Wednesday evening Cardinal news and notes

—Bye Week Spread Check: Negative headlines by 2.5.

—Despite the football team’s performance, it’s been a pretty successful fall for U of L sports across the board.

—The best of Terry Rozier from opening night, which includes a pair of highlights at the expense of Philadelphia big man Joel Embiid.

—We now know that Zion Williamson’s dad wanted money and a job for his son to go to Kansas. So, naturally, in the end he decided to go to Duke with absolutely no impermissible benefits on the table. Just likes tiny gyms and dorky fans.

—Dan Wetzel writes that the NCAA probably won’t even investigate Zion’s recruitment since he wound up at Duke, and I’d bet money that he winds up being right.

—Never forget.

—CBS is out with its list of the 101 best college basketball players for the upcoming season.

—Roy Williams has “amnesia” when it comes to college basketball’s seedy underworld.

—Neeli Bendapudi talks (video) about what drove her to accept the position as U of L’s new president.

—The Neutral Zone is currently advertising these buttons:

So that’s where we are.

—The 10th-ranked U of L men’s soccer team was dealt a stunning 3-2 loss at the hands of a Lipscomb squad that entered Tuesday night just 4-8 on the season. The Cards will look to bounce back Saturday at 7 p.m. when they host Clemson on Senior Night.

—College basketball has essentially been on trial for the past two weeks, but does the NCAA even care?

That process, however, could take years to play out.

“The timeline is up to the federal government and their investigation,” Emmert said. “We’re mostly in the mode of watching right now and collecting information as it’s appropriate and as they give us permission to, but it’s going to take a long time.”

By then, will anyone even care? Will people such as Self or Arizona’s Sean Miller, who have seen the evidentiary smoke billow around them, even stick around long enough to deal with the fallout? Will the NCAA just eventually shrug its shoulders and say it can’t prove anything more than the government?

For now, all we’re left with is how people in college basketball are reacting to what they’re hearing coming out of the trial, and for the most part they’re either not talking or pretending like it doesn’t exist.

As for Emmert?

“It would really be inappropriate for me to comment,” he said, citing the ongoing case.

Maybe so, but as the NCAA remains silent, the facade around how things work in college basketball has come crashing down. Emmert wants college sports to be judged on the facts. Well, they’re all right here.

—According to Andy Katz’s preseason power 36 rankings, Louisville could play 11 games against teams ranked in the top 14.

—The U of L women’s soccer team will face NC State and 10th-ranked Duke this weekend. Here’s a preview.

—Dan Dakich remains the Washington Generals of Twitter.

—U of L women’s basketball is holding a “shoot for your seat” promotion that sounds pretty cool.

—One of the biggest revelations from Tuesday’s proceedings at the college basketball trial was the presentation of text messages that appeared to clear Nassir Little and North Carolina of any wrongdoing. Little’s family is now speaking out about the saga for the first time, as is Little.

—The other major item was LSU head coach Will Wade apparently being caught discussing a potential payment for Balsa Koprivica, the same recruit who was at the center of the infamous hotel meeting involving Jordan Fair.

—Big Red Louie wonders aloud if Jeff Brohm is a better fit than Bobby Petrino.

—Would look great behind the left field fence at Jim Patterson, in my opinion. Or on the Party Deck. Either one.

—The AP’s midseason rundown of the college football season puts Bobby Petrino on hot seat watch.

—Cardinals on opening night NBA rosters:

Gorgui Dieng — Minnesota Timberwolves

Montrezl Harrell — Los Angeles Clippers

Damion Lee — Golden State Warriors

Donovan Mitchell — Utah Jazz

Terry Rozier — Boston Celtics

Ray Spalding — Dallas Mavericks

—Andy Schwarz writes that the NCAA is gaslighting all of us.

Both the government and the defendants in the case admit that money was given to athletes. In some cases, these athletes played for those schools—e.g., Dennis Smith played a year for N.C. State and the Federal Government alleges, and the defendants do not dispute, that he received $40,000 on top of his scholarship to do so. He was, so to speak, paid and he played. And no one cared. Where’s the magical line?

Smith finished his college career without detection by the NCAA’s beat cops. The allegation of Smith’s payment was leveled a year ago. N.C. State has not been charged with an NCAA violation. N.C. State has not seen its fans storm to the athletic department offices and demand that the AD or the compliance staff be fired for failing to catch this egregious violation. No. One. Cares.

So what should we expect to see when college basketball tips off next month?

If you believe the NCAA’s “amateurism” hypothesis, it’s now clear that many of the best athletes in college basketball were paid by third parties to play for their AAU teams, and many were also paid to choose a school based on the shoe company those schools have contract with, so the inescapable result is that consumer demand for college basketball will plummet because of systemic payment above the magic line that was not kept under control by rigorous NCAA enforcement efforts.

Once again, the “Amateurism is Essential” argument will be put to the test. Be ready for it, because if the NCAA is correct, then College Basketball May Die Next Month. People might boycott in droves. And if so, the elusive magical line will finally have been found.

But if instead what we see if business as usual, maybe this time we’ll finally stop accepting the ever-shifting goalposts, the amateurism gaslighting, and just acknowledge that what fans care about is college sports played by college athletes, no matter what they’re earning.

—Louisville football sits at No. 17 in this week’s bottom 25 rankings from CBS.

—State of the U has Louisville at No. 13 in its latest ACC power rankings.

—Dope.

—A motion to reduce Kemari Averett’s bond has been denied.

—Louisville ranks among the United States’ best cities for jobs in 2018.

—The KHSAA has ruled that Aspire Academy cannot compete with other Kentucky schools.

—These kids are going to hear so much about Irad Ortiz, and I feel so bad for them.

In all seriousness, congrats to David. I’m sure he’ll do a terrific job. Go Mustangs.

—Shoutout to the Assumption volleyball team for being the No. 1 ranked high school squad in America.

—Recruiting never sleeps.

—It’s the worst seven game start for U of L football since 2009.

—Former Cardinal Corey Ray has been recognized as the Milwaukee Brewers’ 2018 MinorLeague Player of the Year.

—And finally, Lamar Jackson’s 22-yard run was one of the Ravens’ top week six plays.