Louisville 66, Saint Louis 51: Luke Hancock scored 21 points to propel the Cardinals in the third round of the NCAA tournament in Orlando, Fla.

Chris Jones pitched in with 11 points while Montrezl Harrell contributed 10 points and 11 boards for the fourth-ranked Cardinals (31-5), who will face No. 1 Wichita State or No. 8 Kentucky in the Midwest Regional on Friday. All-American candidate Russ Smith fought his way to 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting and also committed seven of Louisville's 19 turnovers.

Fifth-seeded Saint Louis (27-7) struggled offensively for most of the afternoon, finishing at 39.6 percent from the field, including a woeful 0-of-15 from 3-point range. Three of the Billikens' five senior starters scored in double figures, led by Dwayne Evans (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Jordair Jett (15 points, seven assists).

A hideous first half in which the teams combined for 35 percent shooting and 21 turnovers ended with Louisville ahead 25-16. Saint Louis came out of the locker room with a burst, however, and surged ahead 29-27 on Rob Loe's layup with 14:14 remaining.

The Cardinals regrouped and their lead stood at 35-33 when Hancock hit back-to-back 3-pointers to create a six-point edge and Jones' 3-pointer with less than eight minutes left pushed the advantage to 46-37 as part of a 9-0 run. The Billikens got within 53-44 on Loe's dunk near the three-minute mark before a layup by Harrell, a dunk by Wayne Blackshear and two foul shots by Jones clinched the win.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The 41 combined points were the lowest in a first half in this year's NCAA tournament. ... Saint Louis shot 9-of-16 from the foul line, including a 3-of-9 performance by Jett. ... The Cardinals' bench contributed 11 points on collective 5-of-5 shooting.