seth Curry did their job, Duke needed everyone to chip in to overcome Louisville, and Sulaimon didn't come through.
Stat of the Game:
63 — Duke's point total
Coming into the game, Duke was one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation, averaging 78.3 points per game. The Blue Devils hit the wall that is the Louisville defense, which surrendered only 57.9 points per game heading into Sunday's matchup (15th-best in the nation). The Cardinals forced 10 steals and swatted nine shots to stifle the Blue Devils' formidable scoring attack.
Key play:
A 7-0 run early in the second half was capped by a chaotic — but effective — possession for the Cardinals. Forward Chane Behanan rebounded a miss by teammate Luke Hancock, but had the ball stripped away by a Duke defender. Center Gorgui Dieng came away from the ensuing scrum with the ball and passed to guard Peyton Siva, who dove into the lane for a tough layup that ended the frenzied sequence. That 7-0 spurt, which was part of a larger 20-4 run for the Cardinals, gave Louisville a 16-point lead that wouldn't fall below double-digits the rest of the way.