Louisville coach Rick Pitino went with a small lineup a few weeks ago in hopes of speeding things up.
The Cardinals had so much depth, regularly using a 12-player rotation during the first month of the season, Pitino could afford to experiment. If one player struggled, it was no big deal to send him to the bench and plug someone else in.
Those luxurious days are long gone.
Injuries to power forwards Rakeem Buckles and Jared Swopshire and guards Mike Marra and Elisha Justice leave the Cardinals shorthanded - and just plain short - heading into Wednesday's Big East opener against Seton Hall.
Louisville (11-2) will start four players 6-foot-4 and under against the Pirates (7-7). The size the Cardinals have in reserve - 6-9 centers Terrence Jennings and George Goode and 6-8 forward Stephan Van Treese - have been inconsistent and borderline ineffective.
Jennings had one of his better games of the season in a loss to No. 10 Kentucky on New Year's Eve, scoring nine points, but Van Treese played all of one minute against the Wildcats, while Goode never even made it to the scorer's table to check in.
''What we've been relying on is depth and our depth was taken away,'' Pitino said. ''We've been able to substitute freely and be able to buy a minute or two before a timeout and all of a sudden we aren't able to do that.''
Though Pitino says he's not worried about the Cardinals having trouble matching up with bigger teams, Louisville certainly looked undersized and outclassed against the bigger but not hardly as deep Wildcats.
Kentucky guard DeAndre Liggins used his 6-6 frame to harass Louisville point guard Peyton Siva, all 5-11 of him, into a miserable performance. Siva had six points, four assists and three turnovers in 33 uneven minutes.
Pitino doesn't believe there will be any negative carry-over after the Cardinals were so thoroughly handled by their rivals. He remains optimistic his team will keep its head up.
After all, this is a squad picked to finish in the middle of the pack in the crowded Big East and one he did his best to downplay expectations for even before the first basket was scored.
He practically laughed on Tuesday when asked how many Big East wins the Cardinals will need to come up with if they want to make the NCAAs for the sixth straight season.
''I never thought of making the NCAA this year,'' he said. ''I told you all the excuses that we come up with, all the cliches, it was a bridge year and we've got to get through it, we've got to recruit with and all the things coaches come up with to save their (butts).''
The Cardinals played so well during the first six weeks of the season he amended his expectations. He thinks his team is good enough to be one of the 68 who will make the field in March.
It's going to be a long two months between now and then.
Louisville will start 6-4 junior Kyle Kuric at power forward against the Pirates. He has blossomed since moving into the starting lineup, averaging 12.5 points and shooting 48 percent (12 of 25) from 3-point range.
Yet Kuric hasn't distinguished himself on the boards. Neither have any of his teammates. Though Louisville has a plus-3.3 rebounding advantage this season, they've done it against mostly lesser teams.
Kentucky dominated the inside, outrebounding the Cardinals 36-25 and holding advantages in points in the paint (36-26) and second-chance points (18-9).
Pitino blamed it on the inability of the guards to help out on the glass, saying Siva, Preston Knowles and Chris Smith let too many loose ball rebounds hit the floor and fall into Kentucky hands.
He grew so frustrated he sent in Marra, who hadn't played in nearly two weeks, to play out of position at power forward looking for a spark. It didn't work. Not much did in the final 30 minutes against Kentucky.
As disappointing as the loss was, particularly considering the loss of Buckles barely 24 hours before tipoff, Pitino doesn't think there will be a hangover against the Pirates.
Still, for Louisville to be competitive in one of the nation's toughest leagues, some of his role players will have to grow up fast.
Van Treese will get first crack. He appeared to be making strides early in the season, giving the Cardinals a much-needed lift off the bench in a win over Marshall.
Yet his inability to make free throws and difficulty picking up scouting reports have found him mired on the deep end of the bench. There's no room there now, not with so many injured players sitting there wearing suits instead of shorts.
''He's got to do some good things for us,'' Pitino said. ''We have no choice.''
