When talking about the time Billy Donovan and his Florida Gators captured their first national title in 2006, Donovan's former coach (as both a player and an assistant) Rick Pitino said he "felt better about him winning it than when I won it."
Pitino probably won't feel that way if his Cardinals are sent home today instead of booking a trip to New Orleans for the Final Four.
The Elite Eight's first match-up pins two dark horses against each other, No. 4 Louisville and No. 7 Florida. Just like the 2011 UConn Huskies, the Cardinals went on an incredible run to win the Big East Tournament and haven't lost their momentum -- knocking out No. 1 Michigan State -- en route to the West Regional Finals.
The Gators breezed through their first two games, beating No. 10 Virginia by 26 and then No. 15 Norfolk State by 34. Third-seeded Marquette gave them a little more trouble, but Florida pulled away late and won 68-58.
Will Pitino stay undefeated against Donovan and earn his sixth trip to the Final Four (second with Louisville)? Or will Florida pull off another upset?
Aside from the live updates below, be sure to follow @RTCWestRegion.
STAY TUNED FOR LIVE UPDATES FROM THE GAME:
| @ rushthecourt : Florida fans behind me are in shock. UF had an 11 pt lead at 65-54. They scored three more points. |
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| @ rushthecourt : Draymond Green, Peyton Siva, Chane Behanan, Gorgui Dieng, Bradley Beal are the All-West team. Behanan MOP. |
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| @ rushthecourt : Pitino: "happiest day of his life, outside of his six children." That's a pretty good day. |
| @ SethDavisHoops : By far the most unlikely of all of Pitino's Final Four teams. Decimated by injuries. Ville is riding the same wave UConn rode last year. |
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| @ SethDavisHoops : Epic collapse by Florida. Can the Commonwealth survive a Kentucky-Louisville Final Four game? |
| @ YahooForde : Incredible comeback for Louisville, given the situation. Pitino has had so many great March moments, but this is one of the best. |
FINAL SCORE: Louisville 72, Florida 68
Russ Smith has to be the player of the game coming up with 19 points off the bench and clutch play after Siva fouled out.
Cardinals elect not to foul. Beal misses a 3 and then Boynton misses one until Louisville gets the rebound. Blackshear is heading to the line with 2.8 seconds.
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| @ YahooForde : Louisville will have to make FTs now, and that has been a problem for this team. |
Boynton picks up his second foul. Russ Smith going to the line shooting two now. Double bonus. 16.7seconds left.
Louisville is on a 15-3 run and Florida only has one field goal in the last eight minutes.17.8 seconds left.
| @ GoodmanCBS : Who makes worse decisions? Erving Walker or Russ Smith?? Complete tossup. |
Bizarre sequence right there. Russ Smith drove baseline but kept going and picked up his dribble for no reason, forcing him to make a bad pass. Beal simply took steps before even dribbling.
Russ Smith turns it over as Beal intercepts a terrible pass BUT GETS CALLED FOR TRAVELING! Louisville gets the ball back and now Florida is going to have to foul.
Behanan gets into the paint and makes the jumper to give Louisville the lead. 69-68 LOUISVILLE
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TheAVClub
Lawsuit? Did somebody say lawsuit?: Paul Reubens puts a stop to "Pee-Wee Over Louisville" day http://t.co/qs5vjioMdH
1 day ago from web
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Posted: 03/24/2012 4:22 pm Updated: 03/24/2012 4:22 pm