JUDGE: PITINO SETTLEMENT TALKS TO START

Documents filed Monday order attorneys in Rick Pitino’s lawsuit against the University of Louisville Athletic Association to discuss a possible settlement in the case, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Colin H. Lindsay ordered attorneys to meet no later than Feb. 8. After the meeting, the two sides have 14 days to submit a joint report “informing the court whether prompt settlement of the case is possible.”

If a prompt settlement isn’t deemed possible, a tentative schedule for discovery and trial proceedings will be proposed, with the judge having authority to alter that schedule during a March 1 conference call.

Pitino was fired in October in the wake of an FBI investigation into bribery and fraud in college basketball, related to the steering of recruits to Adidas, sports agents and financial advisers. Pitino maintains he wasn’t aware of an alleged payment from a Cardinals assistant to the family of Brian Bowen during the recruiting process.

N.C. State player’s case to resume.

CLEVELAND» The felony assault case involving suspended North Carolina State guard Markell Johnson will resume next week in his home state of Ohio.

A pretrial hearing was held Monday and another is set for Jan. 16.

A court document said Johnson was among four people indicted Dec. 5 for causing “serious physical harm” to a male victim on or about Oct. 8. A police report stated the victim reported having a broken orbital bone and a concussion while needing stitches after an argument escalated.

Footnotes. Villanova returned to No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s poll. West Virginia climbed four spots to No. 2. … Rutgers is back in the AP women’s poll for the first time since 2015. The Scarlet Knights jumped in at No. 21. UConn remains a unanimous choice from the 32-member national media panel.