CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Making history wasn’t in the cards for Tennessee on Thursday night.

Louisville denied the Vols’ bid to become the first UT men’s basketball team to reach the Elite Eight with a 79-60 victory in this East Region game before an announced crowd of 19,092 at Bobcats Arena. It’s the second year in a row the Vols were defeated in the Sweet 16.

The third-seeded Cardinals (27-8) used their athleticism and size to dominate second-seeded Tennessee (31-5) on the boards, holding a 43-28 advantage that proved too much for the Vols to overcome.

Tennessee finished the season with a school-record 31 wins and captured the SEC title outright for the first time since 1967. The Vols also attained a No. 1-ranking in the polls for the first time in school history and ended the regular season No. 1 in the RPI ratings.

“I told the guys that tonight’s game doesn’t take much away from the finest season in the history of Tennessee basketball,’’ UT coach Bruce Pearl said.

Pearl brushed off rumors he might leave the Vols for another coaching vacancy — there’s been widespread speculation that Indiana will pursue him for its opening.

“It’s great to be a Tennessee Vol,’’ Pearl said. “I anticipate I’ll be back if Tennessee will have me, and I think they’ll have me.’’

Senior Chris Lofton is one person the Vols won’t have back. Lofton led the Vols with 15 points and finished his career with 431 3-pointers, most in SEC history and third all-time in the NCAA ranks.

Lofton was just 3-of-15 shooting including 2-of-11 beyond the arc against Louisville and left the arena visibly distraught.

“I’m disappointed … just very disappointed,’’ Lofton said. “They really didn’t leave me at all; I had (Earl) Clark on me, he was long, a 6-foot-9 guy, and he was able to tip some of my shots.’’

JaJuan Smith scored 12 points in his final game with the Vols, and Tyler Smith 11, albeit only one after halftime.

Tyler Smith said he’ll consider declaring himself eligible for the NBA draft after getting a draft evaluation and discussing it with Pearl.

“It’s been my dream; if I’m able to do it, I might, but I’m not sure,’’ Tyler Smith said. “If my family needs the money, and I’m sure they do … that’s what it will come down to. I want to be a first-rounder. If I’m not, it’s not even worth a look for me.’’

UT looked good in the opening moments of Thursday’s game, taking a 5-2 lead on a Tyler Smith three-point play.

But Louisville stormed back and held the lead for the rest of the game after Juan Palacios hit a 3-pointer to make it 9-7 at the 16:59 mark.

The Vols missed 14 consecutive shots during one first-half stretch and the Cardinals went up by as many as 16 en route to a 37-30 advantage at halftime.

The Vols rallied to cut the deficit to 37-36 in the second half on a JaJuan Smith layup in transition with 16:50 remaining.

The Cardinals answered with an 8-0 run to take a 49-39 lead with 13:24 left when Clark scored two of his game-high 17 points.

“I just kept reminding the guys anytime we needed baskets what we needed to do; we had to use back screens,’’ Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. “I told our guys, ‘This (Tennessee) team will not go away.’ ’’

UT closed back to seven on a Lofton 3-pointer with 8:19 left that made it 54-47, but Louisville staved off the comeback bid with an effective zone defense and an attacking offense and pulled way in the closing minutes.

“They got to the rim, and they got to the foul line,’’ Pearl said. “I’ve been coaching a long time, and never has the tempo of a game been dictated so much by an opponent. We struggled all night long.’’

UT forced 20 Cardinals’ turnovers but committed 17 of its own and never got into sync, connecting on 19 of 56 (.339) shots, 5 of 20 (.250) beyond the 3-point arc.

“That’s the most frustrating thing, is we know we could have played better,’’ JaJuan Smith said. “We don’t feel we played our best basketball all year, and that’s what’s eating us up the most.’’

Tennessee’s foul troubles were another factor throughout the night, as JaJuan Smith, Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism all missed crucial minutes.

Pitino improved his record to 8-0 in Sweet 16 games and will lead his team into a 9:05 p.m. Saturday Elite Eight matchup against No. 1-ranked North Carolina.

The Tar Heels (35-2) dispatched of Washington State earlier Thursday.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.