National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Louisville 82, Colorado St. 56
When: 5:15 PM ET, Saturday, March 23, 2013
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Officials: # Les Jones, # Randy McCall, # Brian O'Connell
Attendance: 20601

Louisville 82, Colorado State 56: Russ Smith scored 18 of his 27 points in the first half as the top-seeded Cardinals rolled past the Rams in the third round of the NCAA Tournament in Lexington, Ky.

Gorgui Dieng tallied 11 points and led three other players in double figures for Louisville (31-5), which has won 12 straight games and will meet No. 12 Oregon on Friday in the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis.

Greg Smith finished with 14 points to lead eighth-seeded Colorado State (26-9), which committed a season-high 20 turnovers after averaging the fewest giveaways of any team in the Mountain West.

The senior-laden Rams acquitted themselves early, but the Cardinals assumed control behind a combination of pressure-induced turnovers in the frontcourt and 13 points from Smith during a 27-10 run that broke open a tie game. In the first half alone, Louisville generated 18 points off 11 turnovers, outscored Colorado State 22-6 in the paint and added nine second-chance points.

The Cardinals’ unrelenting full-court pressure forced six more turnovers over the first 4:27 of the second half and Louisville scored 12 of the first 17 points after intermission, stretching the margin to 57-36 on a layup by Chane Behanan with 14 minutes remaining.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Louisville coach Rick Pitino advanced his team to the Sweet 16 for the 11th time. … Colorado State entered Saturday with the best rebounding margin in the country, but was outrebounded 29-24. … The Cardinals shot 56.4 percent Saturday and are converting 56.8 percent of their field-goal attempts through two NCAA Tournament games.
Top Game Performances
 
Colorado St.   Louisville
Greg Smith 14 Scoring Russ Smith 27
Colton Iverson 2 Assists Peyton Siva 5
Daniel Bejarano 7 Rebounds Wayne Blackshear 4
Greg Smith 5 Free Throws Made Russ Smith 9
N/A Steals Gorgui Dieng 2
Colton Iverson 2 Blocks Gorgui Dieng 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Colorado St. 56 47.5 5-12 13-21 4 22 4 0 20
Louisville 82 56.4 5-9 15-18 14 25 2 11 9