SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- This is getting predictable. For the third time in four years, and five out of the past eight, the Louisville Cardinals are back in the Elite Eight, though this time might rank as the most surprising.
The Cardinals -- the gang that couldn’t shoot straight, a team that booted its starting point guard in February, a squad that looked downright pedestrian for most of the year -- topped the NC State Wolfpack 75-65 to advance to Sunday’s regional final against either Michigan State or Oklahoma.
Here are five observations from the game:
In a game that had seven lead changes, furious rallies from each team, unexpected temporary heroes (Anton Gill? Really?), the play of the game went straight chalk. Terry Rozier’s burst down the court, ending with a Euro step, fake, layup, plus the foul was essentially the game winner for the Cardinals, even though it came with three minutes left. And, really, that’s the right finish because Rozier again was the star for the game. The guard, whose elevated play has catapulted Louisville in the NCAA tournament, finished with a dazzling line of 17 points, 14 rebounds and four assists.
Back to Anton Gill. The Raleigh, North Carolina, native won a state championship in his junior year but was never offered a scholarship by NC State. A motivating factor? Perhaps. Pressed into service when Wayne Blackshear was whistled with his fourth foul, Gill responded with seven points, including a critical 3-pointer when the two teams were trading leads.
Louisville knew it wasn’t going to win this game from the arc. The Cardinals simply don’t have the shooters that the Wolfpack have, but they wisely made sure that wasn’t an issue. Louisville played a smart half-court game, slowing down the tempo to eliminate NC State’s chances at transition shots (and to slow down Cat Barber) and concentrating on getting inside either to Montrezl Harrell or with dribble penetration. The Cards finished with 40 points in the paint to NC State’s 22. That’s against a team that ate up Villanova with 34 paint points a game ago.
Harrell, held to seven points the last time the two teams met, got the same physical treatment from the Wolfpack bigs but this time pushed back. He mixed up his shots, throwing in a few short jumpers along with some power moves down low, to finish with 24 points -- his high for this NCAA tournament.
Lost in the commotion of the back-and-forth game -- Louisville had just five turnovers in the game, only one in the entire second half. Rozier and Quentin Snider made savvy decisions on when to push tempo and when to retreat, and then took their time in the half court. That mistake-free basketball all but eliminated NC State’s usually potent transition game.