Monday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—The NET rankings have made their 2020-21 debut, and Louisville checks in at No. 33.

Here’s where Cardinal opponents currently sit:

Wisconsin: 11
Seton Hall: 44
Pitt: 77
Western Kentucky: 87
Boston College: 132
Kentucky: 144
Evansville: 226
Prairie View A&M: 234

—Big news for the Louisville offensive line came Sunday when Cole Bentley announced that he’ll be using his extra year of eligibility to play one more season for the Cards.

—The U of L women’s basketball team has now had 10 different schedule changes in the last five days. Here’s the latest:

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced several schedule changes for the University of Louisville women’s basketball’s team on Sunday night.

Louisville’s home contest against North Carolina on Tuesday, Jan. 5 and the game at Florida State on Sunday, Jan. 10 have been postponed.

Additionally, it was announced that Louisville will now host Clemson on Sunday, Jan. 10. Tip time and broadcast designation will be announced when available.

The postponement of UNC at Louisville follows a positive test, subsequent quarantining and contact tracing within the North Carolina women’s basketball program. Florida State remains in the COVID protocols following the announcement of positive tests.

It marks the third time that the North Carolina at Louisville game has been postponed. It was originally scheduled for Dec. 13, then rescheduled for Jan. 1 and Jan. 5.

The Cards have picked up a game against UT-Martin which will be played this Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. U of L defeated the Skyhawks, 85-67, back on Dec. 6.

—You can find highlights of the U of L women’s team’s win over Bellarmine here, and highlights from the NKU win here.

—The CJ’s Shannon Russell looks at what we learned from Louisville’s win over Boston College.

—Future Cardinals Eric Van Der Heijden and Bobby Pettiford went head-to-head in a scrimmage over the weekend.

—Eric Crawford recaps the U of L women’s team’s rout of Bellarmine.

—The NFL Playoff bracket is set, and features Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens getting a rematch with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at 1 p.m.

—The Athletic’s Seth Davis is buying stock in Louisville as the calendar turns to 2021.

Louisville

HTSR: Buy

Vitals: 7-1, No. 24 KenPom

The Cardinals were already in rebuilding mode, and then they had to deal with an 18-day COVID-19 pause and injuries to four starters. Two of those players, 6-4 grad transfer Charles Minlend and 6-11 senior forward Malik Williams, still haven’t played. Minlend will be back in a couple of weeks, and Williams’ timetable is longer, but they should both be able to help for the home stretch. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are getting terrific play from Carlik Jones, a 6-1 grad transfer from Radford, and 6-5 sophomore guard David Johnson has emerged as a bonafide scorer (he had a career-high 20 points in Saturday’s win at Boston College). The Cardinals are developing their mental toughness, and with five of their next eight ACC games at home, this is a great time to buy.

—Louisville is up to No. 22 in Gary Parrish’s daily hoops rankings for CBS.

—Rick Bozich had Louisville at No. 22 on his latest AP ballot.

—The Cards aren’t even under consideration in Andy Katz’s Power 36 rankings for NCAA.com.

—Jalen Suggs has a future in basketball.

—U of L running backs coach Norval McKenzie is leaving to take the same position at Vanderbilt. McKenzie is a Vandy alum.

—State of Louisville looks at what the Cards are getting in Georgia Southern transfer Kenderick Duncan.

—Chris Mack continues to trust Quinn Slazinski more and more.

—Remarkable work here.

—Yahoo’s Krysten Peek tackles the age old question of how John Calipari can produce so many quality NBA players without winning more at the college level.

—The U of L women’s basketball team is No. 2 in the AP top 25 poll for a fourth straight week.

—Broadbent Arena will be Louisville’s first drive-thru Coronavirus vaccination site.

—Guy’s good.

—It’s opening night for Kentucky high school basketball, but the Louisville schools won’t be joining the party until (hopefully) later this month.

—The Louisville men’s basketball team’s game at Wake Forest on jan. 13 has been moved to a 4:30 p.m. tipoff. The game, which will be televised by the ACC Network, had been previously scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start.

—BC Interruption recaps the Eagles’ loss to Louisville.

—Eight former Louisville players will take part in this year’s NFL Playoffs.

—Hate to see it.

—Competition for playing time in the Louisville secondary should be fierce this offseason.

—The Louisville men’s basketball team is once against just outside of the AP top 25 poll, but the Cards are No. 25 in this week’s coaches poll.

—Cardinal Authority’s latest U of L women’s basketball notebook is out.

—And finally, the CJ covers Kenderick Duncan’s transfer to Louisville.