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SEATTLE -- For the fourth consecutive season, the Louisville Cardinals have advanced to the Sweet 16 after defeating UC-Irvine and Northern Iowa in the first and second rounds, respectively, of the NCAA tournament at Key Arena in Seattle.  A rigorous ACC slate -- five of the teams in the Sweet 16 hail from the ACC -- challenged Louisville, so the Cardinals were prepared for an audacious UC-Irvine squad and a Northern Iowa team that rallied late on Sunday.
In the end, however, Montrezl Harrell and Terry Rozier -- a pair of NBA prospects who combined to score 39 points and collect 11 rebounds in Sunday’s victory -- were an overwhelming burden. Harrell was just too strong inside, and Rozier was too good. Star of the first weekend: Rozier will be a pro soon. And throughout the first weekend of the NCAA tournament, it was clear he possesses next-level skills that most defenders can’t neutralize. He was solid in Louisville’s victory against UC-Irvine (12 points, 5-for-10, five assists, three rebounds, one steal and four turnovers), but he stole the show on Sunday against Northern Iowa. Northern Iowa’s Wes Washpun and Deon Mitchell are both speedy guards, but they couldn’t stay in front of Rozier. Once he found room, Northern Iowa’s bigs didn’t have a chance. He finished with 25 points, five rebounds, seven assists and two turnovers. The combo guard logged 39 minutes against the Panthers, yet he was still scrapping deep into the second half. The big moment in Seattle: With 4:28 to play, a Nate Buss jumper cut Louisville’s lead to six points, 55-49. On the other end, a Wayne Blackshear turnover led to a Wes Washpun dunk attempt on a fast break. Had Washpun slammed it, Northern Iowa would have been down by just four points and in pursuit of the momentum that, postgame, Ben Jacobson said was so difficult to steal throughout the game. But Blackshear raced down the floor to swat Washpun’s dunk. Louisville pushed the ball the other way, and Harrell dunked on the other end to extend Louisville’s lead to eight points. That swing ruined Northern Iowa’s shot at a late comeback. Blackshear’s contributions in Louisville’s wins in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament were significant. But that play on the fast break on Sunday, especially after his turnover, was monumental. What’s next? Louisville will face ACC colleague NC State Wolfpack on Friday in Syracuse. The only time the two teams met this season, NC State secured a 74-65 victory at Louisville on Feb. 14. Chris Jones, who was dismissed shortly after that game, led the Cardinals with 20 points. Rozier and Harrell combined to shoot 4-for-16 from the field. The Cardinals connected on just 57 percent of their free throw attempts. So even though Louisville (4) has a higher seed than NC State (8), the Wolfpack have proof that they can handle the Cardinals based on the previous success they had against a Louisville team that could use Jones’ quickness and defense to pressure NC State’s talented trio of Anthony Barber, Ralston Turner and Trevor Lacey. The good news for Louisville is that Harrell and Rozier probably won’t go 4-for-16 combined again.
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