NCAA Tournament 2015: Louisville escapes UC Irvine and Mamadou N’Diaye

Cardinals guard Quentin Snider hit two free throws with under 10 seconds to play, and Louisville staved off a last-gasp shot from the Anteaters by forcing a turnover on the game’s final possession, preserving a 57-55 win in Seattle.

The literal big story of the game was UC Irvine’s 7’6” center, Mamadou N’Diaye. He had the nation swooning, as his impossibly long limbs helped him score 12 points (including a couple of too-easy dunks) and snag five rebounds, while also altering Louisville’s plans in the paint. N’Diaye even slapped the floor after one slam, which probably made a bit more impact on the hardwood than it did when Chris Wojciehowski brought the move to college basketball.

But the other story of the game, Louisville struggling to score, wasn’t really a surprise — Louisville would have struggled to score against air at some junctures of this season, especially after the dismissal of Chris Jones. The Cardinals’ inability to find the range from the perimeter (Louisville made just five of 15 threes) kept the Anteaters in the game until late, and just four players combined to score 55 of the Cards’ 57 points.

Given that the turnover that preserved the win came with a lot of contact and no whistle, Louisville can count itself lucky to escape this game. But without a much better day on offense, it’s hard to see a victory in the Cards’, er, cards on Sunday against Northern Iowa.