LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kyle Kuric scored 12 points, including two big baskets in overtime, to lead No. 16 Louisville past No. 4 Pittsburgh 62-59 on Sunday.
Kuric had a potential game winning layup blocked at the end of regulation, but atoned by hitting a three-pointer early in the overtime period then adding the clinching dunk with less than a second on the clock.
Then things got a little bizarre.
The clock didn’t stop after the basket, which put the Cardinals up 62-57, and the horn sounded. Some Louisville cheerleaders on the baseline raced onto the floor, with one male cheerleader grabbing the ball and tossing it in the air.
Officials called Louisville for a delay of game technical foul and put 0.5 seconds back on the clock. Pitt’s Ashton Gibbs knocked down two free throws and the Panthers had one last chance to tie, but Gibbs couldn’t get off a desperation heave in time.
Peyton Siva led the Cardinals (22-7, 11-5 Big East) with 14 points and Mike Marra added 11 off the bench for Louisville, which knocked off a top-five team for the second time this season.
Gilbert Brown scored 20 points and Brad Wanamaker had 13 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists for the Panthers (25-4, 13-3), but Pitt turned it over three times and missed all three of its field goal attempts in overtime.
The most painful miss came with about five seconds left when Wanamaker passed up a three-pointer with the Panthers trailing by three and tried to hit Brown under the basket instead. The ball rolled out and Louisville’s Terrence Jennings came away with it.
Jennings hit Siva with an outlet pass, who fed Kuric for the dunk.
NO. 2 OHIO STATE 82, INDIANA 61
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Deshaun Thomas scored 22 points to lead No. 2 Ohio State (27-2, 14-2 Big Ten) past Indiana (12-17, 3-13).
Thomas scored all the points during a 14-3 first-half run that spanned 3:36and turned the game into a rout. He had managed just 13 points in his past seven games.
Verdell Jones III had 14 points for the Hoosiers.
In other Top 25 games, JaJuan Johnson had 20 points, 17 rebounds and 7 blocks for host No. 8 Purdue (24-5, 13-3 Big Ten) in a 67-47 rout of Michigan State (16-12, 8-8). ... Jon Leuer scored 26 points as host No. 12 Wisconsin (22-6, 12-4 Big Ten) beat Northwestern (16-12, 6-11) 78-63. ... Kemba Walker scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half and visiting No. 14 Connecticut (21-7, 9-7 Big East) snapped a two-game losing streak with a 67-59 victory over Cincinnati (22-7, 9-7). ... Tyler Zeller scored 25 points while freshman Harrison Barnes had 21 to help host No. 19 North Carolina (22-6, 12-2 ACC) beat Maryland (18-11, 7-7) 87-76, pulling the Tar Heels into a tie with Duke atop the Atlantic Coast Conference. ... Tu Holloway scored 26 points as host No. 25 Xavier (22-6, 13-1 Atlantic 10) remained alone atop the Atlantic 10 with a 66-62 victory over Dayton (19-10, 7-7).
Sports, Pages 18 on 02/28/2011