Monday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—The U of L women’s team’s opening round game against Drake has been scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip on Saturday, and will be televised on ESPN2.

—The Louisville baseball team swept its weekend series with Dayton. The fourth-ranked Cardinals have now won nine in a row.

—The addition of Dennis Evans has Kenny Payne’s recruiting class of 2023 now ranked No. 10 in the nation according to Rivals.

—This would seem to be a good sign that JJ Traynor will be back next season.

—Louisville Report serves up an evaluation of Evans.

—The CJ takes a closer look at the Louisville-Drake first round matchup.

—Damon Stoudamire will replace Josh Pastner as the head coach at Georgia Tech. Stoudamire was successful in reviving a dormant Pacific program before leaving to take an assistant coaching position with the Boston Celtics this season.

—Ole Miss has officially named Chris Beard as its new head coach.

—The real bracket challenge of March has arrived.

—After becoming the first preseason AP No. 1 team ever to miss the NCAA tournament, North Carolina said thanks but no thanks to an NIT invite.

—Brent Axe getting fired from ESPN Radio Syracuse for being “overly negative” about SU sports is a wild and sort of scary story.

—The U of L women’s tennis team had no trouble with Xavier over the weekend.

—A new Louisville bobblehead just dropped.

—The Louisville softball team split a doubleheader with No. 15 Duke on Saturday.

—The Hartford Courant likes Louisville to take care of Drake in the first round of the women’s tournament.

—The college hoops transfer portal is already ... robust. 247 Sports is keeping track of the new entrants.

—Houston’s 6/1 national title odds are tied for the longest on a pre-tournament favorite since the field expanded to 64 teams.

—Jeff Borzello’s instant bracket has Alabama beating Houston to win the national title.

—Denny Crum’s new Hometown Heroes banner went up yesterday afternoon.

—The Lexington Herald-Leader is keeping tabs on Kentuckians participating in this year’s NCAA tournament.

—Louiville made a strong impression in tight end recruit Dillon Hipp, who visited over the weekend.

—It’s us.

—Last night, Clemson became the first ACC team with a .700 conference winning percentage in the 64-team era not to receive an at-large bid to the tournament. They’re also the first ACC team in history to earn a double bye in the conference tournament and not make the Big Dance.

If nothing else this season, we pretty much singlehandedly made that happen.

—Dylan Penn, who was named MOP of the America East tournament, is going dancing with Vermont a year after the dumbest rule in sports kept him from dancing with Bellarmine.

—Still can’t believe Felton is gone.

—Kaden Moorman, a three-star running back out of Frankfort who had previously been committed to Kentucky, has committed to Louisville.

—As expected, Kamari Lands has already heard from a number of power conference schools.

—Will Smith dropped a bomb for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic Sunday night.

—Love this 12-minute video from Hoop Vision that gives you a nugget on all 68 teams in the field.

—Lou City opened its 2023 season with a win on Saturday night.

—Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated identifies five high-seeds to steer clear of in your NCAA tournament bracket.

—WLKY looks back at Felton Spencer’s best moments at Louisville.

—Eric Bossi of 247 Sports says Kenny Payne landing Dennis Evans is a good sign for the future.

“Louisville needed some good news and it starts with recruiting,” Bossi said. “Going out and getting the best big guy available is a pretty big deal.

“It’s a guy who was committed elsewhere, he opened up and they used connections and got it done. That’s what Kenny Payne was billed as being able to do when he got the job right? So, seeing him close the way he has been reported to be able to close on something like this is certainly encouraging for Louisville.”

Bossi has been watching Evans since the beginning of his high school career and said the prospect has “made big strides each year.” He averaged 14.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 5.9 blocked shots a game as a senior at Hillcrest, playing in 105 career games there. He had 1,083 points, 1,031 rebounds, and 563 blocks during his career.

—Louisville baseball is up to No. 2 in the Collegiate Baseball News top 25 poll and No. 3 in the Baseball America top 25.

—Louisville is in the top 12 for top 100 prospect Marcelles Williams (2024) from St. John Bosco.

—And finally, we’re talking brackets, Dennis Evans, Skyy Clark, Trentyn Flowers and more on today’s Mike Rutherford Show from 3-6 on 1450 The Big X.