Taquan Dean

Taquan Dean scored 21 points to lead five Louisville players in double figures as the Cardinals beat visiting Delaware State, 72-54, in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament last night. Brandon Jenkins scored 13 points and Terrance Farley added a career-high 12 points for the Cardinals (19-12). Tracey Worley led Delaware State (21-14) with 18 points. In other games: At Florida State, Alexander Johnson made two baskets in the final minute to lift the Seminoles (20-9)

John Lucas III scored 22 points, Joey Graham added 16 and No. 6 Oklahoma State pulled away in the second half to beat visiting Arkansas-Little Rock, 90-65, last night. Lucas made three straight three-pointers to spur an 11-2 run for Oklahoma State (2-0) early in the second half that put the game away. At the Maui Invitational: At Lahaina, Hawaii, Jeff Horner scored 27 points as Iowa (3-0) upset No. 15 Texas, 82-80. Iowa (3-0) will face No. 11 North Carolina, a 94-81 winner over Tennessee, in the championship game tonight.

Carl Krauser scored 19 points and No. 15 Pittsburgh, despite not making a field goal over the final 13 1/2 minutes, held on to beat Louisville, 61-56, last night in the opening round of the Big East Tournament. The sixth-seeded Panthers (22-6) appeared to be on the way to an easy win, leading, 47-22, with 13:40 to play. Louisville (18-12), which trailed, 39-16, after a horrible first half in its first Big East Tournament game, started chipping away. A 16-1 run got the lead down to 48-38 and what was left of the sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden was starting to get behind the Cardinals.

Louisville, the No. 4 seed in the Albuquerque Region, is among five teams that will join the Big East Conference next season, and Cardinals coach Rick Pitino is already laying down some psychological groundwork. "Teams like us will be rebuilding," said Pitino, whose team will return leading scorer Francisco Garcia, third-leading scorer Taquan Dean and promising freshman starter Juan Palacios. "We'll be at the bottom. " Pitino believes the Big East's high profile will benefit Louisville in recruiting by giving the Cardinals a stronger presence in the talent-rich northeast.

Taquan Dean almost didn't make it into last night's game for No. 5 Louisville, but the Cardinals are glad he did. Dean, showing no ill effects of an injured groin, had 21 points and seven rebounds to lead host Louisville to a 93-66 victory over previously unbeaten and sixth-ranked Cincinnati last night. The Bearcats' loss leaves No. 2 Stanford (14-0) and No. 3 Saint Joseph's (16-0) as the nation's only unbeaten teams. Dean was in severe pain earlier in the day and Louisville coach Rick Pitino considered sitting him out. "When I lifted my leg this morning, I couldn't even run," said Dean, who went 7-for-14 from the field, including 5-for-10 from three-point range, in 38 minutes.

Rodney Carney scored 19 points and keyed a second-half rally, helping Memphis upset No. 6 Louisville, 62-58, last night. The shorthanded Cardinals lost their second in a row, both since coach Rick Pitino returned from a 2-day medical leave. They had won 16 in a row. "For us to do what we did, it is a great win, and it's a huge win," Memphis coach John Calipari said. Louisville (16-3, 6-2 Conference USA) played without injured starters Francisco Garcia and Taquan Dean and reserve Nouha Diakite.

Rick Pitino has been through this before. It was just last year, in fact, that Louisville's basketball team was all but wiped out by injuries and still advanced to the Final Four. This season, the Cardinals are hobbled again. Only now, they are not in Conference USA. They are a young team competing for the first year in the Big East - arguably the toughest, most talented conference in the nation. The Cardinals (14-6, 2-5 Big East) will get another taste of the toughest tonight, when they play sixth-ranked Villanova (15-2, 6-1)

It might be a dangerous way to think, but Villanova never seems to mind a close game. In their games lately, comfortable leads have evaporated in the final few minutes of play before someone makes something big happen. Last night, the fourth-ranked Wildcats (16-2, 7-1) did not let it come to Desperation Point in their 79-73 win over Louisville in a Big East meeting at the Wachovia Center. The Wildcats watched a 15-point lead dwindle to two points with less than four minutes to play.

Taquan Dean scored 20 of his season-high 30 points in the second half and fifth-ranked Louisville rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Richmond, 53-45, last night at the Colonial Classic in Louisville, Ky. Louisville (4-0) avoided the upset behind Dean and a defense that held the Spiders (4-3) to 19 points and seven field goals over the final 20 minutes. With his teammates providing little help, Dean carried the Cardinals. After the Spiders took a 32-22 lead with just over 15 minutes remaining, Dean got rolling.

Taquan Dean scored 21 points, and fourth-ranked Louisville overcame a lethargic first half and pulled away to a 78-54 victory over Chicago State last night in Louisville, Ky. David Padgett added 12 points and eight rebounds for Louisville (6-0), which plays at 23d-ranked Kentucky, its intrastate rival, on Saturday. David Holston scored 17 points for the road-weary Cougars (1-6), who were playing their seventh straight away game to start the season. Louisville coach Rick Pitino challenged his team to up its defensive intensity after the Cardinals allowed Akron to score 85 points on Saturday.

