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Tuesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

Carson Thomas Timberlake may have been born into a house divided, but he's already made his allegiance known.

By Mike Rutherford

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I_medium Spread check: Louisville by 31.5.

I_medium ACC basketball media day (I refuse to say "Operation Basketball," which is one of the dumbest things of all-time) is tomorrow. Here's the schedule:

You can live stream the entire event right here.

I_medium Lamar Jackson gets all 31 first-place votes in the latest Heisman survey from USA Today.

I_medium College basketball's transfer "epidemic" has an easy solution: shut up about it.

I_medium The Associated Press takes a basic look at the 2016-17 Louisville basketball team.

I_medium Cole Hikutini makes an appearance on the NCAA's all-week 8 team.

TE: Cole Hikutini | Louisville

When Lamar Jackson wasn't doing it with his legs against NC State on Saturday, there's a good chance he was targeting Hikutini.

The tight end pulled in six catches for a season-best 118 yards, finding the end zone once. A lot of his damage came in the first half, where Jackson looked to him in some big spots.

Unfortunately for the Sacramento, California, product, his day was probably talked about most for a complete fail of a hurdle attempt, which Jackson said he gave him grief for throughout the rest of the afternoon. Regardless, it was an impressive performance.

I_medium Mark Titus says college hoops fans need to stop ripping on the NBA. I love Titus, but I feel like I see much, much more of the reverse.

I_medium I already love Mike Leach, now I love him even more.

Beat Washington in the Apple Cup and I'll buy a Wazzou shirt.

I_medium The Courier-Journal ranks the best wins of the Mark Stoops era at Kentucky. I swear to God. This is something that they legitimately did. I'm not joking. It's a list that includes five games, and the only win over a team that didn't finish with a losing record is the No. 1 choice -- the 2014 home win over a South Carolina team that wound up 7-6.

I_medium Louisville wasn't in the league, but this 1996 ACC football mix-tape is sort of neat.

I_medium Without question, this is the best conspiracy theory of the 2016 season.

I_medium Blanton Creque has been named the ACC Specialist and Co-Rookie of the Week after his performance in the Cardinals' 54-13 win over NC State on Saturday. Creque set a school record for points by a kicker with 18 in the win over the Wolfpack.

I_medium The NCAA has rejected North Carolina's argument that the entity doesn't have jurisdiction over its academic scandal.

In newly released documents, the NCAA contends in its roughly 80-page response that a pattern of "willful violations" and a "blatant disregard" for NCAA regulations allow it to pursue a case beyond a four-year statute of limitations. The NCAA also said that the extent of the misconduct didn't become known until former federal prosecutor Kenneth Wainstein's investigation in 2014.

"The new information provided, for the first time, a complete picture of the athletics department's preferential access to anomalous AFRI/AFAM courses and, in some cases, how it used those courses to retain NCAA academic eligibility for student-athletes," the NCAA's enforcement staff said. "This access provided student-athletes with advantages that other students simply did not have."

UNC made public a redacted version of the documents Tuesday after receiving them from the NCAA a month ago. UNC also released roughly 60 pages of correspondence that seek to counter the NCAA enforcement staff's position. Much of it is a restatement of the legal arguments UNC made in an Aug. 2 response to the NCAA's notice of allegations. UNC has fought unsuccessfully to interview several NCAA staffers involved in the case.

The records represent the typical back-and-forth between universities and NCAA officials in infractions cases, though this has been one of the more protracted investigations in the NCAA's history.

The case has prompted a rare preliminary hearing by the NCAA's Committee on Infractions set for Friday in Indianapolis. The hearing is closed to the public, and it's unlikely any information about what took place will become public before a decision on any punishment is reached later.

Rut-roh.

I_medium If he's carrying that pumpkin around with him the whole time then I don't think it's going to be an issue.

I_medium Virginia is the No. 7 team in our SB Nation preseason top 25 countdown.

I_medium Some piece of ish stole a painting from the Muhammad Ali Center. The good news is they have his picture.

I_medium NFL.com says the draft stock of Cole Hikutini is rising.

