Russ Smith Drops In 42 for Louisville; Big 12, PAC-12, American and Big East Championships on Tap for Saturday

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 14, 2014

Russ Smith isn't the shy or reticent type.

On Friday night, in Louisville's 94-65 victory over Houston in an American conference semi-final, he was completely unreserved, pouring in a career-high 42 points for the fifth-ranked Cardinals.

As often as Smith's exploits have defied description, this single-game extravaganza surely belonged in the range somewhere between Russ-diculous or Russ-tastic, terms reserved only for the Louisville guard.

Hitting 14-for-22 from the field with five of seven falling from beyond the arc, Smith augmented his extraordinary exploit with a 9-for-10 tally from the foul line, adding three assists and a trio of rebounds.

The win sent Louisville to the American tournament final on Saturday to face the Connecticut Huskies, 58-56 winners over Cincinnati in the other semi-final contest.

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Gearing up for a full weekend of championship hoops, Saturday offers some of the best match-ups of the season, with a number of the major conferences - and a slew of minor ones - deciding championships. By Sunday afternoon, all 32 automatic bids will have been spoken for, allowing the NCAA tournament committee to release the seedings precisely at 6:00 pm EDT.

The American, Big 12, PAC-12 and Big East will crown champions on Saturday. The action begins at 1:00 (all times EDT) when top-ranked Florida meets Tennessee in an SEC semi-final and Pitt faces Virginia in an ACC semi. Ohio State meets Michigan in a Big Ten semi-final, and, at 3:00, Duke faces NC State in an ACC semi-final.

After (22) Michigan State squares off against (12) Wisconsin in another Big Ten semi, the first championship games of the day begin at 6:00 pm when #20 New Mexico meets #8 San Diego State for the West Coast conference title, UCLA faces #4 Arizona for the PAC-12 crown, and Connecticut and Louisville begin their quest for the American championship.

At 8:30, Providence meets #14 Creighton to decide the Big East, and at 9:00 pm, Baylor meets up with Iowa State to determine the champion of the Big 12.

Russ Smith Leads Louisville over SMU, 84-71, with 26 Points

College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, March 5, 2014

#11 Louisville took another step towards at least a share of the American conference title, knocking off #18 SMU, 84-71.

The Cardinals are 14-3 in conference play, with one game left - Saturday, March 8, against Connecticut. Only Cincinnati, at 13-3, with two games remaining - March 6, Memphis; March 8, at Rutgers - has a chance to tie or beat out the Cardinals for the regular season championship.

If anything, Louisville is underrated, even at #11 in the AP Poll, and their deserving superstar, Russ Smith, gets less attention than other big-name players in the college basketball universe.

Smith had another of his routinely awesome outings on Wednesday against the Mustangs, leading all scorers with 26 points while nabbing six rebounds, handing out five assists and making two steals. Going 9-for-15 from the field, Smith was a perfect 6-for-6 from outside the three-point arc, as Louisville knocked down 13 treys.

Smith scored 22 of his points in the second half, at one point making three straight threes in a span of just a minute-and-a-half early in the second half. Despite his hot shooting, the Mustangs managed to stay close, but a later outburst from Smith of seven points in just over a minute increased the Cardinals' lead from seven to 12, and essentially put the game away.

Elsewhere, #3 Arizona managed a 73-69 win at Oregon State, #4 Duke scored just six points in the final five minutes, losing, 82-72, on the road at Wake Forest. #8 Kansas powered past Texas Tech, 82-57; #9 Wisconsin topped Purdue, 76-70; #10 San Diego State rallied past UNLV, 73-64; and #17 St. Louis was beaten by Dayton, 72-67.

NCAA Championship Final Breakdown: Louisville Cardinals vs. Michigan Wolverines

NCAA National Championship Final

Louisville Cardinals (34-5, 14-4 Big East) vs. Michigan Wolverines (31-7, 12-6 Big Ten)

Louisville head coach, Rick Pitino, is going after his second NCAA Championship, just days after being informed that he will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame later this year.

Pitino's first championship came at Kentucky, when the Wildcats captured the 1996 title with a 76-67 win over Syracuse.

