The Florida State Seminoles completed a six-game stretch against ranked opponents with a 5-1 record following the 73-68 nail-biting victory over Louisville.
The Seminoles (18-2, 6-1 ACC) were on fire to start, going on a 17-4 run over the first five minutes of play. The Cardinals (16-4, 4-3 ACC) were not going to go away easily and came storming back. The two top-15 teams would battle it out until the finish over the next 35-minutes of play.
Four of five starters scored in double-figures against an impressive Louisville defense, although it was freshmen Jonathan Isaac that was the different maker.
Head coach Rick Pitino told media following the loss that Freshmen Isaac “Wasn’t a match‐up problem for us tonight because we played him in a match‐up zone.” Isaac had his third consecutive double-double leading the way for the Seminoles with 16-points and 10-rebounds.
The Seminoles have relied on their depth to give them that final push in closing teams out. The bench play was nonexisting for the Seminoles on Saturday, but Louisville depended heavily on their extra men to keep things competitive.
With under a minute to play and Florida State holding on to just a three-point advantage, Louisville had a chance to knot things up which would have likely sent the two teams into overtime.
Mitchell Donavan could not convert from deep. Dwayne Bacon went 2-2 from the charity stripe sealing the ‘Noles victory.
The Cardinals outlasted the ‘Noles in a handful of offensive categories except the one that mattered the most. The Louisville Cardinals beat Florida State in the paint (40-30), 2nd chance points (18-9), and bench scoring (40-11).
“Once we settled down and just tried to move the ball and tried not to let ourselves get too confused with what they were doing then I thought we were a little more disciplined,” head coach Leonard Hamilton said. “This game could have gone either way. Louisville has an outstanding team and we feel very fortunate to come away with a victory.”
Florida State can now relax after a tough six-game run before heading on the road for the next three games.
The ‘Noles will travel to Atlanta Georgia on Wednesday to play Georgia Tech at 7 P.M.
