No. 7 Louisville 87, Central Florida 70: Russ Smith scored 27 points and Luke Hancock added 16 points and five assists as the Cardinals rolled past the visiting Knights.

Montrezl Harrell had 14 points and seven rebounds and Wayne Blackshear contributed 10 points and six boards for Louisville (18-4, 7-2 American Athletic Conference), which bounced back from Thursday’s 69-66 loss to Cincinnati by shooting 51.6 percent. The Cardinals won both meetings with Central Florida this season by an average of 21 points.

Tristan Spurlock led Central Florida (9-10, 1-7) with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Calvin Newell had 12 points and Kasey Wilson had 11 for the Knights, who have lost six straight and seven of their last eight.

Central Florida shot 8-for-26 in the first half and trailed 37-27 at the break, and Blackshear opened the second half with a 3-pointer to extend the lead. Wilson hit a 3-pointer to pull Central Florida within 68-59 with just under seven minutes to play, but Hancock squelched the Knights' comeback hopes with an impressive sequence that included a 3-pointer, a steal and a three-point play.

Smith shot 9-of-14 from the field and made seven of his 10 foul shots to lead Louisville, which finished with nine turnovers after committing seven in the first half. Central Florida entered the game leading the AAC in rebounding at 39.7 per game and won the battle of the boards 38-35.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Louisville improved to 37-9 in the month of February since the 2007-08 season. … Leading scorer Isaiah Sykes missed 10 of his 12 shots and finished with eight points along with 11 rebounds for Central Florida, which shot 38.2 percent. … The Cardinals football team and new coach Bobby Petrino drew a standing ovation when they were introduced at halftime.