(VIDEO) LOUISVILLE PERSEVERES THROUGH GRUESOME INJURY TO PUNCH THEIR TICKET TO THE NCAA MEN'S FINAL FOUR

It was a show of Louisville heart and intensity, a demonstration of dominance that delivered as impressive a win as any in the NCAA Tournament this year.
Louisville barreled its way into the Final Four last night, overcoming a gruesome broken leg suffered by guard Kevin Ware in the first half and taking Duke apart in the second half en route to an 85-63 win at Lucas Oil Stadium. Behind a roaring and passionate crowd, the top-seeded Cardinals captured the Midwest Regional and will face Wichita State in the national semifinals.

Louisville's Chase Behanaen celebrates after his team's emotional win over Duke.

There’s only one top seed that made it to Atlanta. It’s Louisville, unquestionably the favorite to win it all.

Rick Pitino’s team has now won an astounding 14 straight, and while the score last night probably didn’t reflect it, know this – this was as difficult a test as Lousiville could face. Duke probably should have been a 1-seed – the Blue Devils entered last night 21-1 this year when Ryan Kelly played – so it was a terrific opponent. But beyond that, Louisville had to somehow surge on after losing Ware with 6:33 to go in the first half, an injury that was so ugly that Pitino began crying and multiple Cardinals were visibly emotionally distraught.
WARNING: THE VIDEO BELOW IS GRAPHIC

One of Ware's teammates and closest friends, Chane Behanan, spoke with Ware at halftime.
"He said 'Don't worry about me, I'm good, I'll have my surgery tonight,'" Behanan said. "Go win it for me."
How Louisville managed to not only play on but play on superbly was remarkable. Credit Pitino as well as senior point guard Peyton Siva (who piloted a nearly flawless game) as well as Midwest Most Outstanding Player Russ Smith (who scored a game-high 23 points).
This was the first time Pitino and Mike Krzyezewski had faced each other in the NCAA Tournament since the classic 1992 Duke vs. Kentucky overtime thriller, regarded as one of the sport’s finest games. Christian Laettner won it with a buzzer-beating turnaround jumper. Pitino was coaching Kentucky at the time.
Last night’s game was tied at 42 early in the second half, but Louisville reeled off a 20-4 run, sealing the game. Center Gorgui Dieng, who missed the teams’ first meeting this year in November (which Duke won), poured in eight points during the spurt, while Siva added six. Duke shot 9-for-28 in the second half, unable to pierce Louisville’s superb defense.
Duke guard Seth Curry entered the game as the Blue Devils’ most dangerous scorer, averaging 24 points on 50 percent shooting through three NCAA tourney games. But Pitino and Co. completely harnessed him in the first half, as eight different Cards defenders were assigned to him. Curry didn’t even launch his first shot until 8:30 into the game, and for the half, incredibly, he went scoreless, missing all three of his attempts. He finished with 12 points.
Ware’s injury occurred with 6:33 to play in the first half, just after Duke’s Tyler Thornton sank a three to cut Louisville’s lead to 21-20. Ware came down on an angle in front of the Louisville bench, landing awkwardly and fracturing what appeared to be his lower right leg or shin. Several Cardinals appeared panic-stricken, with Smith in particular appearing both horrified and devastated.
During the delay, a massive group of people gathered in front of the Cards bench, and fans chanted “Kev-in.” Ware was wheeled off on a stretcher.
From a pure game standpoint, the question was how Louisville’s players would be able to emotionally play over the next 26-plus minutes. The Cardinals huddled during the delay, but on the first possession after play resumed, Wayne Blackshear missed a three. You wondered if the Cards would simply fall apart – understandably so – but on the next possession, Montrezl Harrell rejected a Rasheed Sulaimon drive. From there, Louisville actually outscored Duke 14-12 to close the half.