Thursday evening Cardinal news and notes

—Spread check (football): Louisville by 4.

—The 9th-ranked Louisville women’s basketball team is back in action Thursday night with a home game against Central Michigan. Here’s a preview.

—Monster congratulations to Scotty Davenport on becoming Bellarmine’s all-time winningest coach Wednesday night.

—Led by Lamar Jackson, the young group of NFL quarterbacks drafted in the last four years is brimming with personality and rewriting the way we think about how the position can be played.

—Eight months ago, JJ Traynor never could have imagined he would soon be signing to play his college ball at Louisville.

—Wednesday night was a huge one in college basketball when it came to great locker room celebrations.

—Louisville has the second most-improved offense in college football, and explosive plays are at the heart of the reason why.

—Sports economist David Berri estimated what the men’s and women’s college basketball players from the 2017-2018 season would be worth if the NCAA had a similar player revenue share percentage as the NBA. According to Berri’s calculations, Zion Williamson was the only player in the country worth more than Christen Cunningham and Dwayne Sutton.

No idea how those figures are calculated, but I’m for Dwayne Sutton being paid $5 million for being awesome.

—Lucas Aulbach of the CJ gives scouting reports on the three class of 2020 hoops recruits who signed with Louisville on Wednesday.

—Terry Rozier tied a career-high with 33 points Wednesday night, but his Hornets were beaten by the Grizzlies on a last-second shot by former Murray State star Ja Morant.

—Future Louisville volleyballer Phekran Kong got a nice surprise video from Lamar Jackson on her signing day.

—The U of L field hockey team will shoot for its first NCAA tournament victory in program history when it hosts Michigan at noon on Friday. If they take care of the Wolverines, the fourth-seeded Cards will also host a quarterfinal game on Sunday. Here’s a preview of the weekend.

—ACC hoops results from Wednesday:

Boston College 59, High Point 33
Syracuse 70, Colgate 54
Virginia Tech 80, USC Upstate 57
Wake Forest 98, UNC Asheville 79
NC State 86, Florida International 77

—College Football News likes Louisville over NC State by a touchdown on Saturday.

What’s Going To Happen

The Louisville offense will be too much for the Pack.

The State offense simply isn’t working well enough without any one thing it can rely on, but it’s still going to move the ball a bit to keep up in what will be an interesting game for both sides.

The Cardinals will get the big scoring drive in a few key spots in the second half, and NC State won’t.

Louisville vs. NC State Prediction

Louisville 31, NC State 24

—Neither Louisville nor Kentucky came hard after Tanner Morgan. Now the Minnesota quarterback from Ryle High is leading the 8th-ranked Gophers in an undefeated season.

—U of L football is out for a piece of redemption this weekend in Raleigh.

—A worthy selection.

—Louisville’s Dwayne Ledford has been named as a nominee for the Frank Broyles Award, which is given annually to the best assistant in college football.

—The U of L women’s soccer team will host Lipcomb in NCAA tournament first round play on Friday. Here’s a preview.

—The Montrezl Harrell appreciation club continues to expand.

—Backing the Pack looks at the improvement on the offensive side of the ball for Louisville.

—Our guy Cardinal Strong also answered some questions for the BTP crew.

—The Indiana Statesman recaps Louisville’s blowout win over Indiana State.

—Chris Mack is pretty pumped about the three players who signed with U of L on Wednesday.

Louisville signed John A. Logan All-American College All-American Jay Scrubb, a former standout at Trinity High School, Indianapolis, Ind., forward D’Andre Davis and Bardstown High School forward JJ Traynor, the son of ex-U of L player Jason Osborne.

”We’re really excited about all three of those guys,” Mack said after the game.

U of L announced the signees on Twitter and Mack is expected to comment in more detail later this week. The Cardinals could still add at least one more prospect to the class.

The 6-foot-6, 220-pound Scrubb, a former All-State player at Trinity High School, committed to the Cardinals in late September. He attends John A. Logan and is considered the No. 1 JUCO prospect in the country in the ‘20 class.

As a freshman at John A. Logan College, the wing garnered NJCAA First Team All-American honors after averaging 19.5 points and 8.6 rebounds, while shooting 46 percent from three, and 79 percent from the foul line.

”Obviously the home town guy Jay Scrubb, who I was recruiting when he was at Trinity,” Mack said. “But he needed to do a better job in the classroom and that’s what he is at John Logan for. He’s one of the premier junior college players in the country and he’s awfully excited to wear that Louisville Cardinal jersey.”

—The Kentucky Football Coaches Association has announced its Players of the Year and Coaches of the Year for each of the state’s 48 districts.

—And finally, beat Central Michigan, Lipscomb and Michigan.