Birmingham, AL -- (Sports Network) - Earl Clark scored 14 points to lead as balanced attack as Louisville used a huge first half run to put the game out of reach early, as the Cardinals cruised to a 78-48 rout of Oklahoma in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Jerry Smith added 12 points for third-seeded Louisville (26-8), which will face second-seeded Tennessee in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in Charlotte. David Padgett added eight points, while Andre McGee, Juan Palacios, Edgar Sosa and Terrence Williams all scored seven.

The Cardinals shot a blistering 59.3 percent from the field and scored 25 points off 16 Oklahoma turnovers.

"I'm real proud of the way our guys gave their energy, it's exciting to see you feed on it, you get easy shot and the good thing about this pressing team is that we don't give up a whole lot with our press," said Louisville coach Rick Pitino. "We press with really good intelligence. We run and jump a lot rather than run and trap."

David Godbold scored a game-high 15 for sixth-seeded Oklahoma (23-12), including 4-for-7 from three-point range. Taylor Griffin added 11 off the bench, but the Sooners were held to 31.9 percent shooting by Louisville's stifling defense.

"They stayed really active, they didn't back of at all," Godbold said. "And I congratulate them on that. Even when we broke it a few times to get a score, they kept with it and I know their coach was really pleased with that. They just kept a lot of energy and they did a good job today."

After Blake Griffin's jumper brought Oklahoma within 18-14 just before the midway point of the half, Clark hit a jumper that sparked a 19-2 run that put the Cardinals firmly in control of the game after Smith finished a fastbreak with a layup to give Louisville a 37-16 lead with 4:22 left in the half.

Clark, Smith and Williams each scored five points during the burst, and the Cardinals relentless pressure defense forced nine first half turnovers as Louisville took a dominating 44-22 lead into the locker room after Will Scott's lunging, turnaround three from the edge of the half court logo at the buzzer.

"He made a lucky prayer there," Pitino said. "But it is fun because Will's a very good shooter, that was a lucky shot but he worked real hard all season."

McGee opened the second half by canning a three to push the Louisville lead to 25. The Sooners closed to within 18 over the next several minutes, but the Cardinals continued to pull away and restored the 25-point cushion when Sosa found Williams for an alley-oop and a 61-36 lead with 11 1/2 minutes to play.

A pair of Griffin free throws brought Oklahoma back within 23, but Sosa countered with a long three and Derrick Caracter followed with a jumper to give the Cardinals a 66-38 lead with 10:11 on the clock.

The Cardinals rolled from there, leading by as many as 35 down the stretch as they continued their quest to return to the Final Four for the second time in four years.

"I definitely think we're playing our best basketball right now," Smith said. "We're clicking right now, we're really focusing in and we are here to win."

Game Notes

Oklahoma was held without a field goal for nearly 6 1/2 minutes late in the second half as the Cardinals put the game away...Griffin added eight points and seven rebounds for the Sooners...Williams grabbed a game-best eight boards for Louisville...Eleven different players scored for Louisville...The Cardinals scored 44 points in the paint and held the Sooners to 20.