Louisville vs. Northern Iowa: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2015

The No. 4 seed Louisville Cardinals cashed in the final ticket to the 2015 Sweet 16 with an impressive win over No. 5 seed Northern Iowa on Sunday.

NCAA March Madness tweeted out the final score from Seattle:

Louisville found itself comfortably ahead for the majority of the game, but an offensive dry spell at the most inopportune time opened the way for Northern Iowa to make things interesting down the stretch.

After nearly seven minutes without a basket, the Panthers cut the lead to six with three minutes and 57 seconds to go. Then a missed dunk by Wes Washpun on one end turned into a Montrezl Harrell dunk for the Cardinals.

Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal noted the dramatic momentum shift:

That's the kind of night it was for the Panthers. No matter how much Northern Iowa wanted to keep its tournament run alive, head coach Rick Pitino's team was just better.

Harrell finished the night with 14 points and six boards.

This game was all about Terry Rozier for the Cardinals, though. The sophomore guard carried the Cardinals offense all night and was the X-factor who continually kept Louisville a few steps ahead of the Panthers. He put together a final stat line of 25 points, seven assists and five rebounds. 

ESPN Stats & Info compared Rozier's point total to that of Northern Iowa's entire starting five:

Kevin Pelton of ESPN provided an NBA comparison for the explosive guard:

Two things defined the first half: Rozier and Northern Iowa turnovers. With both teams building their reputations on stingy defenses, it was Rozier who out-executed the Panthers offense.

Taking advantage of the Panthers' man-to-man defense, Louisville's star guard went to work. ESPN Stats & Info highlighted Rozier's contributions:

The Cards shot 52 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes. Pitino was pleased with his team's ability to move the ball against the Panthers defense, per Jeff Fischel of the ACC Digital Network:

Northern Iowa, on the other hand, struggled to get going offensively. Seven turnovers put a damper on any offensive productivity as Louisville's defense proved to be a difficult code to crack.

ESPN's Fran Fraschilla commented on Louisville's ability to disguise its defense:

Northern Iowa came out in the second half looking to make it a more competitive affair but wasn't able to keep the pressure on Rozier and the Cardinals.

Ben Jacobson's team never gave up. Despite the inconsistent offensive execution, the Panthers were able to cut the lead down to six, but Louisville would answer back with a run every time the game got close to put themselves comfortably ahead.

Even Jacobson, who is usually reserved on the sidelines, couldn't hide his frustration with his team's defensive execution, as noted by Myron Medcalf of ESPN:

The Sweet 16 scene isn't a new one to Pitino and his Cardinals. With the win over the Panthers, they will make their fourth consecutive appearance in the fourth round.

Now the Cardinals will look to best last year's team that was denied an Elite Eight appearance by Kentucky.

The Cardinals should be helped out by a slightly easier draw this time around. They will face Cinderella No. 8 North Carolina State, which is coming off a stunning upset of No. 1 seed Villanova.

That doesn't mean the Cardinals are a lock, though. They lost their only game against the Wolfpack in conference play by nine points in February. Now they'll seek revenge with the stakes just slightly higher in the rematch.