Louisville’s defense stifles Tennessee

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Louisville’s suffocating defense has Coach Rick Pitino a step away from a sixth trip to the Final Four.

Earl Clark scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds, and Pitino’s mix of defenses made life miserable for Tennessee in a 79-60 victory Thursday night to put the third-seeded Cardinals in the East Regional final.

Pitino, who has won two NCAA titles and has taken three schools to the Final Four, saw his signature zone and pressure limit the high-scoring Volunteers to 34% shooting. He improved to 8-0 in regional semifinals and secured a date with top-seeded North Carolina on Saturday night.

“One of the keys on defense all year has been changing it up,” Pitino said. “When you give any good team a steady diet of one defense, it’s not quite as good. We extend our zone almost like a half-court trap, and we don’t give the wings good looks.”

Terrence Williams and Andre McGee each added 13 points and David Padgett had 10 points and eight rebounds for Louisville (27-8), which nearly blew all of a 16-point first half lead, only to take control midway through the second half and keep alive its hopes for a second Final Four berth in four years.

Chris Lofton scored 15 points for No. 2-seeded Tennessee, but was three of 15 in his final game with the Volunteers (31-5), who have never advanced beyond the round of 16.

After a horrible start, Tennessee got within 37-36 early in the second half. But Clark, who has come on in the NCAA tournament, had a driving layup, made a baseline jumper and converted a three-point play in a 13-5 run.

Louisville’s defense didn’t allow Tennessee to get back in it again, and the Cardinals made all nine free throws over the final five minutes to keep Tennessee at bay.

Tennessee made only five of 20 three-pointers, finishing 11 of 58 in three games. It was another disappointing end for Coach Bruce Pearl, who in his third season hasn’t been able to get Tennessee into the round of eight.

“I’ve been coaching a long time and never has the tempo of the game been dictated so much by an opponent,” Pearl said. “We usually dictate tempo. We attacked the pressure and we had opportunity to hurt the press, but we just didn’t finish.”