ATLANTA, Ga. — The Wichita State Shockers wanted to deliver a knockout blow to the Louisville Carninals and the brackets of college basketball fans everywhere.
But in the end, after a fantastic performance, the Shockers came up short 72 – 68 Saturday night in a game played at the Georgia Dome.
It was Wichita State’s first trip to the Final Four since 1965 and the second only in school history.
The Shockers took no time showing the 70,000 folks packed into the dome that they were in the right place, jumping to an early lead.
Wichita set the tone of the first half of the game for Louisville, who had to rally from a 12 point deficit in order to prevent Wichita State from delivering another knockout.
Wichita led 26 – 25 at the half.
The Cardinals’ Luke Hancock came off the bench to score 20 points. But it was walk-on Tim Henderson who began a second half rally with a couple of three-point shots that started the momentum in Louisville’s direction and never let up.
It was the 15th straight victory for the top-seeded Cardinals (34-5), who will play the winner of Syracuse-Michigan for the national title Monday night.
The Cardinals last won the national championship in 1986.
