Tuesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Spread check: Louisville by 14.

—Tomahawk Nation has thoughts on FSU’s win over Louisville.

—Louisville’s defensive numbers under Bryan Brown have been, and continue to be, very, very bad.

—Louisville Report’s Matt McGavic breaks down the game of new Cardinal hoops commit Curtis Williams.

Instincts: Believe it or not, Williams’ biggest strength is arguably his outside shot. He consistently makes catch-and-shoot threes from the corner, but can also drain it off the bounce around the elbow as well. He also does a good job at creating separation on drives to the rim, thanks in part to his tough play style and how he uses his shoulders. Plus, he’s a consistant finisher who uses his length to keep the ball away from defenders, and isn’t afraid to slam the ball home. He’s shown flashes defensively, using his physical nature to bully ball handlers and make them uncomfortable. Williams also does a good job at timing his swipes to poke out the ball without fouling.

Polish: Williams is good rebounder in the sense that if the ball comes his way, he can normally out-muscle on his box outs or position himself for the board, and he has quick follow through on offense. Only thing that needs some work here is his ability to seek out the rebound instead of it coming to him. He’s also hit or miss on fast breaks. He does a good job at initiating it immediately after steal, and does well at both distributing and driving, but sometimes can get it stolen right back. While he’s good defensively against threes and four, some work will be needed against guards, particularly with his footwork.

—The NBA is widely expected to lower its minimum draft age back down to 18, ending the so-called “one and done” rule. Seth Davis writes (Athletic link) that this is a good thing for college basketball.

—The Louisville volleyball team is up to No. 2 in the latest AVCA top 25 poll.

—Speaking of volleyball, congrats to Claire Chaussee on being named the ACC Player of the Week.

—This kid is so freaking good.

Please just let him play for us.

—In the latest instance of college football losing its soul, the Bedlam rivalry series between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will end when the Sooners move to the SEC.

—The ACC headquarters are moving from Greensboro to Charlotte.

—The CJ’s Alexis Cubit gives us six players to watch in Saturday’s Louisville-South Florida game.

—Former U of L RB and Manual High standout Aidan Robbins rushed for more yards than any RB has so far this season in UNLV’s win over North Texas last weekend.

—Malik Cunningham’s touchdown run against Florida State was the fifth-best play (video) of the weekend that was in ACC football. Feel free to not watch the rest of the list.

—According to Jake Weingarten, a portion of Kenny Payne’s Tuesday will be spent visiting with five-star class of 2024 forward Carter Bryant.

—North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas, Arizona, and Texas are all expected to be in to see 2024 five-star Trentyn Flowers this week.

—This was a very cool thing.

—Former oft-discussed U of L hoops transfer recruit Emoni Bates was arrested Sunday night and charged with carrying a concealed weapon and “altering ID marks” on a firearm.

—Kenny Payne has offered five-star combo guard Boogie Fland out of New York. Fland is the No. 10 overall player in the class of 2024 according to 247 Sports.

—The U of L men’s soccer team notched a 1-0 road win over Florida Gulf Coast Monday night.

—This ... this is a depressing stat.

—LJ Nesbitt shares his thoughts on the latest episode of “Satterfielding.”

—Louisville Report looks at the film on new U of L WR commit Cataurus Hicks.

—Jordan Travis might be back for FSU sooner than it initially appeared after he suffered his leg injury last Friday against Louisville.

—At least this happened over the weekend:

—Payton Petersen, the No. 1 ranked volleyball player in the state of Iowa, has committed to Louisville.

—Brett McMurphy has Louisville going back to the First Responders Bowl to take on Arizona in his latest bowl projections. Say what you will about the current state of Cardinal football, but this program absolutely DOES NOT lose back-to-back First Responders Bowls.

—The Cardinal baseball team topped Miami of Ohio in exhibition play over the weekend.

—Interesting list:

—Despite a 3-0 loss to No. 2 North Carolina on Friday, Louisville field hockey stays at No. 4 this week’s top 25 poll.

—Presley Meyer over at State of Louisville argues that the offense deserves more of the blame than the defense for the losing that has happened under Scott Satterfield’s watch.

In 3 games this season Louisville’s defense has had the following stretches of consecutive stops (forcing a turnover or opponent punt):

Syracuse: 4 consecutive stops

UCF: 10 consecutive stops

FSU: 5 consecutive stops

The offense has scored twenty (20) total points off of those 19 stops.

Wynne also points out that Louisville has scored four times (24 points) after 8 forced three-and-outs by the defense. Meanwhile, the defense has only allowed 14 points off of 7 offensive turnovers.

When the offense falls off, the defense has been able to step up for long stretches.

Yet, we continue to blame the defense for breaking after bending for multiple quarters.

That is nauseating to think about. However, this is a trend across multiple seasons.

Per Wynne, in 2021, Louisville averaged 3.25 points per possession after stops in a series of 4 or more consecutive stops.

For reference, that number is 1.05 points per possession this season.

This has been a continuous regression. While the Louisville football defense has shown statistical improvement and strings together long stretches of excellent play, the UofL offense is becoming known for grinding to a halt at inopportune times.

I am all for making improvements on the defensive end. But to put it simply, that is not why Louisville football is losing games. It hasn’t been for the majority of the Satterfield era.

—Curtis Williams’ commitment to U of L is another indication that Kenny Payne is prioritizing versatile, big wings that can be interchangeable in his line-up.

—The Tomahawk Nation podcast covers the “huge” win for FSU at Cardinal Stadium.

—The Cards are keeping up the pursuit of big man Isaiah Miranda, who recently took an official visit to U of L.

—If you’re so inclined, here’s the FSU “cinematic recap” of its win at Cardinal Stadium.

I watched the whole video and I still can’t believe we lost that game.

—The Louisville women’s soccer team opened its ACC season with a 1-0 win over Miami.

—Good video profile of Pierce Clarkson here:

—Nole GameDay looks at six plays that changed the game on Friday night.

—Rick Bozich writes that, starting this Saturday against USF, it’s now or never for Louisville football.

—And finally, the Mike Rutherford Show returns from 3-5 this afternoon on 1450/96.1 The Big X. Find out who the text line wants to hire as the next coach today by streaming the show here.