Dieng's career-high 23 points lead No. 10 Louisville over Seton Hall 79-61

Seton Hall's Aaron Cosby (1) puts a shot up around the defense of Louisville's Gorgui Dieng during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday Feb. 23, 2013 in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley) (The Associated Press)

9c47311f-Seton Hall Louisville Basketball

Seton Hall's Fuquan Edwin, left, drives to the basket past the defense of Louisville's Gorgui Dieng during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday Feb. 23, 2013 in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley) (The Associated Press)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Gorgui Dieng scored a career-high 23 points to help No. 10 Louisville pull away from Seton Hall for a 79-61 victory on Saturday.

Dieng, a 6-foot-10 center, showed confidence in his jumper and the result was 10 of 11 shooting from the field. The junior also grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots.

Russ Smith added 19 points and Luke Hancock made three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points as the Cardinals (22-5, 10-4) won their third in a row to draw within a half game of Big East Conference leaders Syracuse, Georgetown and Marquette, all of whom played later Saturday.

Against Seton Hall, Louisville wanted to firm up its game ahead of an important stretch run including next week's showdown at No. 8 Syracuse. The Cardinals succeeded on just about every count, forcing 21 turnovers including 12 steals and shooting 26 of 57 (45.6 percent).

Aaron Cosby scored 14 second-half points for 17 to lead Seton Hall (13-15, 2-13), which dropped its ninth straight.