In each of the previous two seasons, Louisville fell to lower seeds in its opening game, busting brackets and dreams alike. This year, the N.C.A.A. shipped the Cardinals far from their old Kentucky home, as the fourth seed in the West Region.
Davidson, the 13th seed, seemed primed to pull another upset but ultimately did not provide one. Louisville, boosted again by point guard Peyton Siva, cruised into the third round with a 69-62 victory Thursday.
The teams tipped off early, at 10:40 a.m. local time. Before lunch, Louisville (27-9) lost its most prominent inside presence, center Gorgui Dieng, who picked up his third foul and one of the best seats in the Rose Garden. The stage for an upset seemed set, with Davidson no stranger to one. In 2008, Stephen Curry carried the Wildcats to a regional final.
Yet the Cardinals led at halftime, 33-25, as Davidson (25-8) shot 30 percent.
The diminutive Siva grabbed a steal, dunked and thumped his chest to begin the second half, ballooning Louisville's lead to 35-25. His large contingent of fans, a few dozen who traveled here from his native Seattle, roared their approval from the stands. "Peytonvul," one sign read. Siva finished with 17 points and 6 assists.
Like Siva, Louisville limped through portions of the regular season, his sore ankle a drag on the Cardinals' sputtering offense. Louisville entered the Big East tournament having lost three of its previous five games, but there came Siva and the Cardinals, who won the championship and were rewarded with a trip to Portland.
Pitino was less than pleased. On Wednesday, he griped about Louisville's flight as if the team had traveled from New Zealand. He joked that Portland was "in the Pacific Ocean." He saved his most pointed replies for those who dared to ask about his team's recent history in this tournament.
On Thursday, though, a relieved Pitino replaced the surly Pitino as Louisville advanced. The Cardinals loved Portland so much, in fact, they plan to stick around for at least another two days.
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