Marcus Marshall and Keith Pickens are back for Missouri State. Both key players missed several games with injuries. At 8-1 Missouri State can actually think about the NCAA Tournament and they are well aware that is they are a bubble team in March, the committee will take a long look at how competitive they are here.

Missouri State has a motion offense that gives Louisville a look they have not seen. They have just a 14.7 turnover rate, which is big against a Louisville defense that thrives in forcing such.

Louisville plays four straight games on the road after this including a game at Kentucky after Christmas, so they will be happy to escape with just a win. The Cards have played just one quality foe this season and lost by nine to UNC.

The Cards are one of the teams most negatively affected by hand-checking rules.