CARDS MAKE PITT FOLD

Pittsburgh looked like the #1 team in the country until late Saturday in their showdown with Louisville. After leading the whole game, Pittsburgh blew their lead due to Louisville's pressure on defense.

Terrence Williams and Earl Clark led the way Saturday as #20 Louisville defeated #1 Pittsburgh 69-63. Williams scored 20 points and started Louisville's surge with a pull-up jumper. Clark scored 16 points and followed with a shot from the corner. Then, Preston Knowles hit a 3-pointer before Clark dunked on the break to pull the Cardinals within 55-54 with 6:25 left.

Louisville finally pulled even at 58-all on a jam by Samardo Samuels and Louisville took the lead for good on a layup by Williams with 2:53 left.

The Panthers, who'd answered every previous Louisville surge, wilted late as the Cardinals' pressure simply wore them down.

Louisville's pressure caused turnovers and the Panthers couldn't handle the ball well enough to hold on.Even when the Panthers held on to the ball, they couldn't knock down the shots. They shot just 30.6 percent in the second half, including 3-of-15 from 3-point range. Blair's absence due to foul trouble allowed the Cardinals to hold a 42-38 edge on the boards.

The victory capped a thrilling week for Louisville, who beat #12Notre Dame 87-73 in overtime on Monday.

Clark made sure the extra work wasn't necessary this time, shrugging off a sluggish first half in which he made just 2-of-10 field goals by doing a little bit everything in the second half as the Cardinals hung around long enough for their offense to get going late.

The rivalry has become one of the Big East's most heated since the Cardinals joined the conference three years ago, with only one of the previous six meetings being decided by more than six points.

Saturday night was no different, with the Cardinals making the big plays when it mattered to serve notice it may be the team to beat in the nation's toughest conference.