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Tuesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

Blake Earney knows that this is a big week and that she's a big deal.

By Mike Rutherford

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I_medium Spread check (football): Louisville by 26.

I_medium Welcome to The Bahamatz.

I_medium It's been 20 years since Indiana adopted a class system for high school basketball, and native son Mark Titus examines whether or not Hoosier Hysteria is dying.

I_medium Is there any way Lamar Jackson doesn't win the Heisman Trophy? The Ringer's Rodger Sherman explores.

I_medium Card Nation is coming.

I_medium The AP previews Louisville-Kentucky.

I_medium Want a new TV for the holidays? The Petrino Family Foundation wants to hook you up.

I_medium Despite his subpar performance against Houston, it's still going to take a miracle late season run for somebody to overtake Lamar Jackson in the Heisman Trophy race.

I_medium Terry Rozier and Gorgui Dieng both had solid games last night in the Celtics' win over the Wolves, but Terry did this:

I_medium The associate athletic director that Baylor put in charge of cleaning up the program's image got arrested after the team's loss to TCU for assaulting a reporter.

I_medium Keith Kelsey is ready for one last ride inside PJCS.

I_medium Notre Dame will be forced to vacate victories in the 2012 and 2013 football season due to NCAA violations by a student-trainer. They are appealing the decision.

I_medium It's happening a year later than expected, but former No. 1 recruit Asia Durr is getting it done for Jeff Walz's Cardinals.

I_medium Here's a solid overview of the Battle 4 Atlantis.

TOUGHEN UP: Michigan State coach Tom Izzo wants more from his Spartans (2-2) after a bumpy start that includes losing on a last-second shot to Arizona, managing just 48 points in a 21-point loss to current No. 1 Kentucky, then hanging on to beat Florida Gulf Coast by one at home Sunday. The Spartans open against St. John's (2-1) in the first meeting between the programs since 1979. "I want to figure out whether I'm going to start a different lineup to get what I want," Izzo said. "Maybe different guys have got to come off the bench and then I've got to do a better job. So don't anyone blame a player. I've got to do a better job of making them tougher."

PLAYERS TO WATCH: St. John redshirt freshman Marcus LoVett and Baylor junior college transfer Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. are putting up some big numbers. The 6-foot LoVett ranks in the top 20 nationally in scoring at 24.3 points while playing alongside fellow freshman Shamorie Ponds (17.3 points) in the Red Storm's backcourt. Meanwhile, the 7-foot Lual-Acuil ranks among the national leaders in rebounding (10 per game) and blocked shots (5.3) for the Bears (3-0).

VIRGINIAN FOES: VCU (3-0) and Old Dominion (2-0) are separated by roughly 90 miles in the state of Virginia, but they could end up traveling more than 800 miles south just to bump into each other in the Bahamas. While they're on opposite sides of the bracket, the Rams and Monarchs could play then have a rematch roughly two weeks later with an already scheduled meeting Dec. 10 at Old Dominion.

KEEPING IT GOING: Wichita State (4-0) might be in the biggest transition of all the Battle 4 Atlantis teams after losing Ron Baker and Fred VanFleet, two mainstays who were part of the 2013 Final Four team and a run of five straight NCAA Tournaments. So far, the Shockers are showing a lot of balance with Zach Brown, Markis McDuffie and Darral Willis Jr. each averaging around 11 points to lead an offense coming off a 116-point showing — the program's best in a game since 1988 — against Maryland-Eastern Shore. The Shockers face LSU (3-0) on Wednesday.

BIG NAMES: There's a couple of Naismith Hall of Fame coaches roaming the sideline with Izzo and Louisville's Rick Pitino, two men with approaching 1,300 career wins and three NCAA championships. And there will be a third Hall of Famer arriving after the tournament in Kentucky coach John Calipari, whose top-ranked Wildcats appear in the separate Atlantis Showcase game against Arizona State on Monday night to wrap up a big week at the Atlantis resort.

I_medium Additionally, here's an extensive list of the players to watch for during the tournament.

I_medium The Cats Pause gives you 10 things to know about the Battle for the Governor's Cup.

I_medium An overview of Saturday's game from the Lexington Herald-Leader.

The storyline

Kentucky strives to enhance its standing in the SEC bowl hierarchy and derail the Heisman Trophy candidacy of Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson by claiming the Governor's Cup for the first time since 2010.

On the spot

The UK defense. Dual-threat quarterbacks have long been Kryptonite to Kentucky defenses — and Louisville's Lamar Jackson is an exceptional version. A Wildcats defense that was gashed two weeks ago by a good run/pass QB, Tennessee's Joshua Dobbs (147 yards rushing, two TDs; 223 yards passing, three TDs), must slow down an even better one, Jackson, to give the Cats any shot at an upset of The Ville.

The big threat

Lamar Jackson. Kentucky got a first-hand look in last year's Governor's Cup game at what a special player the Louisville quarterback would be when Jackson ran for 186 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 135 yards and a TD while rallying the Cardinals from a 24-7halftime deficit to a 38-24 victory. This season, Jackson has run for 1,645 yards and thrown for 3,109. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound sophomore has personally accounted for 47 touchdowns — 19 rushing and 28 passing.

I_medium Emotion has carried Kentucky to early leads against Louisville in each of the last two years, but now the Wildcats need to find the discipline to go along with that.

I_medium The Daily Cougar is still reacting to Houston's big win over the Cards.

I_medium We should all be more like Sal.

I_medium Can Ray Spalding take his game to the next level this season?

I_medium CBS' Tom Fornelli ranks Louisville No. 7 in his updated top 50.

I_medium Is Purdue close to hiring Les Miles? It would certainly add some intrigue to Louisville's 2017 season opener.

I_medium And finally, R&R is talking Battle 4 Atlantis, rivalry week and why sweet potatoes are bad from 3-6. Listen here.

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