CARDINALS

Defense carries U of L into FIU matchup

Jeff Greer

@jeffgreer_cj

University of Louisville's Mangok Mathiang (12) fights to get his shot off under pressure from Jacksonville State's Avery Moore (1) during the second half at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. November 17, 2014

In the locker room after the University of Louisville basketball team's intense, hard-fought 64-55 win over Ohio State, one thing was clear.

Louisville's a little beat up right now.

U of L coach Rick Pitino said Thursday that the Cardinals don't expect to have Mangok Mathiang (ankle sprain) available for Friday's 7 p.m. game against Florida International at the KFC Yum! Center, and several other Cardinals are still battling some nagging injuries of their own.

Terry Rozier dislocated his pinky against Ohio State -- the second time he dislocated the finger this week -- and Chris Jones still feels lingering pain from a stress fracture in his shin and a hand bruise. To make matters worse, Pitino said a cold virus is making its rounds on U of L's roster.

But don't expect anything other than the suffocating defense and effective offensive rebounding that has kept Louisville (6-0) undefeated despite some early-season offensive woes.

"We'll be ready to go," Pitino said. "We want no Ohio State hangover. We want to be fully ready to defend at the highest level."

Louisville's woeful 3-point shooting (26 percent) and free-throw shooting (58 percent) have frustrated some of the Cardinals' best players.

Montrezl Harrell, Pitino said, seemed down after the Ohio State win on Tuesday. Why?

"He was all down in the dumps because he missed (five) free throws," Pitino said.

Jones vowed after Tuesday's game that he'd immediately return to the Cardinals' on-campus practice facility to work on his jump shot. He was 3 of 15 against Ohio State and is 22 of 77 from the field for the season.

Rozier's shooting 43.8 percent -- a solid clip for a guard -- but he's let his 22-percent 3-point shooting affect his defense, Pitino said.

"The one thing I have to get on them about is not worrying about missed shots," Pitino said. "Make defense your staple. There are going to be nights when you're not going to miss, and you can't fall in love with your jump shot. You just have to understand winning."

U of L isn't sulking at all about its defense, though.

The Cardinals are the eighth-best team in the country in turnover percentage, generating turnovers on 26.6 of their opponents' possessions. They've done it with speed and intensity, and their on-ball defense and quick rotations have overwhelmed every opponent they've played this season.

Beyond that, U of L is defending shots well, too. Opponents make just 35.4 percent of their 2-pointers and 21.5 percent of their 3s.

"I think we're as far advanced defensively at this point of the season as any other team I've coached," Pitino said.

"The good thing about our team is, in our style of play, if you don't bring it, it shows right away because everything is predicated on intense, hard work ... You have to bring it with our style."

That bodes well for Friday night. FIU (5-3) has struggled in just about every facet of its offense. The Panthers have made 23.6 percent of their 3-pointers, and they lose 11 percent of their possessions to steals, which is high for any offense.

Louisville is sixth in the nation in steals per game, snagging 11 a contest.

"When you start missing shots, it kind of shoots us in the foot," Jones said. "But we're such a great defensive team right now that our defense leads to our offense."

Louisville's high turnover rate and offensive rebounding, which ranks ninth in the country, has created enough scoring chances to overcome Louisville's shooting problems.

And the Cards' defense alone should be enough to carry them, injuries and all, in Friday's matchup with FIU.

"If you play that kind of defense (like Louisville did against Ohio State), you can beat anybody," Pitino said.

Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).