Rick Pitino has resorted to lying to his team about sixth-ranked Louisville's injury situation.
''Last year was bad, but this year is ridiculous,'' the coach said. ''I just tell them I've seen this for 35 years. I'm lying. I've never seen this before.''
He's also briefly contemplated putting them in pads after one player wore a helmet to practice to avoid further injury.
But thanks to their gritty defensive play, the Cardinals are 6-0. They head into their stiffest challenge of the season against No. 20 Vanderbilt on Friday night as part of the SEC-Big East challenge.
''In order for us to win with this basketball team, defense has to be our staple,'' Pitino said.
So far it has been.
''We've got to get stops on defense, come out with intensity, aggressiveness and force them back on their heels,'' forward Kyle Kuric said. ''Moving forward, yeah, big names are coming in - top rankings, whatever - we've still got to have the same mindset of getting stops and coming together as a team.''
The problem with coming together is the rotating cast of players. Louisville was expected to be very deep this season with 11 returning lettermen, but injuries have kept the Cardinals from getting into a rhythm.
Forward Rakeem Buckles (right knee) has returned to practice after tearing a knee ligament last season, but is not expected to play against the Commodores. Guard Mike Marra (left knee) tore a ligament in his knee against Lamar on Nov. 13 and forward Stephan Van Treese (left knee) played limited minutes in two games back before being ruled out indefinitely.
Freshman swingman Wayne Blackshear (right shoulder) has yet to play after being hurt in a noncontact situation in practice going up for a layup.
Those injuries are just the start.
Pitino expects Peyton Siva to finally be at full strength on Friday after the junior point guard missed about 20 practices and two games after sustaining a concussion in an exhibition game before spraining his left ankle in practice on Nov. 14.
Then, there's Elisha Justice, who broke his nose after being hit by a ball this week. He wore a helmet to practice in an effort to return.
Justice isn't expected to miss significant time, but he won't play against the Commodores and it adds to a list of frustrating and somewhat baffling injuries for the Cardinals.
Pitino has had to back off at practice and in the victory over Long Beach State, Louisville never could pull away after they appeared to get worn down. The coach said there is nothing good that comes with injuries.
''You don't want broken noses when a ball hits you in the nose. You don't want ACLs when you're driving down the lane with no contact,'' he said. ''You don't want these things. It doesn't help you. You'd like to think that, but it's just not reality. It hurts you because you can't practice what you need to do.''
Vanderbilt (5-2) has had its share of disappointment this season already, too. After being ranked higher than Louisville in the preseason poll at seventh, the Commodores have lost games to Cleveland State on Nov. 13 and No. 11 Xavier on Monday.
''That was extremely disappointing. We just didn't rebound like we know we can,'' Vanderbilt forward Jeffrey Taylor said. ''There was a bunch of times in the game where we thought we had the game won and they just made plays. It is definitely a game we wished we could have back.''
The Commodores boast sharpshooter John Jenkins, who is averaging 20.2 points per game, but have been without big man Festus Ezeli. The center's six-game suspension for accepting impermissible benefits in the offseason ended against the Musketeers, but he sprained his right knee in practice and is expected to miss at least two more weeks.
''The injury thing has kept (Louisville) from being able to practice like they want to practice as it has us,'' Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. ''That becomes very frustrating as a coach, at least it does for me. I'm sure it is for him, too. It's frustrating because it is hard to get better when you can't practice.''
Forward Lance Goulbourne said the Commodores' defense is improving, too, after holding the Musketeers to a 37 percent clip.
''For us, numbers or rankings don't really matter. We were seventh in the country at one point and that doesn't really matter,'' he said after the loss. ''We had intensity on our defense and everyone tried to lock up and do what they could.''
While Louisville has had one of the best defenses in the country over the first four weeks of the season, the Cardinals realize they must pick up their own efforts on Friday night after a sloppy performance against Long Beach State.
''If we make the defensive lapses that we made in the second half against Vanderbilt, they'll pick us apart,'' Pitino said. ''We know we're going to have a very, very tough game.''
