Indianapolis, IN

Russ Smith scored 16 of his 31 points in the first half to help top seed Louisville beat 12th seed Oregon, 77-69, and book a spot in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Smith hit nine of 16 shots and 12 of 14 attempts from the charity stripe to finish just five short of Louisville school record for most points in a NCAA Tournament game held by Junior Bridgeman, who scored 36 against Rutgers in 1975.

The win put the Cardinals in the Elite Eight for the 13th time in program history and for the fourth time in the last six years. They will take on Duke in the Elite Eight.

Kevin Ware added 11 and Gorgui Dieng had 10 for the Cardinals (32-5), who shot 17-for-28 from the field for an outstanding 60.7 percent in the first half to take a 45-31 lead at the break.

EJ Singler scored 15 points to lead four other teammates in double digits for the Ducks, who ended their season with a 28-9 mark.

Dominic Artis and Damyean Dotson added 12 points each, Arzalan Kazemi had 11 points and 12 boards while Carlos Emory had 10 for the Ducks, who shot 40 percent in the opening half but was outmuscled by the Cardinals in the shaded lane, 28-14.

Smith scored nine early points to give the Cardinals a 24-8 cushion in the first half but the Ducks answered with an 11-4 burst, capped by a Kazemi layup, to cut the gap to 28-19.

However, the Cardinals outscored the Ducks, 17-12, in the last 7:31 to stretch their lead to 14 going into the second half.

In the second half, the Cardinals extended their lead to 66-48 behind a 7-0 run capped by a triple by Luke Hancock with 9:04 to play.

Russ Smith matched his career high with 31 points to lead three Cardinals in double figures, and top-seeded Louisville overcame its toughest test yet in a 77-69 victory over Oregon on Friday night in the Sweet 16.

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Russ Smith Scores 31 as Louisville Ousts Oregon