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NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 recap: #1 Louisville vs #12 Arizona

The Arizona Wildcats were no match for top-seeded Louisville in the Midwest Regional semifinals on Friday.

Prolific on offense and relentless on defense, the Cardinals of head coach Rick Pitino trounced the Wildcats 103-64 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

“We’ve had some really good Sweet 16 games,” said Pitino, who improved to 9-0 in regional semifinal contests during his head-coaching career. “But this was a dominating offensive performance, fed off of defense and passing.”

Five players scored in double figures for the Cardinals, who led wire-to-wire and shot 57.6 percent from the field.

“I think there’s a reason that Louisville is seeded No. 1 in this tournament, and I think they showed that tonight,” Arizona interim head coach Russ Pennell said.

The Cardinals swarmed the Wildcats with Pitino’s signature brand of full-court defensive pressure, forcing nine Arizona turnovers during the first half and five more in the second. Meanwhile, on the offensive end of the court, Louisville accumulated 29 assists.

“We wanted to make sure we were good at every phase of the game,” Pitino said.

For the Cardinals (31-5), it was mission accomplished. Consequently for the 12 th-seeded Wildcats (21-14), staying within striking distance was mission impossible.

“Unfortunately for us, we just had no answer,” said Pennell. “You know, I thought we got some good looks at the basket that didn’t go in, then we just weren’t quick enough on our rotations on the defensive end. Game got away from us.”

After junior guard Edgar Sosa nailed a three-pointer to put Louisville ahead 29-17 with 7:10 left in the opening half, the Cardinals led by double digits for the remainder of the contest.

Junior guard Jerry Smith closed out the first half with a triple from the right wing that pushed Louisville’s advantage to 49-28 at the intermission. After halftime, the Cardinals removed any remaining doubt, extending the margin to 65-34 on a drive to the basket by freshman forward Terrence Jennings with 14:00 left.

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“We definitely didn’t want to come out and let them back in the game,” Louisville junior forward Earl Clark said. “Coach told us that. Just get out, hop on ’em, basically just get the game over with. I think we did that today.”

Clark finished with 19 points and nine rebounds to lead the Cardinals, who also got 16 points from Smith, 14 each from senior forward Terrence Williams and freshman center Samardo Samuels, and 13 from Sosa.

“When they play like that, they’re gonna be really difficult to beat,” Pennell said about the Cardinals, who will line up against second-seeded Michigan State in the Midwest Regional final on Sunday.

Arizona was led by junior wing Chase Budinger, who scored the Wildcats’ first seven points and finished with 22. Junior center Jordan Hill contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds, while junior point guard Nic Wise ended with 14 points and four assists.

The game likely marked the end of Pennell’s tenure at the helm of the Wildcats.

Hired last May as an assistant by Arizona coaching icon Lute Olson and promoted to interim head coach after Olson retired suddenly on Oct. 23 due to health reasons, Pennell guided the Wildcats to the school’s 25 th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. In the first two rounds of the NCAA tourney last weekend in Miami, Pennell coached the Wildcats to victories over Utah (by a score of 84-71) and Cleveland State (by a count of 71-57) to advance to the Sweet 16.

Asked during Friday’s post-game press conference about the possibility of being considered for Arizona’s permanent head-coaching job, Pennell replied, “Well, you know, I think our season just finished about 30 minutes ago and I really haven’t thought much past my, you know, post-game talk to the players. This has been an incredible year. And the guys did exactly what I asked them to do -- to put all their own agendas on hold for 2008-2009. And I did the same thing. What we need to do is enjoy the season for a day or two, and then we’ll all move forward and see where that takes us.

“But right now, the last thing I’m thinking about is, you know, any job than the one I just finished.”

Arizona’s next coach will face the challenge of a full-scale rebuilding project. It is widely assumed that Hill and Budinger will forego their senior seasons and leave school early for the NBA Draft, as both are projected to be first-round picks. Further, all three members of the Wildcats’ highly touted 2009-10 recruiting class (Abdul Gaddy, Solomon Hill and Mike Moser) decommitted and signed elsewhere following Olson’s retirement. Additionally, freshman center Jeff Withey left the team after Olson retired and has since enrolled at Kansas.

Louisville’s Pitino has been rumored all along to be a prime candidate on Arizona’s coaching wish list. His team’s nearly flawless performance on Friday would seem to move him to the front of the line, if he wasn’t already there. Now more than ever, the Arizona job would appear to be Pitino’s if he wants it. Of course, the question is whether he can be enticed to leave Louisville.

By Tom Kessler
DFN Sports Staff Writer