The No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish won't be playing for a Big East Tournament title on Saturday afternoon. They were unable to fully overcome their first half woe and lost to the No. 7 Louisville Cardinals, 64-50.
After ending the first half on the wrong side of a 26-4 run, the Irish improved for 19 first-half points to 31 in the second. Eric Atkins finished the game with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists while Jack Cooley put up a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Peyton Siva dominated the game from start to finish for the Cardinals, almost picking up a triple-double: 13 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds. Gorgui Dieng led the Cardinals with 16 points and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the field.
While the Cardinals will face the Cincinnati Bearcats in the championship game on Saturday, the Irish will feverishly wait until Sunday to find out their seed in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
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