I've cheered for a lot of good Louisville teams over the years, but this is the type of tournament performance against a good, disciplined, veteran opponent that I've always been envious of.
Russ Smith led the rout by scoring 27 points to bring his total in three games played at Rupp Arena to 80. He also got a midgame shoutout from LeBron James.
The lil homie Russ Smith putting on a show right now! #onfire
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 23, 2013
So basically, we're all allowed to refer to Russ as "the lil homie Russ Smith" from now on.
The Cards also got double figure outputs from Gorgui Dieng (12), Montrezl Harrell (11) and Peyton Siva (10). Siva also contributed five assists and two steals.
The most incredible part of the game? Colorado State didn't play that poorly.
The Rams, who had been 20-0 when shooting 43 percent or better from the field, hit 19-of-41 shots for 46.3 percent...and they lost by 26. U of L also outrebounded the leading rebounding team in the country by three (25-22).
"I don't want to put the pressure on Rick and his guys, but they're special," CSU coach Larry Eustachy said. "That's as impressive a team as I've been against."
I'll just say it: I'm not sure we can play any better. The good thing about that is that we beat a good team by 26 with said effort.
More later, but for now: Does anybody know Rick Pitino's record in the Sweet 16?