Saint Louis Billikens
Luke Hancock scored 21 points and defending national champion Louisville beat Saint Louis 66-51 on Saturday and advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the third straight year.
Saint Louis, which has never been to the Sweet 16, lost in the third round of the tournament for the third consecutive year. Dwayne Evans led the Billikens with 16 points and Atlantic 10 player of the year Jordair Jett finished with 15.
The Billikens were down 25-16 at the half and Louisville missed their first ten shots in the first six minutes of the second half as the Billikens took a 29-27 lead on a Rob Loe layup. Â The Cardinals (31-5) shot under 45 percent, had 19 turnovers and only got 11 points from star Russ Smith.
Louisville responded with an 8-2 run to grab the lead and control of the game from that point on.
Louisville moves on the Midwest Regional semifinals in Indianapolis against either No. 1 seed Wichita State or No. 8 seed Kentucky. The unbeaten Shockers and Wildcats meet Sunday in St. Louis.
