Men's Basketball Advances, Faces Marquette in BIG EAST Quarterfinals
Louisville is advancing to the quarterfinals for the fifth time in the last sixt years.
 
Gorgui Dieng surpassed Pervis Ellison for the most blocks in a season after tallying six against Seton Hall.

Gorgui Dieng surpassed Pervis Ellison for the most blocks in a season after tallying six against Seton Hall.

March 8, 2012

PDF DOCUMENTS
Louisville Tournament Notes Get Acrobat Reader | Louisville Supplement for Marquette Contest Get Acrobat Reader
Updated BIG EAST Championship Bracket Get Acrobat Reader

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Advancing to the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals for the fifth time in the last six years, the University of Louisville men's basketball team will face No. 2 seed, Marquette, Thursday evening at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. Tip is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPN/ESPN3D.

Behind a strong offensive performance from Peyton Siva and a clutch team defensive performance, the Cardinals (23-9) posted a 61-55 victory over Seton Hall on Wednesday in a BIG EAST second round game. Siva scored 14 points - his most since scoring the same at Cincinnati on Feb. 23 - on 6-of-11 shooting, dishing out three assists and recording a game-high six steals. Gorgui Dieng finished with six points, 10 rebounds and six blocks, increasing his season total to 104 to pass Pervis Ellison (1997-98) for the most blocked shots in a season. Kyle Kuric chipped in 13 points, and Russ Smith came off the bench to add 11. Seton Hall, led by Jordan Theodore's 17 points, shot just 32.7 percent from the field, going 3-of-19 from beyond the arc.

Marquette (25-6) enters the contest having last played on March 3, when it defeated Georgetown, 83-69. BIG EAST Player of the Year Jae Crowder led all scorers with 26 points on 8-of-15 shooting while registering game highs of 14 rebounds and five steals. Darius Johnson-Odom added 17 points, and Vander Blue (13) and Jamil Wilson (11) each chipped in with double-digit point totals. For the game, the Golden Eagles shot 48 percent. Notably, Marquette made 45 trips to the charity stripe and knocked down 33 free throws. Hollis Thompson and Otto Porter each had 19 points to lead Georgetown, which was held to 39.7 percent from the field.

The two teams met earlier this season in Milwaukee on Jan. 16, with Marquette posting 74-63 victory. Louisville jumped out to an 18-2 lead, but the Golden Eagles fought back to 34-30 halftime advantage. Chris Smith and Russ Smith scored 19 and 20 points, respectively. Marquette's Odom tallied 19 points in the win.

QUICK NOTES

  • Louisville will debut its solid "InfraRED" adidas uniforms tonight.

  • As it has all season, Louisville continues to rank among the nation's elite on defense. Entering this week, Louisville ranked No. 5 in field goal percentage defense (holding opponents to 37.9 percent from the field) and No. 7 in steals per game (9.2 per contest).

  • Head coach Rick Pitino is now 39-13 in conference tournaments and has won nine conference tournament titles over his career.

  • Chane Behanan is shooting 63.2 percent (36-of-57) from the field over his last 10 games.

  • Gorgui Dieng had six blocks in the win over Seton Hall, marking the 10th time this season he has blocked five or more shots in a game this season. He leads the BIG EAST in the category and ranks eighth nationally in blocks per game (3.3).

  • Marquette ranks in the top 15 nationally in multiple statistical categories: assists per game (No. 6 at 17 per contest), steals per game (No. 12 at 8.8 per contest), turnover margin (No. 13 at +3.7 per game) and assist/turnover ratio (No. 14 at +1.33).

  • Jae Crowder ranks 12th nationally in steals per game (2.4).

    GAME FACTS - No. 7 seed Louisville vs. No. 2 seed Marquette
    Date: Thursday, March 8
    Time: 7 p.m. ET
    Site: Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y. (19,786)
    TV: ESPN/ESPN3D
    Radio: WHAS (840 AM) will broadcast the game on radio, with Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Doug Ormay (color) calling the action.
    Series History: Louisville leads the all-time series over Marquette, 40-26 (22-11 in Louisville, 17-14 in Milwaukee, 1-1 neutral).

     

     

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