ESPN Men's Basketball

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- David Padgett scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Louisville raced by reeling Connecticut 68-54 Monday night.

Terrence Williams added 18 points and nine rebounds and Juan Palacios scored 16 points for the Cardinals (14-6, 4-2 Big East), who have won four of five.

A.J. Price led Connecticut (13-6, 2-4) with 17 points, but the Huskies shot just 36 percent from the floor while losing their third straight and sixth in eight games. Connecticut turned it over 20 times and were just 3-of-20 from 3-point range.

The Cardinals were hardly better -- shooting a season-low 30 percent from the floor -- but used a 17-3 run at the start of the second half to take control, then made their free throws down the stretch.

Louisville shot 26-of-33 (78 percent) from the line, well above the team's season average of 66 percent.

After watching his team struggle to gain any momentum in the first half, Louisville coach Rick Pitino switched to full-court pressure in the second, and it worked. The press upped the tempo on both ends of the floor, and the Cardinals finally got into a rhythm offensively.

Palacios, Williams and Brandon Jenkins all hit 3-pointers at the start of the half, and Louisville eventually built a 45-31 lead.

The Huskies hung around for awhile, closing within 54-46 on a runner by Jerome Dyson with 5:23 to play. But Dyson was also called for an offensive foul after the basket, and Padgett made two free throws at the other end to push the lead to 10. Connecticut got no closer than nine the rest of the way as the Cardinals shot 12-of-14 from the free-throw line in the final five minutes to secure their first win over the Huskies.