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Men's Basketball Set to Face Davidson in NCAA Tournament Second Round
March 12, 2012
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After capturing its second BIG EAST Tournament title in school history, the University of Louisville men's basketball team will head to Portland, Ore., to face Davidson in a NCAA Tournament West Region second round game on Thursday, March 15, at Rose Garden Arena. Tip is set for 1:40 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on TBS. Louisville enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed, while Davidson grabbed the No. 13 seed after winning its conference tournament crown. The Cardinals (26-9) received the BIG EAST Conference's automatic bid when they defeated Cincinnati, 50-44, on March 10, to win the BIG EAST Tournament. Peyton Siva, the tournament MVP, finished the game with 10 points, five assists and four rebounds, and was one of three Cardinals named to the all-tournament team. Kyle Kuric and Gorgui Dieng also were selected to the team. Kuric posted 13 points, and Chris Smith led the Cardinals with 15 points behind 6-of-10 shooting. Louisville won the rebounding battle, 37-28, and shot 91.7 (11-of-12) from the charity stripe. Cashmere Wright had 16 points to lead Cincinnati, which shot just 39.2 percent from the floor and was 3-of-14 from beyond the arc. As a team, the Cardinals rank No. 3 nationally in field goal percentage defense (holding opponents to 37.9 percent) and No. 7 in steals per game (9.1). Louisville is 30th in blocked shots per game (4.9) and 35th in scoring defense (holding opponents to 61.2 points per game). Davidson boasts a 25-7 overall mark heading into Thursday's game after beating Western Carolina, 93-91, in double overtime in the Southern Conference Tournament title game. J.P. Kuhlman and De'Mon Brooks each scored 19 points in the victory, and Nik Cochran chipped in with 16 points and six assists. The Wildcats shot 52.9 percent from the field, going 17-of-26 (65.4 percent) in the second half. More than half of Davidson's points (56) came in the paint. Despite three players who finished with at least 20 points, Western Carolina shot 41.1 percent from the field and managed to connect on just two combined field goals in the two overtime periods. Brooks leads the team in scoring, averaging 16 points per game and is shooting 53.7 percent from the field. He also owns a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game. Cochran ranks first on the team in assists (117) and is shooting 88.7 percent from the charity stripe, a mark that is 13th-best nationally. The Wildcats are under the guidance of 23rd-year head coach Bob McKillop, who's led the program to a 426-270 overall record. McKillop was named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year, and Jake Cohen (media player of the year; first team), Brooks (coach's player of the year; first team) and Cochran (third team) earned all-league honors. QUICK NOTES
GAME FACTS - No. 4 seed Louisville vs. No. 13 seed Davidson
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