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ORLANDO, Fla. -- Its not always pretty with Louisville. And sometimes, its ugly by design. The defending national champions shrugged off poor shooting, 19 turnovers and a subpar performance by star Russ Smith and still won handily Saturday to get back to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the third straight year. "Everythings not going to be sweet or pretty," Smith said after a 66-51 victory over Saint Louis. "Were just getting the job done." Luke Hancock scored 21 points and the battled-tested Cardinals (31-5) won with defence. Saint Louis (27-7) missed all 15 of their 3-point shots and turned the ball over 18 times in losing in the third round for the third consecutive year. "These guys have had a lot of wins under their belt, a lot of great tournament experiences," said coach Rick Pitino, who huddled with the Cardinals after watching Florida wear down Pittsburgh in Orlando earlier in the day. "I said, Guys, thats the exact game youre going to be in," Pitino said. "And youre going to have to be the prettiest team in an ugly game because thats the way its going to be. ... We grinded out a win, and thats what the NCAA tournament is all about." The fourth-seeded Cardinals, who are looking for a third straight trip to the Final Four, move on the Midwest Regional semifinals in Indianapolis against either No. 1 seed Wichita State or Kentucky. "Obvious, theyve got a chance to repeat," Saint Louis coach Jim Crews said of Louisvilles chances of winning it all again. Dwayne Evans led Saint Louis, which has never been to the Sweet 16, with 16 points. Atlantic 10 player of the year Jordair Jett finished with 15. Chris Jones made a couple of huge shots and scored 11 points for Louisville. Montrezl Harrell put a punctuation mark on the victory with a dunk that gave him 10 points and 11 rebounds. Pitino improved to 50-16 in the NCAA tournament, including a 16-0 mark in the round of 16. The Cardinals are in the regional semifinals for the 20th time, matching Kansas and trailing only North Carolina (25), Kentucky (24) and Duke (23). Smith struggled shooting the ball for the second straight game, missing his first four attempts and going scoreless until his 3-pointer put the Cardinals up 25-14 in the final minute of the opening half. Saint Louis starts five seniors, and their experience and cohesion showed in weathering a slow start and methodically working its way back into the game after falling down by 11. The Billikens began the second half with a 13-2 run, holding Louisville without a field goal for nearly 7 minutes to take a 29-27 lead. But Smith hit a floater in the lane, then made two free throws to restore order for the Cardinals, who limited Saint Louis to 39.6 per cent shooting. Louisville rebuilt their lead to 13 over the next 9 minutes, with Hancock making two 3-pointers and Smith finishing a 23-8 surge with a driving layup that put his team up 50-37. Smith finished 3 of 10 from the field and had a team-high seven turnovers. The senior led the Cardinals with seven assists. "Russ Smith has grown so much as a basketball player, but he still has one thing left, and I tried to explain this to him at halftime," Pitino said, adding that Smith has to learn to recognize how other coaches are game-planning to slow him down. "All the great ones from Michael Jordan to Kobe, they dont try to score 20 points in the first quarter. They get everybody else the ball and they let the game come to me, the other team fatigues and things open up. So his last lesson is to play like he did in the second half. .. . Hes our Michael, our Kobe." .C. Lions 35-14, was named the CFLs offensive player of the week Tuesday. Sheets recorded his ninth 100-yard rushing performance of the season to tie the Riders club record. . The stress, the waiting, the whispers about whether he doped during his stellar cycling career, all of it ended when - after nearly two years - federal prosecutors closed an investigation of him last week without bringing any charges. .Y. - Major League Soccers independent review panel has taken back the fine and one-game suspension it placed on Toronto FC forward Luke Moore earlier this week. . General Manager Sam Presti said the three-time All-Star had knee swelling that would not subside, and the procedure was intended to solve the problem. He said doctors determined that a loose stitch was to blame for the swelling, that Westbrooks lateral meniscus has healed properly and the procedure was successful. . Zimmermann became the National Leagues first 16-game winner, pitching seven solid innings to lead the Washington Nationals past the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 Wednesday night.Michael van Gerwen will renew his rivalry with Phil Taylor on the last Premier League night before the play-offs. The top four players in the table will progress to the play-offs and vital points could be up for grabs when world No 1 Van Gerwen faces Taylor in Rotterdam, on the competitions first trip to Holland.The Dutch star should receive strong home support when he shares the oche again with Taylor, who claimed a 6-6 draw in their most recent Premier League showdown on night seven. Phil Taylor had a message for Michael van Gerwen after their Premier League draw Gary Anderson takes on Adrian Lewis and Peter Wright is pitted against Raymond van Barneveld as part of an exciting night 15 line-up.Michael Smith and Dave Chisnall both bowed out of the competition on Judgement Night and next weeks schedule will see Taylor involved in a double-header, which will see him firstly play Anderson before a clash with James Wade. Michael Smith crashed out of the Premier League, finishing bottom of the table after a 7-5 loss to Phil Taylor The following week, Van Gerwen has been handed a match with defending champion Anderson, while Taylor battles his old rival Van Barneveld.ddddddddddddVan Gerwen will play twice on night 13 in Bournemouth as he locks horns with Wright, then ends the evening with a clash against Lewis.Premier League schedule:Betway Premier LeagueNight 10, April 7, Sheffield ArenaJames Wade v Raymond van BarneveldGary Anderson v Phil TaylorRobert Thornton v Michael van GerwenAdrian Lewis v Peter WrightPhil Taylor v James WadeNight 11, April 14, The SSE Arena, BelfastRobert Thornton v Peter WrightRaymond van Barneveld v Phil TaylorJames Wade v Adrian LewisMichael van Gerwen v Gary AndersonRaymond van Barneveld v Robert ThorntonNight 12, April 21, Bournemouth International CentreMichael van Gerwen v Peter WrightRaymond van Barneveld v Adrian LewisGary Anderson v James WadePhil Taylor v Robert ThorntonAdrian Lewis v Michael van GerwenNight 13, April 28, The Barclaycard Arena, BirminghamPeter Wright v Phil TaylorRaymond van Barneveld v Gary AndersonAdrian Lewis v Robert ThorntonJames Wade v Michael van GerwenPeter Wright v Gary AndersonNight 14, May 5, The Manchester ArenaJames Wade v Peter WrightGary Anderson v Robert ThorntonMichael van Gerwen v Raymond van BarneveldAdrian Lewis v Phil TaylorNight 15, May 12, The Ahoy Arena, RotterdamRobert Thornton v James WadeAdrian Lewis v Gary AndersonPhil Taylor v Michael van GerwenPeter Wright v Raymond van BarneveldPlay-Offs, May 19, The O2, LondonSemi-FinalsFinal Also See: WATCH: Champ loses count Thornton avoids PL elimination WATCH: Bull finishes Bully Boy Judgement Night recap ' ' '
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