CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tennessee's Wayne Chism tried to pick up the loose ball. Louisville's Earl Clark and Preston Knowles both dived to the floor, and the ball deflected off Chism out of bounds.

It was what Rick Pitino loves: down and dirty defense, floor burns and hustle, and it's left the Cardinals' coach a victory away from a sixth trip to the Final Four.

Clark had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Pitino's mix of defenses made life miserable for Tennessee in a 79-60 victory last night that put third-seeded Louisville in the East Regional final.

After Louisville's two blowout wins last weekend, Pitino's signature zone and pressure limited the high-scoring Volunteers to 34-percent shooting. The veteran coach improved to 8-0 in regional semifinals and secured a date with top-seed North Carolina tomorrow night.

"One of the keys on defense all year has been changing it up," Pitino said. "When you give any good team a steady diet of one defense, it's not quite as good."

Louisville (27-8) is seeking its second Final Four in six years under Pitino. He also took it there in 2005.

Chris Lofton scored 15 points for No. 2 seed Tennessee (31-5), which has never advanced beyond the round of 16.

LOUISVILLE (27-8)

Williams 4-7 4-7 12, Palacios 1-1 0-0 3, Padgett 4-5 2-4 10, McGee 4-10 4-4 13, Smith 3-6 5-6 13, Knowles 0-4 0-0 0, Clark 7-10 3-4 17, Sosa 0-1 2-2 2, Scott 0-0 0-0 0, Caracter 3-6 3-3 9. Totals 26-50 23-30 79.

TENNESSEE (31-5)

T.Smith 3-9 5-8 11, Chism 3-4 2-2 9, J.Smith 5-11 0-0 12, Lofton 3-15 7-7 15, Prince 1-3 0-0 2, R.Smith 2-9 2-7 6, Pearl 0-0 0-0 0, Tabb 0-0 0-0 0, Crews 2-4 1-1 5, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Childress 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-56 17-25 60.

Halftime—Louisville 37-30. 3-Point Goals—Louisville 4-14 (Smith 2-3, Palacios 1-1, McGee 1-5, Clark 0-1, Williams 0-1, Knowles 0-3), Tennessee 5-20 (J.Smith 2-5, Lofton 2-11, Chism 1-1, Prince 0-1, T.Smith 0-1, Childress 0-1). Fouled Out—J.Smith, Sosa. Rebounds—Louisville 43 (Clark 12), Tennessee 28 (J.Smith 6). Assists—Louisville 14 (McGee, Padgett, Williams 3), Tennessee 12 (R.Smith 3). Total Fouls—Louisville 23, Tennessee 26. Technical—Knowles.

A—19,092.