The No. 2 Louisville Cardinals finished with a 10-4 run to end the first half and currently lead the No. 13 Missouri Tigers, 39-31. Junior guard Russ Smith leads the Cardinals with 10 points, four steals and three rebounds. Missouri's Phil Pressey leads all scorers with 12 points.
Cardinals senior Peyton Siva has eight points, three assists and two rebounds. Luke Hancock and Wayne Blackshear each have 6 points.
For the Tigers, Pressey has received little help thus far. Keion Bell, Alex Oriakhi and Tony Criswell each have four points.
Turnovers were a factor in the first half. Louisville forced 13 Missouri turnovers, leading to several fast break opportunities. This kept the Cardinals in the lead despite being outshot by Missouri in the first half, 47.8% to 37.8%.
The winner of this semifinals match up in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament will advance to play Duke in the finals on Saturday.