Taquan Dean scored 21 points to lead five Louisville players in double figures as the Cardinals beat visiting Delaware State, 72-54, in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament last night. Brandon Jenkins scored 13 points and Terrance Farley added a career-high 12 points for the Cardinals (19-12). Tracey Worley led Delaware State (21-14) with 18 points. In other games: At Florida State, Alexander Johnson made two baskets in the final minute to lift the Seminoles (20-9)

Carl Krauser scored 19 points and No. 15 Pittsburgh, despite not making a field goal over the final 13 1/2 minutes, held on to beat Louisville, 61-56, last night in the opening round of the Big East Tournament. The sixth-seeded Panthers (22-6) appeared to be on the way to an easy win, leading, 47-22, with 13:40 to play. Louisville (18-12), which trailed, 39-16, after a horrible first half in its first Big East Tournament game, started chipping away. A 16-1 run got the lead down to 48-38 and what was left of the sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden was starting to get behind the Cardinals.

It might be a dangerous way to think, but Villanova never seems to mind a close game. In their games lately, comfortable leads have evaporated in the final few minutes of play before someone makes something big happen. Last night, the fourth-ranked Wildcats (16-2, 7-1) did not let it come to Desperation Point in their 79-73 win over Louisville in a Big East meeting at the Wachovia Center. The Wildcats watched a 15-point lead dwindle to two points with less than four minutes to play.

Rick Pitino has been through this before. It was just last year, in fact, that Louisville's basketball team was all but wiped out by injuries and still advanced to the Final Four. This season, the Cardinals are hobbled again. Only now, they are not in Conference USA. They are a young team competing for the first year in the Big East - arguably the toughest, most talented conference in the nation. The Cardinals (14-6, 2-5 Big East) will get another taste of the toughest tonight, when they play sixth-ranked Villanova (15-2, 6-1)

Before the basketball season began, many fans wondered how strong the 16-team Big East Conference would be. With conference play under way, the answer has started to become clear: The Big East is not only big this year, it's good. Two teams - No. 2 Connecticut and No. 3 Villanova - are ranked in the nation's top five. 'Nova plays No. 9 Louisville (11-1) tomorrow and No. 24 West Virginia (8-3) on Sunday. No. 22 Pittsburgh (11-0) has been a surprise with its strong start after losing key players from last year.

Clayton Barlow-Wilcox scored 15 points and Nate Maurer added 13 as unbeaten Carnegie Mellon topped Princeton, 51-46, last night, becoming the first Division III team to defeat the Tigers in 23 years. Carnegie Mellon (10-0) withstood a Princeton rally that tied the score late in the second half and overcame a stretch of nine turnovers in 11 possessions to score the final five points. "If it's not the biggest win for us, it ranks right up with the biggest," Tartans coach Tony Wiggen said.

Taquan Dean scored 21 points, and fourth-ranked Louisville overcame a lethargic first half and pulled away to a 78-54 victory over Chicago State last night in Louisville, Ky. David Padgett added 12 points and eight rebounds for Louisville (6-0), which plays at 23d-ranked Kentucky, its intrastate rival, on Saturday. David Holston scored 17 points for the road-weary Cougars (1-6), who were playing their seventh straight away game to start the season. Louisville coach Rick Pitino challenged his team to up its defensive intensity after the Cardinals allowed Akron to score 85 points on Saturday.

Taquan Dean scored 20 of his season-high 30 points in the second half and fifth-ranked Louisville rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Richmond, 53-45, last night at the Colonial Classic in Louisville, Ky. Louisville (4-0) avoided the upset behind Dean and a defense that held the Spiders (4-3) to 19 points and seven field goals over the final 20 minutes. With his teammates providing little help, Dean carried the Cardinals. After the Spiders took a 32-22 lead with just over 15 minutes remaining, Dean got rolling.

The Big East is bigger. The conference's coaches could see just how big yesterday. "It's one thing to talk about it and read about it," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "But when you walk in this room and see all the coaches and players . . . it hits you. It's really exciting. " That was the word used by most of the coaches at the Big East media day at Madison Square Garden, describing the new-look conference, which will expand to 16 teams this season. The Big East added Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and South Florida.

One of the most well-worn phrases from the coaches' handy guide is "Never look past the next game. " Apparently, Illinois coach Bruce Weber didn't get his copy. Back around early February, the Fighting Illini walked into their locker room and noticed a date written on the chalkboard: "April 4. " "We put April 4 on the board six weeks ago, seven weeks ago, and we are playing April 4 for the national championship," Weber said last night, his words gushing out of a throat that seems to be permanently stricken by laryngitis.