NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Rick Pitino was right. Louisiana-Lafayette was every bit as troublesome as Louisville's coach suspected before his Cardinals found a way to avoid another early exit from the NCAA tournament. Francisco Garcia went 7-for-7 from the foul line in the last 2 minutes, and finished with 27 points to help fourth-seeded Louisville advance to the second round of the Albuquerque Regional with a 68-62 victory Friday night.<br>
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Pitino insisted Louisiana-Lafayette was not a typical No. 13 seed, going as far as to say the Ragin' Cajuns were the most difficult first-round opponent one of his teams has drawn in 10 trips to the tournament.<br>
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Turns out, he wasn't just paying lip service.<br>
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There were eight lead changes in the second half before Louisville finally went ahead for good, 56-55, on two free throws by Larry O'Bannon with 3:43 to go. The Cardinals were held to one field goal the rest of the way - Otis George's tip-in - but made 10 free throws to pull away. <br>
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No one was more clutch than Garcia, who was fouled by Dwayne Mitchell on a 3-point attempt with 1:57 to go, and made all three free throws for a 63-57 lead. He made two more to push the advantage back to five with 13.9 seconds left.<br>
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O'Bannon scored 13 points and Taquan Dean has 12 for Louisville (30-4), which erased memories of a first-round loss to Xavier a year ago.<br>
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Brian Hamilton led Louisiana-Lafayette (20-11) with 19 points before fouling out. Tiras Wade had 15 points and Chris Cameron added 11.<br>
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Pitino and his players have spent much of the week deflecting questions about the team's seeding. <br>
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The Cardinals' victory over Memphis in the Conference USA tournament title game was their ninth straight and 18th in 19 games and many anticipated it be enough for Louisville to earn a No. 1 or - worst - a No. 2 seed.<br>
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Louisiana-Lafayette coach Robert Lee also felt his team deserved better on selection day after playing a tough non-conference schedule that included road games at LSU, Charlotte, Kansas, North Carolina State and Vanderbilt.<br>
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Pitino was concerned about the Ragin' Cajuns versatility, athleticism and experience, including a lineup that included four starters who transferred to the Sun Belt champions from other Division I schools.<br>
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With Dean leading the way, Louisville built a 23-15 lead before Louisiana-Lafayette made it clear that it wasn't going to go away. The Ragin' Cajuns made up ground in spurts, closing their deficit to 33-32 at the half to put themselves in position to chase the upset that eluded them in the first round a year ago.<br>
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Cameron, Louisiana-Lafayette's 6-foot-11, 270-pound center with a feathery shooting touch, made a pair of 3-pointers during a 15-8 surge that put the Ragin' Cajuns ahead 49-45 with just under 10 minutes to go.<br>
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Brandon Jenkins dunked off a lob pass and Garcia followed with two quick baskets to put Louisville up again, but the Cardinals still couldn't take control.
