Tuesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Spread check (basketball): Louisville by 6.

—Spread check (Music City Bowl): Louisville by 3.5.

—Mississippi State fans will not be allowed to bring cowbells into Nissan Stadium for the Music City Bowl.

—Diehard Louisville basketball fan The Naked Cowboy has been Chron’d.

—Tar Heel Blog has Louisville at the top of its ACC power rankings.

—Big Red Louie makes three bold predictions about tonight’s game against Texas Tech.

—Love this relatively simple play that only works if you have an elite shooter with a quick trigger like Ryan or Jordan.

—Jessica Laemmle is “living her dream” at Louisville.

—Danielle Lerner looks at Louisville’s rotations (Athletic link) through nine games and tries to make sense of what it all means.

The second shift

The first substitution has been the same in the last three games: Kimble and Williams replace Perry and Enoch, respectively. The resulting lineup (Kimble, McMahon, Nwora, Sutton, Williams) is the second-most frequently used over the last five games, accounting for 15.5 percent of possessions.

The additions of Kimble and Williams make a case for this combination as the strongest defensive option. In fact, it was the most-used lineup in the defensively driven win over Michigan.

Kimble uses his footwork and experience to keep opposing guards in front of him. The grad transfer is averaging 19 minutes, with six total steals and a block. Williams has used his length and defensive instinct to make an immediate impact since he returned after surgery for a broken foot. In five games, the junior is averaging 15 minutes and 4.8 defensive rebounds per game, with five steals.

After the win over Pittsburgh, Mack was complimentary of Kimble’s ability to play through pressure and of Williams’ discipline.

“I thought (Williams) did what we’ve come to expect,” Mack said. “His voice on the defensive end, his ability to help his guard teammates contain the basketball in ball-screen situations, affect shots at the rim without fouling.”

Even if Kimble and Williams aren’t on the floor together, the rotations heavily favor lineups featuring one or the other along with four starters. In the second half against Pittsburgh, the most-used lineup was Perry, McMahon, Nwora, Sutton, and Williams — which has become the first rotation in the last three second halves.

—Three U of L field hockey players have earned All-American honors.

—Louisville was “more than happy” to accept its bid to the Music City Bowl.

—Highlights of the U of L women’s team’s bounceback win over NKU:

—Congrats to U of L football touchdown machine Ean Pfeifer on being named a CoSIDA Academic All-American.

—A bad week for Western Kentucky basketball got worse on Tuesday when Lipscomb PG transfer Kenny Cooper had his eligibility waiver denied by the NCAA.

—Trez’s daughter doesn’t care about national television, she needs her Z’s.

—WHAS looks at how much money it might cost all the local fans to follow their teams to their bowl games.

—Yahoo Lifestyle looks at the effort to “keep Louisville Gonzo.”

—Scott Satterfield has now also been named the ACC Coach of the Year by the Associated Press.

—Make sure you pay your proper respect.

This was also the game where, during his pre-halftime interview, Tom Crean boasted that Indiana was going to be able to “get whatever we want” in the second half. Louisville won by 20.

—247 Sports examines the recipe for a Texas Tech win over the No. 1 team in the country tonight. Part of that recipe is fairly straightforward.

SHOOT BETTER

Saying if the team shoots well it has a better chance of winning is like saying winning the turnover battle will help on the gridiron. The Captain Obvious commercial flashes in my mind. That being said... Texas Tech really needs to shoot better, both from the field and especially from behind the 3-point arc, if they hope to beat Louisville.

The Red Raiders are shooting .460 from the field overall this season and .348 from three, which are both respectable numbers, but during the three-game losing streak those numbers have slumped significantly. The worst shooting display came against Iowa in the Vegas Invitational where the Red Raiders shot .328 from the field overall and an atrocious .167 from 3-point land. The Hawkeyes are not exactly known for their defense and none of the past three opponents would be considered top tier defensive teams.

Overall, during the three-game skid Texas Tech shot .386 from the field and .256 from behind the arc. One could argue if Texas Tech had shot just a hair better, the Red Raiders would still be undefeated. Tech just needs to knock down open shots on a more consistent basis.

“Gotta make shots.” —Albert Einstein

—Texas Tech comes to New York with plenty of respect for Louisville.

—R&R will be live at 21st Amendment Tavern in Germantown for our annual Toys for Tots drive. If you can make it, please bring a toy or a cash donation. If you can’t make it, you can also donate here.

—And finally, beat Texas Tech.