Wednesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Spread check: Louisville by 13.5.

—The Ringer has Mekhi Becton at No. 16 on its updated NFL draft big board.

—I’m going to assume at this point that all of you have seen last night’s brawl between Kansas and Kansas State and just hit you with the follow-up news that Silvio De Sousa has been suspended “indefinitely.”

—The players didn’t know the locker room change was coming.

—The CJ looks at whether or not Louisville football can exceed its 8-win total of 2019 next season.

—Danville product Darrian Bell is joining the U of L football program as a preferred walk-on. He made the announcement on Twitter.

—Of all the big time plays David Johnson made on Saturday, to me, this is the one. This is the one you circle and point to as the most staggering evidence yet that the young man’s emergence is an absolute game-changer.

—LJ Nesbitt is back with his latest installment of BucketHatism.

—When asked Wednesday what he feels like he needs to work on heading into his third NFL season, Lamar Jackson’s response was “everything.”

—Cardinal Authority has a Q&A with U of L women’s basketball signee Ahlana Smith.

—In a move that had seemed inevitable ever since he was placed on leave, Walter McCarty was fired by Evansville on Tuesday.

Evansville has fired men’s basketball coach Walter McCarty amidst an external investigation into reports of alleged sexual misconduct, the university announced Tuesday evening. McCarty had been on administrative leave since Dec. 26 while an external law firm investigated the allegations.

The investigation had not been concluded when, Evansville says, it “received additional reports of alleged misconduct by Mr. McCarty during his tenure at EU,” thus prompting the university to make the move on Tuesday.

”Last year, the University had issued warnings to Mr. McCarty regarding inappropriate off-court behavior with members of our campus community,” Evansville said in a statement. “Mr. McCarty also participated in training concerning acceptable behavior under Title IX.

”While the investigation of potential Title IX violations will continue under University policies, UE has decided that, based on the facts uncovered thus far, it is necessary to terminate Mr. McCarty’s employment immediately.”

Let me add here that former U of L player/assistant Logan Baumann (who is currently on staff at UE) deserves about 10 straight years of good luck after the last five years he’s had to go through.

—I’m back on The Fundamentally Sound Podcast breaking down everything that happened in last night’s Kansas-Kansas State fight as well as every other ridiculous current story in college basketball.

—The folks from Cardinal Sports Zone have a new podcast episode for your listening pleasure.

—Lamar certainly wasn’t his best self against the Titans, but he also didn’t get much help.

—Joe Lunardi joins the chorus of folks who currently have Louisville pegged as a 3-seed.

—The Battle of the Bluegrass hits the water this week.

—It appears as though the smart money is on Michael Devoe playing for Georgia Tech tonight.

—Mississippi State has hired Zach Arnett to serve as its new defensive coordinator. Arnett had just recently signed on to be the DC at Syracuse. That’s a tough break for Dino Babers, who desperately needs his teams to get stronger on the defensive side of the ball.

—Despite the return of the national accolades, Louisville remains focused on tonight’s game against Georgia Tech and not the bigger picture.

—The CJ has a nice profile on Blanton Creque.

—Louisville makes appearances at No. 4 and No. 5 in this video counting down the five most pivotal games of the 2020 ACC football slate.

—BetAmerica likes Georgia Tech to cover the 13.5 tonight inside the Yum Center.

—Louisville has offered four-star class of 2021 big man Charles Bediako.

—Here’s the official Georgia Tech preview for tonight’s game.

—The best video to come out of last night’s madness in Lawrence:

Also, the fact that College GameDay is at Phog Allen this Saturday is hilarious.

—The Times Tribune of Corbin has more on Ethan Wine’s commitment to walk-on at U of L.

—Backing the Pack reacts to NC State opening its 2020 football season at Louisville.

—If you missed it earlier, episode 7 of the CC Podcast is here.

—And finally, beat Georgia Tech.