This year's Louisville squad has some remnants of that '96 championship team, in terms of speed and size, though the Kentucky team was arguably a superior offensive force, with the likes of Tony Delk, Antoine Walker and Walter McCarty, while this Louisville group relies heavily on pressure defense and the skills of their backcourt duo, Peyton Siva and the electrifying Russ Smith, who is averaging a cool 25 points per game in Louisville's five tourney wins.

Another advantage Louisville may have over the Wolverines is their size in the front court and rebounding prowess. Gorgui Deing and Chane Behanan can dominate the paint, along with reserve, Montrezl Harrell, who should get ample floor time, as he did in the Cardinals' ripping, 72-68, win over Wichita State in the national semifinal, the four-point victory the closest any team has come to beating Louisville through five rounds. Deing is also a fearless shot-blocker, which will make Michigan's penetration a daunting task.

The Cardinals enter the fray riding a 15-game winning streak dating back to February 9 and are favored by 3 1/2 points over Michigan.

Louisville has won two national titles, in 1980 and 1986. Tis is their 38th tournament appearance, ninth time in the Final Four. The Cardinals have a 64-40 record in the NCAA tournament.

For the Wolverines, it's their first trip to the championship game since 1993, when Steve Fisher guided the "Fab Five" to their second straight title game loss (77-71 to North Carolina) and their first championship appearance under head coach John Beilein, who is in his first Final Four as a coach. The youngest team in the tournament field, Michigan has surpassed all expectations, but is loaded with hoops-pedigree talent in the likes of Glenn Robinson III, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jon Horford.

Michigan won their only national championship in 1989, when the Wolverines topped Seton Hall, 80-79, in overtime. It is their 23rd tourney appearance, with a 43-22 record and their sixth time in the Final Four.

Point guard, Trey Burke, who is expected to be named the national player of the year, will have most of the responsibility for breaking the Louisville press and getting the ball into the lane or out to the wings for three-point shooters, Hardaway and Nik Stauskas. A tireless performer, Burke has played 35 or more minutes in each of Michigan's five tournament games, totaling 35 assists, with a high of 10 in the Wolverines' 87-85 overtime win against Kansas, the South region's #1 seed.

While the Wolverines have ample outside shooting, the difference-maker may be freshman Mitch McGary, who has emerged as a force in the paint throughout the tournament. Besides his inexperience, the problem for McGary is that he will be mostly alone amongst the Louisville trees in the low post. He'll need help from Robinson on the boards. Burke and Hardaway are also good rebounding guards, who will have to contribute.

Either team has a legitimate shot at the championship crown. It will be up to Louisville to disrupt Michigan's fast flow offense, while the Wolverines must guard against turnovers and domination in the paint by the Cardinals.

The match-up of point guards Siva and Burke should be a great game-within-the-game. The contest may come down to just how well Russ Smith performs, as he is likely the most dangerous player on the floor in a game loaded with future pros.

Russ Smith, Chane Behanan Power #1 Louisville Past UConn

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, January 14, 2013

With Duke and Michigan each suffering losses over the weekend, Louisville was raised to the #1 position in the latest Top 25 Poll (AP), and, right away they were offered the opportunity to defend their position as the top team in the land.

Traveling to Connecticut to take on the Huskies, who had just toppled Notre Dame, 65-58, on Saturday, the Cardinals entered enemy territory with expectations as lofty as their ranking.

The Huskies took it to the Cardinals in the first half, shooting 50% from the field to take a 34-28 edge into the break, but the Cardinals came out breathing fire in the second half, quickly erased the lead and went on to dominate with 45 points in the half, cruising late to the 75-58 victory.

Led by a game high 23 points from Russ Smith (10-for-20, 2-for-6 on threes) and 16 points, nine boards and five assists by Chane Behanan, the Cardinals rolled to their 16th win against just one loss (76-71, to Duke), a 4-0 record in the Big East, tying them with #6 Syracuse for the conference lead.

The Cardinals will be put to the test again on Saturday, January 19, when they host the Orange in a 4:00 pm ET showdown, but for now, the #1 ranking rests peacefully in Kentucky, the ancestral home of hoops.