Wednesday Morning Cardinal News And Notes

Bye Week Spread Check: Curry Burns by 12.

A quick reminder that today is the first day of the early signing period for college hoops, and that Perry Dozier will be announcing his college choice during a 12:30 press conference at his high school.

Trinity standout Raymond Spalding is expected to sign with the Cards today, Donovan Mitchell has announced that he will sign on Saturday, and Deng Adel is also expected to sign at some point during the weekend.

U of L makes three appearances on this CBS list of the 25 best non-conference hoops games being played before January.

Friday, Nov. 14: No. 8 Louisville vs. Minnesota (in Borinquen, Puerto Rico)

I don't know if this is a great game, exactly, because Louisville is a legit Final Four contender and Minnesota isn't even one of the eight Big Ten schools Jerry Palm projects to make the NCAA Tournament. Still, this is a neat game, if nothing else, because it's 62-year-old Rick Pitino coaching against his son, 32-year-old Richard Pitino.

Tuesday, Dec. 2: No. 20 Ohio State at No. 8 Louisville

D'Angelo Russell hasn't been hyped as much as some of his classmates, but he's a uniquely talented combo guard who should be OSU's best player. The 6-foot-5 freshman led the Buckeyes in points, rebounds and assists in their exhibition, and this game at Louisville will be his first against a nationally ranked opponent.

Saturday, Dec. 27: No. 1 Kentucky at No. 8 Louisville

This is the fifth UK game listed and the most intriguing because it's likely the only non-league contest in which the Wildcats will be underdogs. Plus, it's John Calipari vs. Rick Pitino, which is always fun. Plus, it's UK fans vs. Louisville fans, which is always bananas.

Parrish clarified that line about Louisville being favored over Kentucky by tweeting that he was going off of Ken Pomeroy's preseason projections. So if you're looking for a good time today, just check out Ken Pom's mentions.

@kenpomeroy you're a fucking retard if you think louisville is a favorite against kentucky

— Cody Lopez (@FCLopez11) November 12, 2014

Hitting UK fans with numbers and Louisville is like mixing nitric acid with an organic solvent...I think...I didn't do well in either of my chemistry attempts...if that doesn't work then just insert any explosive mixture that sounds clever.

Calvin Pryor says he has a chip on his shoulder after being benched for "habitual tardiness."

Longtime Louisville sports reporter CD Kaplan lists his 10 favorite Louisville basketball games of all-time, a list topped by the 1980 national championship game win over UCLA.

1. Louisville 59, UCLA 54 (3/24/80). Less than artful, but, still it is Cards first NCAA title. Could there be any other choice for a long time fan? Correct answer: No! It took so long, but felt so good. Over the mighty Bruins. Grif keeps his promise to bring a title home, nails go ahead jumper. "Wiley and Derek Wins NCAA." Wiley loses thumb. Thumb found by manager in dumpster. At Market Square Arena in Indy (which also hosted Elvis's last concert). Celebrate the next morning at Shapiro's Deli, which has been sacred ground since.

ESPN's Eamon Brennan has a nice primer for the 2014-15 college hoops season.

Streaking the Lawn (Virginia) puts Louisville at No. 3 (behind Duke and UVA) in its preseason ACC college hoops power poll.

In case you were wondering, yes, BC got Chron'd (or at least L'd) last weekend.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune talks about the Cards and Golden Gophers heading to Puerto Rico today.

The AP says Louisville has one of the top five frontcourts in the country.

SB Nation lists Gerod Holliman as a top underclassman who should not go pro.

Gerod Holliman, S, Louisville: With an incredible 13 interceptions this season, Holliman has to be the frontrunner to win the Jim Thorpe Award. With those numbers, why not go pro? While Holliman is an excellent coverage safety with ball skills, he's behind somewhat playing the run.

BC Interruption looks at the good, the bad and the ugly from the Eagles' loss to Louisville.

None of Sports Illustrated's four college hoops writers have Louisville in their Final Four, but Luke Winn does have Montrezl Harrell as his Player of the Year.

Winn: Montrezl Harrell, Louisville. Not an easy call between Harrell and Frank Kaminsky. The deciding factor? Kaminsky has two rising stars (Sam Dekker andNigel Hayes) alongside him in Wisconsin's frontcourt, and I see the Badgers being more balanced statistically than they were in '13-14. Harrell is the only real offensive option on Louisville's front line, and thus is a threat to average something like 18-and-11 as a junior. That's a POY stat line.

Cardinal Authority shines its preseason spotlight on David Levitch.

Rick Bozich takes a look at how the Pitino family outside of Richard and Rick are preparing for Friday night's game.

And finally, a Louisville-Minnesota preview video from ESPN's Andy Katz.