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Louisville-Villanova Postgame Notes
March 15, 2013 | Men's Basketball
March 14, 2013
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Louisville Postgame Notes
Louisville 74, Villanova 55
March 14, 2013
Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y. (20,057)
TEAM NOTES
With the win:
- Louisville has been victorious in its last eight games.
- Louisville improved its record to 28-26 in Madison Square Garden.
- The Cardinals are now 11-5 in the Garden for BIG EAST Tournament games and 5-1 in the quarterfinal round.
- Head coach Rick Pitino improved his record to 43-13 in conference tournaments.
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- Head coach Rick Pitino is now 12-7 in the BIG EAST Tournament.
- Louisville improved its record to 24-0 this season when leading at the half.
- The Cardinals improved to 45-18 in the month of March and head coach Rick Pitino improved to 113-40 overall and 56-25 in 12 seasons at Louisville in the calendar's third month.
- It marked the senior class' 102nd victory to put their record at 102-38. It is the sixth-most wins by a senior class in school history.
- Louisville advances to the semifinal round of the BIG EAST Championship for the third-straight year.
- The Cardinals took the lead in the all-time series, 10-9, and improved to 2-0 against the Wildcats in the BIG EAST Championship.
- Louisville has won five straight games in the BIG EAST Championship, tying for the fifth-longest winning streak in the tournament's history.
The Cardinals forced the Wildcats into 18 turnovers in the first half, the most by any opponent this season. The previous high for a nonconference team was 16, committed by Manhattan (Nov. 11), Samford (Nov. 15), College of Charleston (Dec. 4), and Missouri-Kansas City (Dec. 8). The previous high for a BIG EAST team was 12, committed by Syracuse (Jan. 19), DePaul (Feb. 27), and Cincinnati (March 4).
The 18 first-half turnovers committed by Villanova are the most by a Louisville opponent in its BIG EAST Tournament history.
Louisville held Villanova to 55 points, running its record to 20-1 this season when holding the opposition to less than 60 points in a game. Louisville has held its last five opponents to less than 60 points in a game.
Seven Louisville players registered at least one steal in the game, and four of those players finished the game with more than one steal. The last time the Cardinals had that many players credited with a steal was against Syracuse on March 14, 2009, when seven players had a steal. Three of those finished with two or more.
Louisville recorded 12 steals in the victory, the most since the team posted 14 against Marquette (March 8) in last year's tournament.
Louisville has recorded double-digit steals in five BIG EAST Tournament contests to date, with its highest output being 16 steals against Providence in 2009.
| Steals | Opponent | Date |
| 12 | Villanova | 3/14/13 |
| 14 | Marquette | 3/08/12 |
| 15 | Syracuse | 3/14/09 |
| 12 | Villanova | 3/13/09 |
| 16 | Providence | 3/12/09 |
Louisville knocked down 10 3-pointers in the game, the most a Cardinals' team has hit in the BIG EAST Tournament since connecting on 13 treys against Marquette on March 10, 2011.
Louisville's 10 3-pointers are the third-highest total this season. It's also the third time the Cardinals have hit double-digit 3-pointers this season (FIU, Dec. 19, 2012; Miami Ohio, Nov. 18, 2012).
The Cardinals have now connected on double-digit free throws in 13 games this season.
Defensively, the Cardinals limited Villanova to just 2 of 12 from beyond the arc, tied for the second fewest 3-pointers by a Louisville opponent this season.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Russ Smith finished with a game-high 28 points, making him Louisville's top scorer for the 20th time this season. He has reached double figures in 29 of 32 games this year, and has eclipsed the 20-point mark 13 of those games.
Smith's 28 points matched the most by a Louisville player in BIG EAST Championship history. Edgar Sosa had 28 against Cincinnati in the 2010 championship.
Smith went 10-of-11 at the charity stripe, the most free throws made by a Louisville player in its BIG EAST Tournament history.
Smith has converted 176 free-throw attempts this season, putting him in second place behind Wes Unseld (177; 1967-68) for most made free throws in a season.
Peyton Siva entered the game with 226 career steals. After registering three steals, he moved into second place all-time. He needs one more to tie Darrell Griffith (230) for the career steals record and two for sole possession.
Siva also continued his ascend on the season assists chart. With four in the game, he now has 186 for the season to put him at third all-time. He moved ahead of Labradford Smith (184; 1988-89) and Terrence Williams (185; 2008-09).
With 10 points in the game, Siva has scored in double digits in seven-straight BIG EAST Tournament contests.
