Tuesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Malik Williams is finally getting comfortable on the court again, and it’s showing.

—Eric Crawford writes about the Jordan Watkins transfer.

—Louisville makes an appearance at No. 35 in Andy Katz’s latest Power 36 rankings.

—Louisville Report looks at the points of emphasis for tomorrow night’s game between Louisville and Michigan State.

—This is a pretty awesome idea.

—Bryan Brown spent some time with top U of L commit Popeye Williams on Monday.

—The latest episode of the Cardinal Sports Zone podcast is here.

—Chris Mack is back after a “strange and surreal” suspension experience.

—Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal offers up a Louisville-Michigan State preview.

Inside the matchup: Louisville has held all but two their opponents to 60 points or less this season, including Mississippi State and Maryland, who both scored in the 50s. The Cardinals offensively, though, can be as ugly as they sometimes make their opponents. They’ve got seven players who’ve launched at least 11 3 pointers this season. Only one of them, reserve forward Matt Cross, is making at least 35% of their attempts. Noah Locke, who began his career at Florida and played against the Spartans three years ago, is a versatile guard, who can create his own shot and plays under control. If he gets going shooting the ball, he’s a problem. He’ll likely be matched up against Christie, who’s got a few inches on him, but has struggled offensively of late. Samuel Williamson, who comes off the bench but plays a ton for Louisville, is a Malik Hall-type player whose toughness, defense and rebounding adds a lot to the Cardinals.

• Prediction: If the Spartans’ point guards take care of them and Louisville’s 3-pointers don’t suddenly start dropping, I think MSU wins this game, especially at home. But beyond Gabe Brown, there has been very little consistency to the Spartans’ offense. That has to begin to change.

Make it: MSU 76, Louisville 72

—Louisville reporter Elle Smith is Miss USA 2021.

—Matt Cross may not have scored a ton, but his commitment doing the little things helped Louisville capture a championship in the Bahamas.

—There’s a new $10 million proposal for a plan that would expand Louisville’s Waterfront Park into the West End.

—It certainly seems like if a talented youngster from the Derby City gets linked up with Chris Vaughn, they aren’t going to (or staying with) the local school.

I’m not sure what the disconnect is — or if there’s just a stronger connection with Vince Marrow — but U of L would be well-served to repair whatever damage there is between the program and Aspirations.

Exhibit B:

Seems strange, but here we are.

—The U of L swim and dive teams are set to compete in the Toyota U.S. Open.

—The Athletic’s latest NBA mock draft has Duke star Paolo Banchero going No. 1 overall.

—Kentucky has signed Mark Stoops to a contract extension.

—Lou City’s Jonathan Gomez has been voted USL Championship Young Player of the Year.

—Brian Kelly sucks.

—Here’s your ticket information for Louisville volleyball’s upcoming home NCAA tournament matches.

—Last night in ACC hoops, where the Big Ten got out to a 2-0 lead in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge:

Iowa 75, Virginia 74
Boston College 64, South Florida 49
Illinois 82, Notre Dame 72

—Tonight in the ACC:

Indiana at Syracuse (7 p.m./ESPN2)
Minnesota at Pittsburgh (7 p.m./ESPNU)
Florida State at No. 2 Purdue (7:30 p.m./ESPN)
Northwestern at Wake Forest (9 p.m./ESPNU)
Clemson at Rutgers (9 p.m./ESPN2)
No. 1 Duke at Ohio State (9:30 p.m./ESPN)

—I know it’s gotta be annoying for Fickell to be balancing potentially becoming the next Notre Dame head coach with coaching in the most important game of his life so far on Saturday, but “I don’t check my phone” is an all-time coaching carousel season lie.

—John Clay reviews Kentucky’s beatdown of Louisville in the latest episode of his podcast.

—Louisville’s Goodwood Brewing is opening its first location in Ohio.

—Garrett has been finding this out since all the way back in 2015.

—Ten things to do in Louisville for $5 or less this week.

—The Ravens keep winning, but how concerning are Lamar Jackson’s recent turnover issues?

—And finally, our friends over at The Only Colors have a really nice preview of tomorrow night’s showdown between the Cards and Spartans.