After a sluggish second-half effort in its season opener, No. 11 Louisville will look to put together a 40-minute performance on Saturday afternoon against visiting Morehead State.
The Cardinals (1-0) defeated Chattanooga 84-70 on Monday behind a hot start. They made 10 of their first 12 shots and built a double-digit lead less than four minutes into the contest.
The lead reached 25 twice before the Cardinals went cold in the second half. They shot just 29% (9-for-31) and missed their first dozen 3-point attempts after halftime.
Another issue for Louisville coach Pat Kelsey was the inside game. After the Cardinals owned a 21-11 rebounding advantage in the first half, the Mocs posted a 27-21 edge on the boards after intermission.
Kelsey said he did not need to say much to his players after the game because there’s enough leadership in the locker room to know that performance did not meet expectations.
Adrian Wooley, the lone scholarship player returning from last season, agreed, adding he was happy to have four days between games.
“We need that to go back in the gym and get better at what we need to get better on,” said Wooley, who had 15 points and four steals. “To be able to watch film together and just be able to go into practice and just tighten up on the things that we can tighten up on.”
All five starters scored in double figures for Louisville, led by Flory Bidunga’s 16 points. The Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year last season at Kansas, Bidunga had five dunks and nine rebounds. Oregon transfer Jackson Shelstad added 13 points and seven rebounds, while former North Carolina guard Seth Trimble had five assists to go with his 13 points.
Karter Knox, who played the past two seasons at Arkansas, posted nine points and 11 rebounds off the bench. He left the game late after taking a hard fall, but Kelsey did not believe it was anything serious.
Morehead State won 20 games last season, including a 15-5 mark to share the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title, and returns half of its players from that squad. Chase Dawson is the top returning scorer after averaging 8.3 points per game.
The Eagles (1-1) come to Louisville after a 114-60 win Thursday over Virginia University-Lynchburg. Clayton Parker had 24 points on 8-for-10 shooting, as Morehead State shot 60.3% (44-for-73). Dawson added 15 points and five assists.
On Monday, the Eagles fell 83-58 in their season opener at Western Kentucky. They were held to 36.2% (21-for-58) shooting, including 21.9% (7-for-32) from beyond the 3-point arc.
During the postgame radio show after Thursday’s win, coach Jonathan Mattox said the priority in the game against Louisville is to get his team ready for conference play.
“They’ve got good players across the board,” he said. “Tough challenge for us. I’ll have some goals going into that game of what I would like to see us do and accomplish … and we’re going to go and give it everything we’ve got.”