| Game Date: Mar. 19, 2004 | Score: Xavier 80, Louisville 70 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Taquan Dean (19) Xavier: Lionel Chalmers (25) |
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| It was a frustrating, but not altogether surprising, loss to Xaxier in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Cards, playing as a 10-seed, their second lowest seed ever, dropped their second straight tournament game in which they held a double-digit lead. And even though Francisco Garcia and Taquan Dean looked healthy, the Cards couldn't hold on against the Muskateers. For the first 25 minutes of the game, U of L was in control. Then Xavier's senior backcourt, and zone defense, took over. U of L finished the season 20-10, and losers of nine of their last 13 games. |
| U of L was 53-39 with 15:19 to play when the wheels came off this Cardinal squad for the last time. Guards Romain Sato and Lionel Chalmers, plus center Anthony Myles, showed why seniors are so valuable in March and propelled Xavier to an unbelievable run, leaving the Cards in awe and with no answers. Xavier went on a 16-3 run, and from then on the Cards were history. U of L was up 60-58 when Xavier hit a three-pointer and was fouled on the attempt; the made free throw gave the Muskateers a 62-58 lead with 7:55 left. It was Xavier's first lead since 18:25 in the first half. From there, Xavier went on another 15-3 run, and by that time the Cards were off national TV, done for the year, while Xavier was on its way to the second round. |
Xavier made eight of their first 11 second half shots, and scored on 16 of their first 20 possessions. They shot 14-23, almost 61%, in the second half; it was the best half of shooting against U of L all year. Where was the defense? The Muskateers took their biggest lead at 75-63 with 3:14 remaining, at which point Dean fouled out. Larry O'Bannon hit a three for U of L, which was followed by a Xavier turnover. Garcia then was fouled on a three-point shot, but missed two of the three free throws. Garcia then fouled out with 1:07 left. An indication of how little U of L got into the paint was the fact Xavier committed only four fouls in the second half. Dean scored 19 points, including six three-pointers. Garcia had 15 points and seven assists, while Luke Whitehead, in his final game with U of L, had 15 points. For Xavier, Chalmers, the Atlantic 10 tourney MVP, had 25 points, while Sato had 24. All told, it was a 36-10 Xavier run after U of L had its 14-point lead. U of L missed 21 of 30 shots in the second period.  |
| Game Summary: Xavier | Score: Xavier 81, Louisville 79 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Marques Maybin (18), Nate Johnson (18) Xavier: Darnell Williams (22) |
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| The frustration continues to build for the Louisville Cardinals. Although in this game the Cards did not give up a large lead like they had against Creighton and VCU, they still wilted down the stretch and were not able to produce a win in a tight game. A three-pointer by Darnell Williams gave Xavier a lead with 12:26 left, but Nate Johnson gave the Cards the lead back with only 2:40 with a three-pointer of his own. Xavier then scored five straight points to claim the lead for good. |
| The game was not without its share of controversy, however. An experimental rule allowed Xavier to continually inbounds the ball rather than shoot foul shots in the closing seconds, with the Cards trailing by one. 10 fouls were committed in 23 seconds of action. So much for quickening up the game. Still, the Muskateers gave the Cards a chance: Xavier finally did inbounds the ball, making only one of two free throws. A last-second desperation three by Reece Gaines bounced off the rim. |
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