ORLANDO, Fla. -- An NCAA reprieve and tradition weren't enough to carry Louisville yesterday.
The seventh-seeded Cardinals blew a halftime lead for only the third time this season and watched their chance for a meeting with Maryland disintegrate in a 62-58 upset loss to Creighton before 10,032 fans in the first round of the South Regional.
Louisville (19-11) had a 40-27 advantage and the game in control with 16 minutes remaining when Bluejays coach Dana Altman pulled the master stroke, shifting into a zone press, then backing his team into a matchup defense after the Cardinals had crossed half court.
The tone of the game completely changed, with Creighton dominating and the Cardinals never adjusting after they were forced out of the transition attack.
Poor shot selection, turnovers and a lack of composure undermined the Cardinals and Creighton sewed up the victory by hitting 10 straight from the foul line after gaining the lead.
"I think we stopped attacking their press and running our offense," said Louisville point guard Cameron Murray. "There must have been 12 to 15 times we ran the clock under 10 seconds, then had to take bad shots. That was kind of to their advantage."
A two-time national champion (1980 and 1986) under coach Denny Crum, Louisville was first banned from the tournament for illegal practices, but won an appeal a month ago, and the NCAA reversed the prohibition for the first time.
But none of that was invigorating enough when the Bluejays started whittling away and Louisville underwent a 14-minute span with just two field goals -- both three-pointers. The Cardinals' offense was in total disarray during this period.
Creighton (22-8) finally surged in front to stay, 52-49, on a three-pointer by its struggling top scorer, Rodney Buford, who was 6-for-21 from the field.
St. John's 69, Samford 43: Fourteenth-seeded Samford came out last night and fired up 19 three-pointers in the first half out of a total of 24 shots against third-seeded St. John's.
The Bulldogs were so tight and nervous that they shot three air balls on free throws in the first half of their first appearance in an NCAA tournament game.
Samford (24-6) didn't make a two-point shot until the final second of the first half and shot 29.2 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes.
St. John's (26-8) had 18 turnovers and didn't look overwhelming on the boards even though it had a 45-23 advantage. It's just that Samford rarely had anybody going to the glass for rebounds.
St. John's had four players in double scoring figures in the lackluster rout, with sophomore swing man Ron Artest leading the way with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Former Dunbar standout Bootsy Thornton had 13 points and five rebounds for the Red Storm, which moved a step closer to a possible showdown with Maryland in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in Knoxville, Tenn.
St. John's coach Mike Jarvis said he was pleased with the victory because "it's tough to play against a team like Samford because they're so disciplined."
Indiana 108, George Washington 88: It took George Washington 26 hours to get to Orlando and two hours to get out.
The Colonials were no mystery to sixth-seeded Indiana, absorbing a drubbing that created a second-round matchup between the Hoosiers (23-10) and St. John's.
Indiana reeled off a 15-0 run after five minutes to end all the suspense and rebound from a one-sided loss to last-place Illinois in the Big Ten tournament.
It was a sour career conclusion for 5-foot-4 Shawnta Rogers (Lake Clifton), who went 2-for-9 from the field in the first half and committed four turnovers.
Yegor Mescheriakov's 14 points kept the Colonials within 17 at the break, but Indiana did not relent afterward, looking like a team poised to go a long way.
The Hoosiers shot .655 from the field and sank 31 of 39 free-throw attempts as they launched their bid for coach Bobby Knight's fourth NCAA title.
Kirk Haston amassed 27 points and nine rebounds to pace Indiana and Luke Recker pitched in 20 points. Rogers, the Atlantic 10 player of the year, led all scorers with 28, but went 10-for-31 from the field to get them.
Knight was elated that Indiana fired only three three-point shots. "That's great, he said. "We didn't even practice them this week. I wish we didn't take any."
George Washington encountered numerous travel problems because of the mid-week snowstorm in Washington and wound up staying in a hotel near Dulles Airport on Tuesday night rather than reaching Orlando.
Pub Date: 3/12/99