LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Week-long breaks for final exams initially created different results between No. 11 Louisville and visiting Eastern Kentucky, which seemed much sharper from the layoff.The Cardinals shed their early rust to post the all-around effort they will need for a daunting quartet of ranked teams including an archrival.Donovan Mitchell scored 15 points, Quentin Snider added 13 and Louisville used a 20-0 run to close the first half and dominate Eastern Kentucky 87-56 on Saturday for its fifth straight victory.Seeking a good tuneup for next weeks rivalry game against No. 6 Kentucky, the Cardinals (10-1) shook off a sluggish start and 12-6 deficit to outscore EKU 30-4 the rest of the half and hold the Colonels scoreless for the final 7 minutes.Louisville never looked back en route to its 14th championship in 15 years in the Billy Minardi Classic, named for the brother-in-law of Cardinals coach Rick Pitino who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.We started out a little slow because we broke down on what we practiced, Pitino said. I think that gave the other team some momentum and confidence. But once we moved the basketball, once we stayed with our principles of what we wanted to do, we played much better.The Cardinals shot 48 percent from the field and owned the boards 47-31 in dominating the first game between the schools since 2004. They blocked a season-high 14 shots and had 19 assists, including a season-high six by Snider.We did a lot of good things, said Snider, who made 3 of 5 from behind the arc and 5 of 7 overall.Our bigs blocked shots. They really protected the rim real well and passed the ball real well. Thats how we got going.Mangok Mathiang matched a career best with 13 rebounds for Louisville, which follows Kentucky with matchups against No. 13 Virginia, No. 9 Indiana and No. 21 Notre Dame.Jaylen Johnson and Tony Hicks each had 10 points for the Cardinals.Nick Mayo had 15 points and Asante Gist 12 for the Colonels (6-6), who didnt reach 20 points until the 16:39 mark of the second half and shot 36 percent.THE BIG PICTUREEastern Kentucky: After their strong start the Colonels were soon overwhelmed by Louisville. They trailed by as many as 36 points with 8:34 remaining and needed a big second half just to finish at 36 percent. The high-scoring tandem of Mayo and Gist combined for 10-of-27 shooting and were held below their per-game scoring averages of 19.3 and 14.4 points, respectively.Were such a young team that Ive got to make sure it doesnt affect us, said coach Dan McHale, a former Louisville staffer and assistant. We probably wont watch a lot of the horrific stuff (from the video). ... Were just evolving right now.Louisville: Sniders eight straight points, including two 3s, helped snap the Cardinals out of their initial offensive funk. He has scored in double digits in consecutive games. Anas Mahmoud returned from a three-game absence (concussion) with six points, five blocks and four rebounds. Louisville has held four of its last five opponents to 36 percent shooting or lower.POLL IMPLICATIONSConsecutive blowouts could push Louisville into the Top 10 just in time to face in-state rival Kentucky.WELCOME BACKOne early block was all the 7-foot Mahmoud needed to feel normal again after sustaining the concussion against Purdue. In fact, he was comfortable enough to take five shots, hit three and try to establish a bigger presence inside.When you come back youre always thinking too much because youve been away, he said. After you get the first touch of the ball and the feeling running up and down the floor, you get comfortable. And the more comfortable I got, the better I played.UP NEXTEastern Kentucky: Continues its five-game road swing on Monday at Norfolk State.Louisville: Hosts No. 6 Kentucky on Wednesday night in the annual showdown for Bluegrass supremacy. The Cardinals have lost three straight in the series.---More AP College Basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org Cheap NFL Gear From China .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. Stitched NFL Jerseys . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. http://www.cheapnfljerseyssale.info/ . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. Nike NFL Jerseys China . PETERSBURG, Fla. NFL Shop Outlet . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee is unsure about the status of its two top linebackers as it prepares to visit Texas A&M in a matchup of undefeated teams.Darrin Kirkland Jr. has missed three straight games with a high ankle sprain. Jalen Reeves-Maybin missed the entirety of a 34-31 triumph at Georgia last week after sitting out the majority of victories over Ohio and Florida.That means No. 9 Tennessee (5-0, 2-0 SEC) again could be missing some of its best defensive performers when the Volunteers face No. 8 Texas A&M (5-0, 3-0). The Vols already are without cornerback Cam Sutton, who will miss a third straight game with a fractured right ankle.Reeves-Maybin, the Vols leading tackler last season, underwent an MRI last week. Reeves-Maybin and Sutton are two of Tennessees four team captains.Were continuing to gather information on Jalen Reeves-Maybin and trying to make the best decision to present to him with his different options, coach Butch Jones said. Ill know a little bit more later in the week.Kirkland had a team-leading 16 tackles through the first two weeks of the season before getting hurt. Jones said Kirkland ran Thursday and Friday, and the team planned to put him through cutting drills Monday to see if he can match the movements that the linebacker position brings about, different bursts and accelerations.Jones said cornerback Justin Martin should be available this weekend after serving a suspension last week for a violation of team rules. He also said running back Jalen Hurd will be full go this week and available to play against Texas A&M after missing portions of the Georgia game for what was described as a lower extremity injury.The Aggies also have been dealing with injuries. Texas A&M beat South Carolina 24-13 last week without four injured starters, including 2015 SEC sacks leader Myles Garrett. The other Aggies to miss the game were offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunnor and receivers Speedy Noil and Ricky Seals-Jones.ddddddddddddTexas A&M didnt have a media availability Monday, so there was no update on the foursomes status for this weeks game.Tennessee thus far has withstood all the injuries on defense thanks largely to the performance of its front four. The deep defensive line has played its best late in games to help the Vols outscore opponents 76-21 in the fourth quarter and overtime.Were going to need our defensive front to be that way each and every week, Jones said.The defensive line has benefited from being the healthiest element of Tennessees defense, with the only notable injury being an ankle problem that sidelined end LaTroy Lewis against Ohio. Tennessee knew even before the season its defensive line would be a strength.Before all the injuries, thats what our goal was before the season started, to be a D-line-led team, defensive tackle Kendal Vickers said. When the pressures on, we want it to be on our shoulders.That defensive line is led by Derek Barnett, who has recorded two sacks in each of Tennessees last two games. Barnett sacked Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason and forced a fumble that defensive end Corey Vereen recovered in the end zone for a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter last week.But the injuries across the defense have made a difference, particularly in the secondary. Tennessee has allowed four pass completions of at least 40 yards the last two weeks. The Vols yielded just one pass completion of 40-plus yards in the three games that Sutton played.Tennessees secondary could face an even tougher challenge Saturday against a talented Texas A&M receiving corps, particularly if Seals-Jones and Noil are healthy enough to play.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '