The Cardinals (25-8) turned the ball over 16 times, but kept the Broncos winless in five tournament games and set up a second-round contest with Oklahoma in the East Region.

That will be the first Big East-Big 12 meeting of the tournament, after those two leagues combined to produce a 12-2 record in the first round.

Juan Palacios had 13 points for Louisville and Jerry Smith had 12. The Cardinals hit half their three-point tries and shot 55 percent overall.

Matt Nelson posted 17 points for Boise State (25-9), which was making its first tournament appearance in 14 seasons.

Reggie Larry had 14 points and Tyler Tiedeman had 12, but Tiedeman did not score in the second half.