Louisville vs. UC Irvine: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2015

Louisville survived an immediate March Madness test from a pesky UC Irvine squad to score a 57-55 victory and advance to the third round of the 2015 NCAA tournament.

The Cardinals entered the Big Dance without a clear consensus about their potential.

They started the season ranked inside the Top 10 of the AP Top 25 but only showcased that level of play in short stretches. Head coach Rick Pitino just hoped his team could get hot at the right time.

Pitino, who's won a pair of NCAA tournament titles, loves this time of year. Todd Harmonson of the Orange County Register passed along comments from the longtime coach explaining why; Pitino said:       

"

It's amazing. March Madness is the greatest time in all sports. Because even the Super Bowl, which I think is the second greatest, it's two teams, and it's not as much drama as this. … It's just a great time of year. I'm really excited to be a part of it.

"

It didn't take long for the fourth-seeded Cardinals to find out why they were in for a fight.

UC Irvine stuck with them basket for basket throughout the first half. The presence of 7'6'' Mamadou Ndiaye on the interior was key. Size is normally a problem for smaller schools against those from major conferences. Not in this case.

Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports highlighted the center's early impact:

It appeared Louisville was going to earn itself some breathing room heading into the locker room. The lead got up to seven with just under two minutes to play in the half. But the Anteaters finished with a 5-0 spurt to trail by just two at the break.

CBS' Clark Kellogg summed up the opening 20 minutes:

"

Mamadou Ndiaye has undoubtedly been the most impactful player in this game against Louisville so far. Cardinals can’t finish when he’s in.

— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) March 20, 2015"

Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register thought the No. 13 seed had a legitimate chance to hang tight after a solid start:

There were a couple times early in the second half when it seemed like Louisville might start pulling away. It didn't happen. Every instance where the Cardinals started to stretch the lead out, the Anteaters were able to reel them back in.

Eric Crawford of WDRB noted the favorite's inability to separate:

The sides traded buckets down the stretch in a clash that lived up to the March Madness moniker.

Luke Nelson tried to give UC Irvine the lead with a long-range effort with 14 seconds to go. He missed, and Quentin Snider was fouled after grabbing the rebound. He calmly stepped to the free-throw line and knocked in both to give the Cardinals a two-point lead.

Seth Davis of CBS Sports spotlighted Snider's work:

The Cardinals had a foul to give, which allowed them to play aggressive defense. And with two seconds to go, Terry Rozier stole the ball from Alex Young to preserve the victory.  

David Aldridge of Turner Sports applauded Louisville's defensive effort:

SportsCenter highlighted the result:

UC Irvine deserves a lot of credit for putting up a terrific fight. It just came up a little shy in the end. The Anteaters finished the campaign at 21-13, but they went 14-5 after a sluggish start. They will have to replace a few seniors, including Will Davis II, but the overall outlook is positive.

Louisville advances to face No. 5 seed Northern Iowa in the third round Sunday. The Panthers cruised by Wyoming to reach the round of 32. The Cardinals will need a much more complete performance to upend them in a few days.

For now, they will just be happy to have survived the upset bid. They live to play another day.