Russ Smith paced No. 1 Louisville into last 16 with 82-56 win over Colorado State

Lexington, KY (Sporting Alert, Box Score) — No. 1 overall seed Louisville breezed into the last 16 of the NCAA March Madness Tournament with an easy 82-56 victory over Colorado State in their third round game on Saturday.

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Russ Smith scored 18 of his 27 points in the first half to lead the Cardinals (31-5) to victory and set-up a date with the winner of the Oregon-Saint Louis game on Friday.

Smith, who received a huge reception when taken out in the closing seconds of the game, shot 7-for-15 from the field, including 4-for-7 from three-point range.

Gorgui Dieng scored 12 points, Montrezl Harrell added 11 and Peyton Siva finished with 10 points five assists and three steals in the win for Louisville who won their last two games by 57 points.

Greg Smith led the #8 Colorado State Rams (26-9) with 14 points, while Daniel Bejarano added 10 points and seven rebounds in the defeat.

Louisville, which registered its 12th straight victory, forced 20 turnovers in the game at the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.

Their biggest lead was 26 points.