Louisville holds off feisty UC Irvine to survive

Louisville capitalized on an ill-advised late foul by UC Irvine to hold off the Anteaters and claim a 57-55 win.

The game featured six ties and nine lead changes in a back-and-forth slugfest between the fourth-seeded Cardinals and No. 13 Anteaters.

A turnover on the game's final possession cost UC Irvine a chance to tie.

Following the game head coach Rick Pitino admitted Louisville is "not a great team this year," and intimated his team suffered from early jitters and was happy to survive the feisty Anteaters.

Louisville had a tough time handling 7-foot-6 center Mamadou Ndiaye, who scored 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting - all inside.

Guards Wayne Blackshear, Quentin Snider and Terry Rozier accounted for 37 of the team's 57 points and, after Blackshear tied the game at 55 with 43 seconds left, Snider put the Cardinals ahead by making two free throws.

Louisville will move on to face Northern Iowa. Following the game, coach Pitino said the Cardinals will play better against Northern Iowa.