Louisville played a fantastic game on Thursday night and sent Villanova home from the Big East Tournament after an emphatic 74-55 win at Madison Square Garden to advance to the Final Four and a matchup with Notre Dame.
According to the Associated Press, the team received a surprise visit after the game from President Bill Clinton, who is a big basketball fan and a friend of Rick Pitino since his days at Kentucky when they were introduced during a campaign visit. Russ Smith was crucial for the fourth-ranked Cardinals, as he had 28 points while playing in his home town.
The win sets up another matchup with the Irish, who defeat Louisville in five overtimes earlier in February in South Bend, which was the only loss for the Cardinals over the past 12 games. Louisville rebounded with a 73-57 win over Notre Dame on Saturday and now will play again.
"We got the chance to take a lot of pictures. It was a big treat for our guys," Pitino said. "It was a lot of fun. ... He was just telling a lot of stories."
Luke Hancock had 12 points and Peyton Siva scored 10 after being named the MVP at the tournament last season. Clinton was the big surprise though and he took a number of picture with the players in the locker room.
"We all love Bill Clinton," Russ Smith said to the Associated Press. "He walked in and it was like, 'Ahhhhh!!! Bill Clinton!"
Villanova was the seventh-seed in the tournament and now has to hope they can make it into the NCAA tournament with an at-large bid. Smith was dealing with the death of Jack Curran, his former coach at Archbishop Molloy High School.
"Today was definitely Coach Curran Day for me, and it will be the rest of my life," he said.
Pitino spoke about the coach with his players and held a prayer for him during their practice.
"Russ had a heavy heart tonight," said Pitino, who also called Curran a good friend. "I just told Russ we have to play this tournament and the NCAAs for Coach Curran. Coach Curran really enjoyed coaching Russ, and I really enjoy coaching Russ, but we both knew what he was all about. So it's very exciting that Russ could have that type of game and honor his coach like that."
Smith was the focal point for the Cardinals, as he was on fire at MSG, hitting nearly all his free throws and over half of his 3-point shots. The Cardinals now have a tough test with Notre Dame on Friday night.