Louisville Cardinals, Ncaa | featured news

Freshman Breanna Stewart scored 23 points and Connecticut won its eighth national championship with a record 93-60 rout of Louisville on Tuesday night.

Rick Pitino held court in a tunnel beneath the Georgia Dome, going on and on about the grittiest bunch of guys he's ever coached. One of them sat in the corner of the locker room, a net around his neck, grinning away. The Louisville Cardinals vowed to finish the job for Kevin Ware.

Luke Hancock came off the bench to score 20 points, walk-on Tim Henderson sparked a second-half rally with a pair of monster 3s and Louisville advanced to the NCAA title game Saturday night, escaping with a 72-68 victory over Wichita State.

The four teams left in the men’s N.C.A.A. tournament are an odd mix: a national player of the year candidate, Trey Burke of Michigan; a No. 1 seed, Louisville; an old-guard Big East team, Syracuse; and an outlier, Wichita State.

President Barack Obama is picking Indiana to go all the way in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. ESPN revealed Wednesday that Obama picked the Hoosiers to win it all in his 2013 bracket. He predicted Louisville, Ohio State and Florida would round out the Final Four.

Louisville beat an old foe to win a second Big East championship. Chris Smith, with his brother who plays for the New York Knicks in the stands, scored 15 points and the Cardinals withstood a closing run by Cincinnati for a 50-44 victory Saturday night that sends the Cardinals to the NCAA tournament for the sixth straight year.

Late in the second half of Connecticut’s victory in the Big East tournament final against Louisville, Kemba Walker came to the sideline and told his coach, Jim Calhoun, that he couldn’t feel his legs.

Michigan State turned a nail biter into a runaway victory, 64-52, denying the Big East a third Final Four team.

Cardinals play like the top seed in tournament, topping 100 points for first time this season.

Terrence Williams had 24 points and 15 rebounds, rallying top-seeded Louisville in the final minutes for a 79-72 win over Siena in the second round of the NCAA tournament Sunday.