The uniforms said ''Louisville'' across the chest. At last, that was not a lie. This was not the Louisville that brought you Junior Bridgeman, Darrell Griffith and Pervis Ellison, but it might be one to pose a challenge for UC tonight.
Tonight's game
UC vs. Louisville
Tip: 7 p.m.
TV: Fox Sports Ohio
Radio: WLW-AM (700)
Notes: UC won 71-57 at Louisville on Jan. 18 and 67-61 at Shoemaker Center on Jan. 29. . . . The winner plays at 7 p.m. Friday in a semifinal game. . . . Louisville junior Eric Johnson is a graduate of Woodward High.
Also today
UNC Charlotte vs. Marquette, 1 p.m.
Memphis vs. Southern Miss, 3:30 p.m.
UAB vs. Saint Louis, 9:30 p.m.
First round
Louisville 75, South Florida 64
Marquette 52, DePaul 50
Southern Miss 73, Houston 57
Saint Louis 71, Tulane 53
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Louisville already has set a school record for defeats, and the next will give the Cards their first 20-loss season, but they delayed that ignominy at least another day with a 75-64 dissection of South Florida in a first-round Conference USA tournament game Wednesday at the Shoemaker Center.
U of L (12-19) earned a quarterfinal date with top-seeded UC tonight at 7 p.m. The No. 14 Bearcats (23-5) won the two previous games, but Louisville played South Florida (17-13) more like the team that was in a halftime tie in its mid-January game with UC at Freedom Hall.
Bearcats Ruben Patterson sat in the end zone with a pen in hand, but whatever notes he made were mental. The pen was for signing autographs.
''They look like they played pretty well right here,'' Patterson said, ''but we've beaten them twice already. I like our chances.''
Louisville was led by 21 points from forward Nate Johnson and 20 by center Alex Sanders.
The Cardinals immediately demonstrated they were interested in playing this game, unlike some of those toward the end of the regular season, when they dropped four of the final five.
They admitted to reaching a point where they realized they could not salvage a respectable record - by their programs' standards, anyway - but recognized there was a reward for winning four in a row here.
''All I know is that anything can happen at tournament time,'' said Louisville coach Denny Crum. ''There's no way to predict things. Defeating Cincinnati on their floor is going to take a great effort.''
Johnson and Sanders, who topped 30 between them only twice in the past five games, combined for 31 in boosting Louisville to a 45-27 halftime lead. They made a combined 12-of-17 shots, but instead of all the three-pointers they chucked in recent weeks, Johnson took and made one and Sanders strictly worked the inside.
''We got a lot of points early off mistakes they made,'' Crum said.
South Florida coach Seth Greenberg said the mistake was his. He tried a defensive manuever to create mismatches that favored the Bulls, but instead wound up creating fastbreaks for the Cardinals.
''They got 14 fastbreak points. You eliminate those 14 points,'' Greenberg said, ''and we've got a heck of a game down the stretch.''
South Florida got 10 minutes from senior guard Brian Lamb, who tried to play with an injured thumb but was ineffective. He did not score.
LOUISVILLE (12-19) - N. Johnson 6-10 8-9 21, Dantzler 0-0 0-3 0, Sanders 10-14 0-0 20, Maybin 2-5 0-0 6, Murray 3-5 5-6 13, Williams 3-11 1-2 8, McKinley 0-0 2-4 2, E. Johnson 2-3 0-0 5. Totals 26-48 16-24 75.
SOUTH FLORIDA (17-13) - Smith 3-14 2-3 9, Asbury 6-15 8-15 20, Johnson 3-11 1-2 9, Lamb 0-2 0-0 0, Jenkins 5-12 3-4 15, Jackson 3-8 0-0 7, Luczywko 1-3 0-0 2, Frazier 1-2 0-0 2, Reeves 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-67 14-24 64.
Halftime-Louisville 45, South Florida 29. 3-point goals-Louisville 7-18 (N. Johnson 1-2, Sanders 0-1, Maybin 2-5, Murray 2-2, Williams 1-7, E. Johnson 1-1), South Florida 6-25 (Smith 1-4, Asbury 0-2, Johnson 2-8, Lamb 0-2, Jenkins 2-5, Jackson 1-4). Fouled out-Dantzler. Rebounds-Louisville 35 (N. Johnson 10), South Florida 41 (Johnson 9). Assists-Louisville 14 (Murray 5), South Florida 6 (Johnson, Jenkins 2). Total fouls-Louisville 22, South Florida 21. A-N - A.
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