ST. LOUIS — Rick Pitino got the best of his former pupil John Pelphrey and Arkansas on Tuesday night as Louisville demolished the Razorbacks, 96-66, at the Scottrade Center.

Arkansas, with only 10 players dressed because of suspensions and injuries, hung tough in the opening minutes of each half but couldn't keep up with No. 20 Louisville's deep bench.

Reginald Delk scored a game-high 20 points off the bench for the Cardinals, hitting 8 of 9 shot attempts.

"It's just a matter of one team having depth," Pitino said. "And because of the situation they're in, they didn't have it."

Louisville picked up 32 points off its bench compared to Arkansas' eight from three players.

Arkansas did show signs of staying in the game and keeping up with the Cardinals' speed early on, and fought back from a 17-point halftime deficit with a 14-0 run to open the second half.

Rotnei Clarke, who hit a 3-pointer and layup on the break, also passed up a trey with a feed to Michael Washington underneath the basket for a bucket onward to the first eight points of the scoring spurt.

Marshawn Powell nailed a basket to cap the run and close the gap to 48-45, but Delk and Louisville responded again to squash the heavy-legged Hogs. Louisville put together a 15-3 run of their own to extend the lead to 65-48. Delk scored five points and added an assist during the stretch.

Delk, who was named the game's Most Valuable Player, connected on 4 of 5 three-point attempts. The Cardinals hit 15 three-pointers compared to Arkansas' three.

Louisville's bench contributed 16 points in the first half, including Delk's team-leading 13 and three 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes. Arkansas played eight of its 10 players it had suited up, but received no points from its three reserves during that stretch. The Cardinals played 12 players in the first half, keeping pressure on Arkansas and forced 8 turnovers.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals didn't make it a mystery who they would focus on defensively. Pitino rotated three guards on Clarke, who set the SEC record for 3-pointers in a game last week with 13 against Alcorn State. He finished with a team-high 16 points.

Pitino said he directed players to yell Clarke's name on every pass by the Razorbacks.

"That's how much respect we have," Pitino said.

"I was actually surprised I didn't see a couple of players at the airport waiting on him," said Pelphrey, who played for Pitino for three seasons at Kentucky.

Arkansas led for most of a seven-minute stretch midway through the first half, but Louisville's depth began to wear on the Hogs' short bench in the final 4 minutes. After a Washington basket with 7:47 remaining, Louisville went on a 26-9 run to end the first half as Arkansas hit only three more shots.

Arkansas will re-gain one player from suspensions Friday, when the Razorbacks host Appalachian State at Bud Walton Arena. Freshman Glenn Bryant was suspended for the first two games of the season and could make his debut as a Razorback.

For more on this story, read the Wednesday edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.