Louisville beats Michigan 82

2013-04-09 05:52:09 GMT2013-04-09 13:52:09(Beijing Time)  SINA.com

Louisville won the 75th edition of the NCAA men's basketball championship on Monday, beating Michigan 82-76 in a pulsating final in front of more than 74,000 fans at the Georgia Dome.

The Cardinals overcame a slow start in which they twice trailed by 12 points in the first half to outscore Michigan 45-38 in the second half and capture their third national title after previously winning in 1930 and 1986.

Luke Hancock came off the bench and scored a career best 22 points, including five three-pointers, while Peyton Siva added 18 points and Chane Behanan 15 for Louisville.

Trey Burke, this season's national player of the year, scored 24 points in a losing effort for the Wolverines while Spike Albrecht contributed 17 after coming off the bench, all in the first half.

Michigan made a flying start, leading from the outset and extending their lead to double figures, before the Cardinals took control in the same massive building where the Dream Team won the Olympic gold medal in 1996.

Inspired by their team mate Kevin Ware, who broke his leg during the earlier rounds in a horrific fall, Louisville's players burst into celebration when the clock ran out and confetti rained down on the Georgia Dome court.

Louisville went into the championships as the number one seeds and stretched their winning streak to 16 games with Monday's victory under the guidance of Rick Pitino, who became the first coach to win NCAA titles at different universities after steering Kentucky to the 1996 title.

Michigan were making their first appearance in the final since 1993 when they were beaten by North Carolina after a bizarre ending to the game.

The Wolverines were trailing by two points with just 11 seconds to go when Michigan's Chris Webber called a time-out even though his team didn't have any left, resulting in a technical foul that effectively ended his team's hopes of winning.

(Agencies)