Birmingham, AL -- (Sports Network) - Earl Clark posted 15 points and seven rebounds as Louisville dismissed Boise State, 79-61, in first-round action from the East Region of the NCAA Tournament.

Juan Palacios had 13 points and Jerry Smith added 12 for the third-seeded Cardinals (25-8), who advance to face sixth-seeded Oklahoma in the second round on Sunday. Terrence Williams added nine points, eight rebounds and dished out six assists.

"We did a good job of making the extra pass, taking good threes," said Louisville head coach Rick Pitino. "Doing all that and creating the good motion, is not of any value unless you stop it, and we did a very good job of stopping a tremendous 3-point shooting team."

The Cardinals shot 50 percent (12-of-24) from beyond the arc, while the Broncos were an anemic 4-for-17 from three-point range.

Matt Nelson poured in a game-best 17 points with seven boards for the Broncos (25-9), whose first trip to the tourney since 1994 ended with an early exit. Reggie Larry had 14 points and Tyler Tiedeman chipped in 12 points in defeat.

Louisville sprinted to a 7-1 lead out of the gate, extending it to eight on a Smith three five minutes in. BSU responded with a 10-5 burst to come within 18-15 on a Kurt Cunningham runner, but the Cardinals opened up a 28-15 edge on a Clark lay-in.

Nelson's dunk off the break with under seven minutes to play brought the Broncos within 31-21, but a 9-3 burst highlighted by Derrick Caracter's slam made it 40-24 and the Cardinals coasted into the break ahead by 13.

Andre McGee's long three put the Cardinals up 54-35 early in the second half, and Boise State was only able to close the gap to 13 with 6:41 remaining when Nelson made 1-of-2 from the line.

Smith's three with 4:22 remaining put Louisville up 75-55 and the Cardinals cruised to the buzzer.

"I think there was a few jitters at the start of the game just because we were overly excited and once we settled in we played pretty tough," Nelson said. "I think the score didn't look that way like the game was that close and, but I mean we battled and I think we played a good game."

Game Notes

Louisville has won both all-time meetings...Smith led all players with four steals...Boise State outrebounded Louisville 31-27, but committed 19 turnovers.