Friday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—NET Rankings Update: No. 57 (no change).

It’s also worth noting that Duke is now up to No. 50 in the NET, which means that (for the moment at least) Louisville’s loss to the Blue Devils on Wednesday is now a Quad 1 loss. This leaves the Cards 1-6 in Quad 1 games, and 6-0 in Quad 2 games.

—Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer writes that the ACC tournament is descending into farce, and it’s time for new commissioner Jim Phillips to come out from the shadows.

—The Washington Post’s latest Bracketology has Louisville as an 11-seed facing Tennessee in a first round matchup.

There’s nothing memorable about Louisville’s profile, but it should be enough to get them in the tournament. Avoiding a play-in situation? That’s no sure thing. The Cardinals are a slightly better version of UCLA on paper. … Connecticut’s seeding is an interesting situation. The Huskies are 6-1 since James Bouknight’s return from injury, with the sole loss coming at Villanova. A No. 6 or even a No. 5 seed isn’t out of the question with a Big East tournament title. … Maryland took care of what it needed to against Michigan State, and the Terrapins shouldn’t have to worry about getting sent to a play-in game.

—After having to pull out of the ACC tournament, Virginia now finds itself on a different sort of NCAA tournament bubble.

—The Cavaliers have announced that their status for NCAA tournament participation and eligibility is not yet known.

—Kansas has also pulled out of the Big 12 tournament because of a positive Covid test. This is going to be an extremely interesting 48 hours.

—You’re doing too much, FS1 graphic team.

—Apparel company 19nine has a new line of retro Louisville basketball shorts.

—The 19th-ranked U of L lacrosse team pulled out an 11-8 win over Central Michigan this afternoon.

—Louisville senior Makenli Forrest captured the 2021 NCAA Indoor Weight Throw title with a heave of 23.26m (76-3.75) Thursday at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark. She becomes the third Cardinal to win the Indoor Weight Throw title in program history and the first since 2010 when D’Ana McCarty secured her second consecutive championship in the event.

Here’s the throw that won the national title:

—Louisville Reports previews this weekend’s series at Jim Patterson Stadium between the 10th-ranked Cards and No. 13 Boston College.

—NGCC Sports also previews the series.

—Louisville true freshman shortstop Christian Knapczyk’s hot start has earned him an every day role with the team.

—I miss this tournament every damn day.

—The 13th-ranked Cardinal volleyball team will face Duke on Saturday and Sunday.

—U of L women’s hoops signee Payton Verhulst is a Second Team Naismith High School All-American.

—The latest episode of The Crunch Zone Podcast is out.

—Peyton Siva’s still balling out.

—Ten years after “Jimmer Mania,” Fredette himself reflects on the madness.

—Nice Homefield Apparel name drop in The Atlantic here.

—This picture is something. So is 42 rebounds in one game.

—Streaking the Lawn is understandably upset over Virginia pulling out of the ACC tournament and having its March Madness status thrown into a state of flux.

—Louisville Report looks at the fellow bubble teams Cardinal fans must pull against for the next 48/72 hours.

—Changes could be coming to overtime in college football next season.

—The DePaul Blue Demons men’s basketball team will not be winning the 2020-21 national championship.

—Keep rooting against the potential bid thieves.

—Juwan Howard and Mark Turgeon damn near threw hands in the first Big Ten quarterfinal this afternoon.

My meager life savings on Howard.

—Western Kentucky is one win away from the NCAA tournament.

—Rick Bozich really wrote the Brad Stevens to Indiana column, and God bless him for that.

—And finally, I know bubble life is stressful and annoying, but try to enjoy the hoops and the sunshine for the next couple of days.