Tuesday Evening Cardinal News And Notes

Spread Check: Notre Dame by 4.

Congratulations to Montrezl Harrell on being one of the 50 players named to the first Wooden Award Watch List.

ESPN puts Notre Dame on upset watch.

Louisville (7-3) at Notre Dame (7-3), 3:30 p.m., NBC. Line: Notre Dame by 3.5. The Irish have hit a bit of a rough patch the past few weeks, so this is the perfect time for the Cards to take advantage. Though Will Gardner is out for the season, freshman Reggie Bonnafon has playing experience and that will help. So will having DeVante Parker and Michael Dyer on his side. The Irish have had issues stopping both the run and the pass this season, so those two could be in for another big day. Plus, the Louisville offensive line is coming off its best performance of the season. Defensively, Gerod Holliman could create problems for turnover-prone Everett Golson, and Lorenzo Mauldin could be back, giving the defense a much needed boost. Plus, Louisville has had a week to prepare for this game so you can bet Bobby Petrino will have some new wrinkles for Notre Dame.

Rick Pitino spoke Monday about potentially adding one more player to his recruiting class of 2015. On Tuesday, Kenny Johnson saw four-star guard Traci Carter from Philly.

Jeff Greer has Louisville at No. 3 behind FSU and Georgia Tech in his latest ACC power rankings.

Hmm...

#ND has 23 turnovers vs FBS competition, most of any P5 team. #Louisville has 24 takeaways vs FBS, 4th most of any P5 team. Should be fun.

— David Hale (@DavidHaleESPN) November 18, 2014

Gerod, your thoughts?

Peyton Siva was named one of the top performers of the NBDL's opening weekend.

Montrezl Harrell was named the best player of college basketball's opening weekend by CBS, Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Montrezl Harrell, Louisville

There were a lot of games during the first weekend of the college basketball season. There weren't a lot of meaningful games, however, as the most important matchup of the first three days of college hoops was relevant more for the coaching matchup than the game itself. Minnesota took on Louisville - and lost - and Richard Pitino couldn't knock off his dad, Rick.

That said, there was a bright spot for the Cardinals, as Montrezl Harrell looked every bit the part of an all-american. He finished with 30 points and seven boards, but that's not the whole story. Harrell, who spent the offseason trying to develop his perimeter skills, went 3-for-4 from three and knocked down 9-of-10 from the foul line. If he turns into a player that has to be covered out to the three-point line, he'll be borderline unstoppable.

Louisville stands at No. 16 in the latest S&P Rankings from Football Outsiders.

Pumped.

pic.twitter.com/BU8WTHnIeC

— Louisville Equipment (@UofLEquipment) November 17, 2014

John L. Smith says that coaching D-II football "isn't exactly the SEC."

Anyone who is especially in the game week mood should head to Champions Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. to hang with Bobby Petrino.

DeVante Parker is No. 10 on Mel Kiper's updated big board (insider).

Louisville MSD recently participated in and won the Hack2O Water Hackathon, a design-build competition which gave teams specific challenges set by WaterStep and open categories for additional ideas related to water and its effect on developing counties. The highlight of the evening, according to the victors, was being able to accomplish their ultimate goal of getting a picture with Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer while wearing their 'Thinking Cap' (CCBM).

Andrea Adelson and Matt Fortuna of ESPN break down Louisville/Notre Dame from both perspectives.

It's the first marquee college hoops night of the new season. You can follow along with SB Nation's coverage here.

This Griff story is just fantastic.

That block by Rozier got me thinking about my dad's favorite Darrell Griffith story. Enjoy if you've never heard it. pic.twitter.com/fqFLLXfT3m

— That Boy Good (@That_Boys_Good) November 18, 2014

U of L swimming coach Arthur Albiero has been named to the coaching staff for the Pan American Games by USA Swimming.

Notre Dame serves up some game notes for this weekend.

One gambling site says the smart money is on the Fighting Irish Saturday.

Take NOTRE DAME -3.5 over Louisville: In just a few short weeks, the Fighting Irish have gone from being legitimate contenders for the national playoffs to hanging on for their dear life to stay in the Top 25. Following a sloppy 55-31 loss to Arizona State as a three-point road underdog, Notre Dame blew an early lead against Northwestern in this past Saturday's stunning 43-40 overtime loss to Northwestern as a 17-point home favorite.

The third time will be the charm as the Irish get their act together this Saturday in South Bend. The Cardinals just wrapped-up their first run through the ACC as the conference's newest member with a 5-3 SU record. They are 7-3 overall this season with a 6-4 record ATS.

Louisville has done a good job at holding its own against the better teams it has faced this season, with tough losses to both Clemson and Florida State, but it comes into this game with a new starter at quarterback after Will Gardner went down with an injury. That will be tough to overcome on the road against a very testy Notre Dame squad.

It was announced yesterday that the Yum Center will host the South Region's Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games during the 2016 NCAA Tournament. That could be a huge economic bonus for the city of Louisville.

Also announced  yesterday was that the NCAA is making the first sensible move it's made in years and turning the names of the "round of 64" and "round of 32" back to the first and second rounds. Except the move isn't happening until the 2016 big dance.

Eat it, Xavier.

@CardChronicle submission for a N&N thread picture. Asserting our dominance over teams UofL has no affiliation with pic.twitter.com/uniurAJa9A

— Micah Brown (@Micah_Brown4427) November 16, 2014

And finally, there have been many, many questions about the start time for Louisville's regular season finale against Kentucky in 11 days. The answer is that the ACC has placed a six-day hold on five games, including the Cards vs. the Cats. This means that we won't know the start time until Saturday night at the earliest (also the most likely scenario) and Monday at the latest. A U of L loss this weekend would almost guarantee a noon kickoff, while a win over the Fighting Irish could push the game into a primetime slot.