CARDINALS

U of L-Marshall TV info, story lines, starters

Jeff Greer
@jeffgreer_cj
University of Louisville's Mangok Mathiang (12) reacts to his teammates against Jacksonville State during the first half of play at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky.       November 17, 2014

MARSHALL AT U OF L

Game time: 9:05 p.m. Site: KFC Yum! Center. Line: Louisville by 27 1/2. Series: Louisville leads 10-5 and won the last meeting, 80-66, on Nov. 27, 2010, at the Yum! Center. Television: ESPNU. Radio: WKRD-790.

Marshall (3-0)

Pos.-Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.

G-Devince Boykins 6-4 Jr. 3.3 7.0

G-Austin Loop 6-4 So. 2.0 2.0

F-Shawn Smith 6-6 Sr. 1.0 11.3

F-Cheikh Sane 6-9 Sr. 10.7 10.7

F-Ryan Taylor 6-5 So. 8.3 18.0

Key reserves - Tamron Manning*, G, 6-4, Jr., 2.0 pts.; Jay Johnson, F, 6-7, Jr., 6.7; JP Kambola, F, 6-9, Sr., 3.3; Aleksa Nikolic, G/F, 6-5, Fr., 1.3; Justin Edmonds, G, 6-4, Jr., 1.3; Milan Mijovic, F, 6-9, Fr., 1.3.

Louisville (2-0)

Pos.-Player Ht. Cl. Rb. Pts.

G-Chris Jones 5-10 Sr. 5.0 11.5

G-Terry Rozier 6-1 So. 5.0 15.5

F-Wayne Blackshear 6-5 Sr. 6.5 9.5

F-Montrezl Harrell 6-8 Jr. 7.0 22.5

C-Chinanu Onuaku 6-10 Fr. 6.5 6.0

Key reserves – Mangok Mathiang, C, 6-10, R-So., 5.5 pts.; Anton Gill, G, 6-3, So., 4.5; Quentin Snider, G, 6-1, Fr., 3.5; David Levitch, G, 6-3, So., 2.5; Jaylen Johnson, F, 6-9, Fr., 0.0.

STORYLINES

Louisville will play the second game of its six-game home-stand, and the Cardinals looked awfully sharp against Jacksonville State on Monday night. Now, Marshall isn't Jacksonville State, but this is another matchup that U of L should be able to use to get the bench players more minutes. The starting five will need to log a lot of time this season, so these are prime chances for them to play something like 20 minutes and let the young guys get reps.

The defensive rebounding was a key concern of Rick Pitino's before the season, and Louisville seems to have dealt with that at least early on. Cards' opponents have only gotten 23.4 percent of the rebounds on Louisville's defensive glass, which is right where Pitino wants that number. The biggest help has been from the guards, who Pitino implored in the preseason to rebound more. Both Chris Jones and Terry Rozier average five rebounds a game.

Working on some early shooting kinks will be important for Louisville, too. Among the Cards' shot attempts, 27 percent have been layups or dunks, 39 percent have been 2-point jumpers and 34 percent have been 3s. That's a lot of jump shooting, and Louisville's missing those shots, too. The Cards shoot 37 percent on 2-point jumpers and just 26 percent from 3. How are they countering that? Offensive rebounding. Louisville is sixth in the nation with a 47-percent offensive rebounding clip.