Grieving Smith leads Louisville into semis

NEW YORK – Russ Smith scored 28 points in a bittersweet homecoming, leading No. 4 Louisville into the Big East tournament semifinals with a 74-55 victory over Villanova on Thursday night only hours after the death of his esteemed high school coach, Jack Curran.

Smith and the defending champion Cardinals (27-5) harassed Villanova into 25 turnovers and advanced to play Notre Dame in tonight's late game at Madison Square Garden.

Luke Hancock added 12 points off the bench for second-seeded Louisville, which has won eight straight – seven by at least 14 points. Peyton Siva, the tournament MVP last year, scored 10.

JayVaughn Pinkston had 21 points for the seventh-seeded Wildcats (20-13), confident they'll receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday thanks to a string of high-profile wins against top-notch opponents this season. Mouphtaou Yarou added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

No. 5 Georgetown 62, Cincinnati 43 in New York – Conference Player of the Year Otto Porter Jr. scored 18 points as the top-seeded Hoyas advanced to the Big East tournament semifinals by pulling away from the Bearcats.

Porter made all 11 of his free throws to offset a 3-of-9 performance from the field.

Markel Starks had 14 points, and reserve D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera added 13, including a tiebreaking three-pointer that sparked a game-turning run for the Hoyas (25-5). Georgetown will face No. 19 Syracuse in the semis.

Georgetown, looking to land a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, squandered an early 16-point cushion and fell behind briefly in the second half before clamping down with its signature defense.

Cashmere Wright hit four three-pointers and scored 14 points for ninth-seeded Cincinnati (22-11).

No. 19 Syracuse 62, No. 17 Pittsburgh 59 in New York – James Southerland had a second straight great effort from three-point range, and Michael Carter-Williams scored Syracuse's last seven points as the 19th-ranked Orange held off Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.

Southerland had 20 points as he did in the second-round win over Seton Hall. The senior was 6 for 6 on threes against Pittsburgh, a day after going 6 for 9 from beyond the arc against Seton Hall.

Carter-Williams had 11 points and seven assists for the fifth-seeded Orange (25-8), who will meet top-seeded Georgetown in the semifinals Friday night.

Lamar Patterson had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the fourth-seeded Panthers (24-8).

No. 24 Notre Dame 73, No. 12 Marquette 65 in New York – Pat Connaughton scored 18 points on six three-pointers, and Jack Cooley had two big offensive rebounds in Notre Dame's game-changing run as the Fighting Irish beat Marquette to reach the Big East tournament semifinals for the fourth straight year.

Unfortunately for the Irish (25-8), the road has ended there each time – the last two times against No. 4 Louisville.

Jamil Wilson had 16 points and Junior Cadougan added 14 for the third-seeded Golden Eagles (23-8), who shared the regular-season title with Louisville and top-seeded Georgetown.

No. 6 Michigan 83, Penn State 66 in Chicago – Trey Burke scored 21 points to lead Michigan (26-6) over Penn State (10-21) in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, avenging a shocking loss to the Nittany Lions during the regular season. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Nik Stauskas each added 15 points for the Wolverines, who will play fourth-seeded Wisconsin in the quarterfinals today.

No. 7 Kansas 91, Texas Tech 63 in Kansas City, Mo. – Ben McLemore scored 24 points to lead the Jayhawks (27-5) to a rout of the Red Raiders (11-20), setting up an intriguing date with Iowa State in the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament. Kansas needed overtime to beat the Cyclones in both of their regular-season games.

No. 11 Kansas State 66, Texas 49 in Kansas City, Mo. – Rodney McGruder scored 24 points and sparked an 11-0 run in the second half, lifting the Wildcats (26-6) past the Longhorns (16-17) in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.

No. 14 Oklahoma State 74, Baylor 72 in Kansas City, Mo. – Phil Forte hit two free throws with 2.9 seconds left, and the Cowboys (24-7) survived after blowing a 20-point lead to beat the Bears (18-14) in the Big 12 quarterfinals.

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