Following Notre Dame’s lead, Louisville used a huge second half to pour on the pain in their first game of the Big East Tourney. Led by 22 from sharpshooting Mike Marra, Louisville beat the Golden Eagles by 25. You don’t have to look far to see what the difference was in this game — the Cardinals shot 47% from the field while Marquette managed just 29%, including an anemic 3-16 from beyond the arc.
Neither team did a particularly good job of cleaning up on the boards, but Chris Smith, Kyle Kuric, and Preston Knowles got their hands on a bunch of rebounds from the guard spots. Both teams are undersized, so Rick Pitino was very comfortable going to his small lineup when Terrence Jennings got into foul trouble. Also, 21 of Louisville’s 30 baskets were assisted. Just 4 of Marquette’s 17 were for Buzz Williams’ club.
Because Marquette got their two wins they needed, they should be a lock for an at-large bid. Anywhere from an 8 to a 10-seed seems possible once the Committee gets into their room. Louisville faces Notre Dame, a team they lost to in overtime earlier this season. Both teams like to play fast basketball — it’ll likely come down to who is hotter on the night. With another win, ’Ville could earn themselves as high as a 3-seed.