The Louisville Cardinals were able to fend off a late rally by Cincinnati to claim a 50-44 victory and the 2012 Big East Tournament Championship Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. This was the second Big East tournament championship win for Louisville, as they also won it in 2009. With the win, Rick Pitino's talented squad will be making their sixth consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Chris Smith scored 15 points and Kyle Kuric added 13 for the No. 7 seeded Cardinals (26-9), while tournament MVP Peyton Siva added 10 points, four rebounds, and five assists. Cashmere Wright had 16 points for the fourth-seeded Bearcats (24-10), who were making their first ever appearance in the Big East title game.
The Bearcats trailed throughout this game, but were able to crawl back into it and pull within 48-44 with 2:35 to play. Unfortunately for Cincy, they were unable to score the rest of the way.
Click here to see the final 22012 Big East tournament bracket.
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