ounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff.DENTON, Texas -- Turner Smiley had seven receptions for 167 yards and two touchdowns and North Texas prevented Southern Mississippi from becoming bowl eligible with a

Louisville coach Rick Pitino didnt need to look very far for a cautionary tale for his 14th-ranked Cardinals (6-1) as they head west to Phoenix to play Grand Canyon (3-3) at 9 p.m. ET Saturday at GCU Arena.Pitino started his film session Thursday with footage of Indiana losing to Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne earlier this season. Billed as the biggest home game in years for IPFW, the Mastadons jumped out to a big lead and knocked off the Hoosiers in a program-defining win.Well, that is the first real road game, Pitino said. ... The first clip I am going to show is the Indiana vs. Fort Wayne to get the guys to understand that its a true road game. We need it.Thats why I wanted it because we need it desperately. Look, I was hoping to be 7-0, but we are 6-1 and we are playing excellent defense. I have no complaints.Pitino wants to see his team tested in a tough environment. He compared it with the atmosphere they will see at small but intense arenas in the ACC like Dukes Cameron Indoor or home courts like Clemson or Georgia Tech.For Grand Canyon, the opportunity to host a recent national champion like Louisville is golden. The Antelopes have played teams like Duke, Indiana, Louisville, Kentucky, San Diego State and Utah but never at GCU arena.Its huge for the school and the program, Phoenix Suns owner and Grand Canyon booster Jerry Colangelo said. A lot of times schools will say theyll come, but they want to play on a neutral court. The risk of possibly losing is too great. When Louisville was willing to do what theyre doing, that says a lot about their character and their willingness to help. I think its a good story.Grand Canyon senior Dewayne Russell cant wait for the Cardinals to come to town.Its going to be rocking, Russell said. I remember when I first got to the school and sitting right there with my grandmother. To see the whole thing build and a school like Louisville come in here its amazing.At 3-3, the Lopes (short for Antelopes) havent had the start to the season they would have liked, but a home game vs. Louisville might be just what the doctor ordered for coach Dan Majerles crew.We tried to beef up our schedule so the kids can see that were playing good competition, Majerle said. Our goal ultimately is to be a top-25 team. Were still a long way away from that, but our guys need to see these kind of games. Its fun for our guys. Its not so fun for me, but its a good opportunity for our guys.Grand Canyon started the season with a 96-61 loss at Duke and an 85-76 loss at Penn State before beating Albany, Marist and Coppin State. On Monday, the Lopes missed 20 of 24 3-point attempts in a tough 76-64 loss to SIU Edwardsville, falling to 3-3.The lone bright spot from Mondays loss to SIU-Edwardsville was Russell, the 5-foot-11, 155-pound guard who scored 26 points. Majerle said Russell has come a long way.Ill be honest with you. When he first got here, he wasnt very good, Majerle said. He wasnt a very good teammate. I remember to this day when he stood up and said, Youll never have to worry about me again.Russell and 6-6 forward Keonta Vernon are the two players Louisville will have to focus on stopping. The pair take more than 57 percent of Grand Canyons shots so far this season.For Louisville, Saturday is about staying focused in a wild road environment. Pitino said he wants to see his team continue to play exemplary defense.For a young, inexperienced team we played super defense and for the last seven games weve played great defense, Pitino said. We just have to keep going inside and instead of playing east to west play north to south and go into the post and cut off the post.Louisvilles inside game was more impressive against Purdue than it has been for most of the season. Starting power forward Jaylen Johnson is averaging 9.9 points and 8.6 rebounds. Starting center Mangok Mathiang is averaging just 6.7 points and 6.3 rebounds.The key for Louisville so far this season has been depth. Eight different players are averaging more than 5.0 points per game and nine players are playing double-digit minutes.GAME NOTES -- Louisville sophomore G Donovan Mitchell has 19 steals in the first seven games. ... The Cardinals are holding opponents to just 57.9 points per game. ... No Louisville foe has scored more than 66 points in a game this season. ... Grand Canyon has not scored uner 61 points in a game this season.Tim Brown Womens Jersey . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. Charles Woodson Womens Jersey . 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Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff.DENTON, Texas -- Turner Smiley had seven receptions for 167 yards and two touchdowns and North Texas prevented Southern Mississippi from becoming bowl eligible with a 29-23 win on Saturday night.Willy Ivery ran for 111 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown, and Alec Morris added 267 yards passing with two scores for North Texas (5-6, 3-4 Conference USA).Ito Smith ran for 113 yards and two touchdowns for Southern Miss (5-6, 3-4). But the Mean Green largely bottled up quarterback Keon Howard, who completeed just 10 of his 26 passes for 135 yards and three interceptions.ddddddddddddNorth Texas raced to a 20-0 second quarter lead. However Southern Mississippi rallied for 23 unanswered points, capped by a Stephen Brauchle 25-yard field goal for a 23-20 lead with 9:39 left.The Mean Green answered on the ensuing drive with an Ivery 11-yard TD run that gave them the lead for good. ' ' '