Cole Hikutini, TE, Louisville: As Heisman favorite Lamar Jackson has become more comfortable as a pocket passer this season, Hikutini is bearing the fruits. The former Sacramento State and junior college tight end exhibited his athleticism, running down the seam against North Carolina State on Saturday. He also showed his ability to work over the middle and adjust to passes on the run. He's been a bit up and down this year with his consistency catching the ball, but he didn't have issues Saturday, catching 6 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown. He's had 80 or more receiving yards in three of his last four games. Teams utilizing move tight ends or H-backs will have interest in Hikutini, as he has shown enough effort as a blocker to be worth a shot in that role.

I_medium Kirk Herbstreit says Louisville is better than Michigan, a fact which I'm sure sits fine with the Michigan men up North.

I_medium NBA season kicks off tonight, and there are four Cardinals on opening night rosters. That number is smaller than any other college hoops program that has won a national title since 2002.

Power-conference programs with no NBA players on opening day rosters: Auburn, Iowa, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Oregon State, Rutgers, South Carolina, TCU, Texas Tech, West Virginia

Comment: While some of these programs are typically among the bottom feeders in their leagues, it's a surprise to see West Virginia and Iowa here. Both have made regular NCAA tournament appearances — and even a Final Four in the Mountaineers' case — without having much NBA-caliber talent. The ACC and Big East are the only leagues in which every school put a player on an opening day roster. The Pac-12 would have done it too had the Houston Rockets not cut Oregon State's Gary Payton II on Monday.

Programs that have won the most without producing many NBA players: Louisville (4), Gonzaga (3), Baylor (2), Oregon (2), Oklahoma (2), Xavier (2), Butler (2), Cincinnati (2), San Diego State (1), Purdue (1), Pittsburgh (1), West Virginia (0), Iowa (0)

Comment: Louisville is included because it has produced surprisingly few NBA players given its stature in the sport. No other program that has won a championship since 2002 has fewer current NBA players, and most are well into double figures. The rest of this group are programs that have won league titles or made frequent NCAA tournament appearances without the luxury of rosters stacked with future NBA players. Nine of the programs listed have made the Elite Eight or beyond in the past decade.

Programs that have won the least despite producing many NBA players: LSU (8), Washington (8), Texas (8), UNLV (6), Georgia Tech (5)

Comment: Producing NBA prospects isn't always a good thing for some coaches. LSU's Johnny Jones and Washington's Lorenzo Romar are both under fire at their respective schools for not winning enough given the talent both have had on the roster. Jones squandered Ben Simmons' lone season in Baton Rouge, failing to make the NCAA tournament last March despite the presence of the No. 1 pick in the draft and a handful of other pro prospects. Romar took Washington to three Sweet 16s, but the Huskies have not made the NCAA tournament in five years.

I_medium The Crunch Zone podcast is always a solid listen.

I_medium Campus Insiders has Bobby Petrino as the 4th-best coach in college football right now.

4. Bobby Petrino, Louisville (4)

The Cardinals are one unfinished drive at Clemson from being undefeated, No. 2 in the polls and in complete control of the ACC race. After nearly losing to Duke, Louisville got back on track with a 54-13 obliteration of NC State to move up two spots to No. 5 in the country. The same NC State team, by the way, that should have defeated Clemson just a week earlier. The Cards have already bombarded Florida State, 63-20, behind Lamar Jackson, and should be 11-1 by the time playoff resumes are being evaluated by the committee.

I_medium Steve Jones has a solid interview with former Kentucky star Craig Yeast who talks about his son, Russ, committing to Louisville.

I_medium Die-hard FSU fan.

Loves Dwayne Bacon. Lives and dies with every Leonard Hamilton play call.

I_medium Jeff Greer updates his U of L basketball recruiting big board.

I_medium Lamar Jackson appeared on The Dan Patrick Show Monday and revealed that the first football hit he ever took was from his mom in his backyard. Here's the interview in full:

I_medium Great story here from Ricky O'Donnell on Collin Sexton who went from unknown to one of the most sought-after basketball recruits in the country.

I_medium Seth Greenberg is pulling no punches when it comes to Rick Pitino.

Thanks for Trez.

I_medium Bronco Mendenhall talks about what he's saying to his team when it comes to handling the former player who is suing the school and the Virginia football program.

I_medium ESPN looks at how the one-loss teams stack up in the playoff race.

I_medium And finally, R&R is back from 3-6 talking about all the news of the day and other nonsense. Listen here.

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