Marquette 52 Louisville 99

Louisville snapped a three-game losing streak to Marquette by absolutely embarrassing the Golden Eagles and handing them their worst loss in school history.

Most people point to this game as the catalyst to Larry O'Bannon's immaculate two-month run that saw him earn MVP honors in the West Regional while U of L made its first run to the Final Four since 1986. The senior hit six three-pointers and scored a career high (for the time being) 30 points as the home crowd chanted “Lar-ee! Lar-ee!” for the first time in his four years as a Cardinal.

“You can't beat that – 20,000 people yelling for you. You can't even dream of that,” O'Bannon said after the game. “I didn't want to crack a smile, but I was sunshine on the inside.”

Francisco Garcia added 14 points, while Marquette's Todd Townsend scored 17 to lead the way for a Golden Eagle team playing without star point guard Travis Diener.

“He means a lot to our club and we learned how much tonight,” said Marquette coach Tom Crean.