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Tuesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

We may be more than 24 hours away from tip, but Henry's already got his game face on for North Carolina.

By Mike Rutherford

I_medium North Carolina believes it has the plan for beating Louisville Wednesday night, and that plan is to fatigue the Cardinals. Joel Berry talked about it on Monday.

Good luck with that.

I_medium A really cool read here from SI in which anonymous coaches give honest scouting reports on the teams in their league that they've played. Here's what was said about Louisville:

Louisville: "They're a good shooting team, not a great one. Their defensive numbers have been so good. You want to pack the lane against their offense, because they don't stretch it at the four. [Sophomore forward Deng] Adel is athletic, but he's not making jump shots for them at a high rate. [Sophomore guard Donovan] Mitchell is the guy who has the ability to score in so many ways. They can make a big-time run in the tournament because teams are not used to preparing to play them. They have a matchup, switching zone so you don't know whether to run your zone offense or your man offense. [Junior guard] Quentin Snider and Donovan Mitchell are a hell of a backcourt. What makes their defense so good is their rim protection. They have four or five guys back there who can elevate and contest shots. They need to get the game at least to 70. In a slower, low-possession game, they're not as good in the halfcourt. That's why they lost to Virginia twice."

I_medium Louisville is the No. 2 seed in the Midwest in the latest SB Nation bracketology.

I_medium Support my guy Brian Hall as he takes the Polar Plunge this Saturday. 100 percent of the proceeds from his efforts will go to supporting the Special Olympics.

I_medium Sports Illustrated gives an overview of the coaching situations at Louisville, Duke, North Carolina and Syracuse.

Louisville

Coach: Rick Pitino (64)

Future: The only two things certain about NCAA investigations are they won't be resolved quickly and you would be foolish to predict the outcome. NCAA enforcement has a history of making it up as they go along, which makes accurately projecting potential punishments as likely as picking a perfect NCAA Tournament bracket. The future of Louisville's program, and Pitino's career in some ways, are tied to the fickle NCAA process. Williams can relate. So can Boeheim and UConn's Jim Calhoun, as their exits ran parallel to NCAA ignominy. Louisville and Pitino's time before the Committee on Infractions is expected to come in the next six months, and he's fighting the NCAA charges that he's presumed responsible and failed to monitor a former staffer paying $5,400 for strippers.

Timeline: This is difficult to say. Pitino initially said years ago he'd stop coaching in 2017 when his contract expired. Then he walked back on that. He's under contract through 2026, but it's difficult to imagine him going that long. Would NCAA sanctions in addition to what Louisville already self-imposed change anything? Pitino faces the realistic possibility of an in-season suspension.

Next: Cronin would be a logical frontrunner. He's a former Pitino assistant and is headed to his ninth NCAA Tournament, including his seventh in a row. Athletic director Tom Jurich has long been enamored with Villanova's Jay Wright, but that seems like a reach. Tech's Buzz Williams has certainly earned the respect of many around the ACC in a short time. Mack, Smart and both Millers could also emerge as names.

I_medium It's official: pretty much everyone can beat Virginia but us.

I_medium It appears as though the beautiful weather is going to continue for Wednesday afternoon's home opener at Jim Patterson Stadium.

I_medium Pat Forde's latest Forde Minutes gets an early jump on the 2017 coaching carousel.

I_medium The rap category on Jeopardy last night was glorious.

I_medium We need to remove "historically weak bubble" from the college hoops lexicon.

I_medium Louisville signee Dana Evans has been named one of five finalists for the Naismith High School Girls Player of the Year Award.

I_medium One of the games within the games Wednesday night will be Donovan Mitchell and Justin Jackson potentially battling to see who is the front-runner for ACC Player of the Year.

I_medium The plan to experiment with resetting fouls in the NIT is dumb.

I_medium Louisville is a serious national title contender, and now everyone is starting to take notice.

I_medium Jim Larranaga is a treasure.

I_medium Virginia's collapse isn't hard to figure out. The Hoos' offense is broken.

I_medium Bob Huggins kept coaching even after his defibrillator went off last night during West Virginia's game against Texas. The Mountaineers rolled to a lopsided victory, but Jarrett Allen still nearly took a life (not Huggins').

I_medium There are 13 huge games remaining in college basketball's 2016-17 regular season, and the first goes down tomorrow night in Chapel Hill.

I_medium Former Cardinal John Miller was named the NFL's most improved second year guard by Pro Football Focus.

I_medium Athlon ranks Rick Pitino and Bobby Petrino as the No. 2 coaching duo in the ACC.

2. Louisville

Football: Bobby Petrino

Basketball: Rick Pitino

Petrino has won at every stop (in the college game) and has an impressive 17-€”7 record in ACC play in his three years since returning to Louisville. Don't forget: He went a combined 12-€”4 in the SEC in his final two seasons at Arkansas. Pitino has won over 750 games in stops at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky and Louisville.

David Cutcliffe and Coach K over at Duke took the top spot.

I_medium The Simpsons episode "Homer at the Bat" turned 25 yesterday. I enjoyed this behind the scenes look at how the episode went down.

I_medium These numbers from Kelly Dickey about what Louisville was able to overcome on Saturday are pretty ridiculous.

I_medium The U of L lacrosse team hosts Vanderbilt on Wednesday. Here's your preview.

I_medium Insider Louisville says Jaylen Johnson is currently singing the song of unsung hero.

I_medium Busting Brackets likes UNC on Wednesday.

It's once again a clash of a great offense versus a great defense. UNC came out victorious against Virginia, and Louisville is similar defensively to them. Can the Heels survive another tough defensive test?

This game has what it takes to be one of the better college basketball games of the season. A top-10 match-up that could potentially determine who earns a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. What more could you ask for?

All that being said, UNC should come out of this game victorious. The Heels are undefeated at home and have been beating ACC teams by an average of 21.0 points in the Dean Dome. Louisville might break the streak, or they may just become another statistic.

I_medium Keeping it Heel previews tomorrow's game.

I_medium And finally, R&R is live from the Troll Pub Under the Bridge today from 3-6. Listen here.

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