Louisville stops Tennessee 79-60, North Carolina next for Final Four berth

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Louisville and North Carolina were supposed to meet earlier this season, but the banged-up Cardinals were upset by Brigham Young in a November tournament, spoiling the potential matchup of traditional powers.

Since then the Cardinals have gotten healthy and Rick Pitino has them playing their best basketball of the season. Now Louisville will finally get that crack at the Tar Heels — for a spot in the Final Four.

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

“The last three games, our offense and our defense have both been clicking,” said Pitino, who is a victory away from a sixth trip to the Final Four. “There have been games where our offense has clicked or our defense has clicked, but our defense has stayed constant most of the year.”

The third-seeded Cardinals (27-8) overcame 20 turnovers by shooting 52 percent. On defense, Pitino’s signature zone and pressure limited the high-scoring Volunteers to 34-percent shooting. The veteran coach improved to 8-0 in regional semifinals by finding a way to bottle up No. 2 seed Tennessee’s top scorers.

Chris Lofton, hounded all day on the perimeter, scored 15 points on 3-of-15 shooting. Tyler Smith got into foul trouble and made just 3 of 9 shots in an 11-point night.

“Everybody was saying how do you stop Lofton or how do you stop Smith?” said Louisville forward Terrence Williams. “The whole year we played against great shooters and good big men. This team, we’ve been through a lot so we know how to adjust. Today we just tried to adjust to their shooters and not just worry about Lofton and Smith. We tried to worry about each individual on the team.”

Five players scored in double figures for the deep Cardinals, who have won 12 of 14 games. Now the toughest test for their stout defense will come against the top-seeded Tar Heels.