No Pitino, No Problem for No. 4 Louisville

Louisville left a seat open on the bench for Coach Rick Pitino on Wednesday night. The Cardinals hope it will not be empty for long.

With assistant Kevin Willard coaching, the No. 4 Cardinals defeated Houston, 64-48, at Louisville, Ky., for their 16th consecutive victory.

Afterward, they learned Pitino wants to be back to the team for practice today after taking a leave to receive treatment at the Cleveland Clinic for an undisclosed ailment.

Sports information director Kenny Klein spoke to Pitino after the game and said Pitino hopes to fly back from Cleveland this morning.

Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Willard has guided the team the last two days.

“No, it wasn’t pretty, but it was a win,” Willard said. “There were a lot of distractions the last couple of days, but the guys stayed focused.”

Willard said that Pitino talked to the team by speakerphone Wednesday afternoon. He also said Pitino called to wish him luck just before tipoff.

“He said, ‘Go get ‘em and call me after the game,’ ” Willard said.

Willard took his usual seat on the Louisville bench as the game began, leaving Pitino’s regular chair empty.

“I didn’t get nervous until I walked onto the floor,” Willard said.

Larry O’Bannon and Nate Daniels scored 17 points apiece to lead Louisville, which improved to 16-0 overall and 6-0 in Conference USA.

The Cardinals also played without leading scorer Francisco Garcia and point guard Taquan Dean. Garcia sprained his ankle in the Cardinals’ victory over Tennessee on Sunday, and Dean pulled his groin in practice last week. The Cougars (7-10, 1-5) struggled from the start with five turnovers in the first nine minutes.

No. 5 Kentucky 71, Mississippi 61 -- Erik Daniels had a career-best 24 points at Lexington, Ky., as the Wildcats (14-2, 4-1) defeated the Rebels (10-7, 2-4) in a Southeastern Conference game.

No. 6 Connecticut 96, Virginia Tech 60 -- Rashad Anderson scored a career-high 26 points as the Huskies (16-3, 4-1) routed the Hokies (8-9, 1-5) at Blacksburg, Va, in a Big East Conference game.

No. 7 Pittsburgh 68, Boston College 58 -- Carl Krauser had five key points down the stretch to help the Panthers (20-1, 6-1) hold off the Eagles (13-6, 2-4) in a Big East game at Pittsburgh. The Panthers have won 38 games in a row at home, the longest streak in Division I.

No. 8 Cincinnati 80, East Carolina 57 -- Tony Bobbitt made two three-point baskets in the span of 30 seconds to spark the Bearcats (15-1, 6-1) to a victory at Cincinnati. The Pirates (8-8, 0-6) have never won a road game in Conference USA since joining the league three years ago.

No. 11 Mississippi State 82, Tennessee 60 -- Lawrence Roberts scored 20 points in an SEC game at Starkville, Miss., as the Bulldogs (17-1, 6-1) scored their fourth consecutive double-digit victory. The Volunteers (10-6, 2-4) have lost four in a row and five of six.

No. 12 North Carolina 68, North Carolina State 66 -- Raymond Felton scored 14 points to lead the Tar Heels (13-4, 3-3) past the Wolfpack (11-5, 4-2) in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Chapel Hill, N.C.

No. 15 Kansas 78, Kansas State 70 -- Keith Langford scored 19 points in a Big 12 Conference game at Manhattan, Kan., as the Jayhawks (13-3, 5-0) defeated the Wildcats (9-7, 1-4) for the 28th consecutive time.

No. 17 Wisconsin 69, Ohio State 57 -- Devin Harris scored 29 points as the Badgers (14-3, 5-1) rolled past the Buckeyes (9-10, 1-5) in a Big Ten Conference game at Columbus, Ohio.

After the game, three Ohio State assistant coaches confronted a fan who held up a sign that read, “The Wrong Jim O’Brien Resigned.” The Boston Celtics’ coach, also named Jim O’Brien, quit Tuesday.

No. 24 South Carolina 57, Vanderbilt 55 -- Kerbrell Brown tipped in Josh Gonner’s miss with 1.9 seconds left in an SEC game at Nashville as the Gamecocks (18-2, 5-1) won their fifth in a row. The Commodores are 13-4, 2-4.

No. 25 Oklahoma 78, Baylor 67 -- Jason Detrick had 15 points at Waco, Texas, as the Sooners (12-4, 2-3) defeated the Bears (6-12, 1-4) in a Big 12 game.

OTHER GAMES

Lester Abram scored 24 points at Ann Arbor, Mich., to lead Michigan (12-5, 3-3) to a 90-84 Big Ten victory over Iowa (10-7, 3-3).... Paul Davis made two free throws with 5.2 seconds to play in overtime as Michigan State (9-8, 4-2) scored a 79-78 Big Ten victory over Minnesota (8-10, 0-6) at Minneapolis.... Ndu Egekeze scored on a put-back with 1.2 seconds left in overtime to lead Penn State (9-8, 3-3) to a 63-61 Big Ten victory over Northwestern (7-10, 2-4) at State College, Pa.

Iowa State (12-4, 3-2) set a conference record with 53 free throws in a 91-82 Big 12 victory over Texas A&M; (7-9, 0-5) at Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones were 28 of 42 at the line in the second half and made 37 overall.... Michel Morandais scored 28 points at Boulder, Colo., to lead Colorado (11-6, 3-3) to an 83-70 Big 12 victory over Missouri (8-8, 3-3).

Torin Francis had 17 points at South Bend, Ind., as Notre Dame (10-6, 4-2) rolled to a 72-62 Big East victory over Miami (13-7, 3-3).... Jaime Lloreda scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half as Louisiana State (13-4, 3-3) held on for a 63-59 SEC victory over Georgia (9-8, 1-5) at Baton Rouge, La.

Darren Brooks scored 25 points and Southern Illinois (15-2, 9-0) held off a late charge by Wichita State (12-7, 5-4) for an 84-79 victory in a Missouri Valley Conference game at Wichita, Kan.

WOMEN

Notre Dame 59, No. 17 Miami 50 -- Courtney LaVere scored 15 points, and the Fighting Irish (12-7, 5-2) upended the Hurricanes (16-2, 5-2) in a Big East game at Coral Gables, Fla.

No. 3 Texas 82, No. 25 Nebraska 59 -- Freshman Tiffany Jackson had 22 points, and the Longhorns (18-2, 6-1) cruised past the Cornhuskers (14-4, 4-3) in a Big 12 game at Lincoln, Neb.

No. 7 Texas Tech 65, Texas A&M; 56 -- Cisti Greenwalt had 19 points to lead the Red Raiders (18-2, 4-2) over the Aggies (7-11, 0-7) in a Big 12 game at Lubbock, Texas.

Missouri 77, No. 20 Oklahoma 65 -- Evan Unrau had 21 points and 11 rebounds and the Tigers (11-6, 2-4) made all 21 of their free throws and rolled to a 77-65 Big 12 victory over the Sooners (13-5, 3-4) at Columbia, Mo.