Louisville 84, Marquette 71: Louisville used a smothering defensive effort to grab an early lead and hold off second-seeded Marquette in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament at New York's Madison Square Garden.

The Cardinals (24-9, 10-8) will face the South Florida-Notre Dame winner in Friday's second semifinal.

Seventh-seeded Louisville never trailed, taking an early 12-4 lead and forcing 12 first-half turnovers en route to a 50-40 halftime cushion. The Cardinals kept the Golden Eagles (25-7, 14-4) at arm's length throughout the final 20 minutes, maintaining a lead of at least seven after Kyle Kuric's 3-pointer slowed a Marquette rally and made it 57-50 with 11:56 to go.

The Golden Eagles were their own worst enemy, giving the ball away 25 times and finishing with just 11 assists after leading the Big East in that category during the regular season.

Kuric scored 20 points and Peyton Siva added 18 for Louisville, which extended its lead in the second half despite making 25 percent of its shots (9 of 36). Darius Johnson was about the only bright spot for Marquette offensively, scoring 24 points.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Marquette's Jae Crowder, named the conference player of the year on Tuesday, was plagued by foul trouble and finished with 10 points (on 4-of-13 shooting) and 10 rebounds. ... Louisville will be out for payback regardless of its semifinal opponent, having lost to both South Florida and Notre Dame during the regular season.