Gorgui Dieng's defense leads Louisville

Louisville figured its game against Michigan State would be low-scoring, a natural expectation with two of the nation's best defenses butting heads. The Cardinals had one big advantage: Gorgui Dieng. Dominating inside, Dieng blocked seven shots and altered several others to anchor a stifling defense that helped Louisville knock off top-seeded Michigan State 57-44 Thursday night in the West Regional semifinals. "He was very disruptive," Michigan State's Draymond Green said. "We're not going to back down from anyone. We took it at him. He pulled off some great blocked shots. That's what he does. That's his strength." The Cardinals (29-9) relied on three-point shooting in the first half and moved inside in the second to befuddle the Spartans. Their defense gave Michigan State fits all night. Instead of trapping as it normally does, Louisville played a bait-and-switch game with the Spartans and Green, their multitalented forward. The idea was to jump out on screens and to make the Spartans work on every possession and wear them out. It worked, in large part because Dieng was in the back to clean things up. When he got into foul trouble, Louisville labored, so one of the key parts of coach Rick Pitino's game plan was to make sure the Cardinals protected him. They did, and he protected the rim in return, getting five of his blocked shots in the second half to prevent Michigan State from mounting a rally. "When we came here, we know (what) we're going to face," said Dieng, who also had five points, nine rebounds and three steals while matching the school record for blocked shots in an NCAA Tournament game. Michigan State (29-8) started slow and never got going. The Spartans got shots they wanted and usually make, but couldn't get many to fall against Dieng or anyone else, shooting 28 percent while being outscored 20-14 inside.