Well if you are still reading this after that headline, thank you. All four of you are appreciated! The Louisville Cardinals dismantled Florida State on Wednesday night by a final score of 84-65, and that is with the ‘Noles finishing the game on a 10-0 run against the Louisville reserves. This was a 25-30 point game for a lot of the second half. The Cards dominated this one from start to finish and now find themselves in 2nd place in the ACC.
Offense and defense clicking
For most of the season, Louisville’s offense has been the focal point of how the team wins. That has been refreshing after watching last year’s team struggle to score. Then, against Pittsburgh, it was the defense that finally got the spotlight and led the Cards to victory. Against Florida State, Louisville showed up on BOTH ends of the court.
Coming in averaging 80.5 points per game, Louisville did what they were supposed to do by scoring 84. Florida State came in averaging 80.2 points per game. Louisville held them 15 points below their season average, and like I said, that is with the late 10-0 run. To make sure that headline doesn’t get wasted, FSU freshman Dwayne Bacon scored 12 points on just 4-17 shooting and was 0-6 from three. Thus, the bacon reference.
If this team starts putting games together where they are scoring points and holding teams below their average like that? Look out!
Onuaku with another double-double
Chinanu Onuaku continues to be the most important player on the floor for Louisville this season. I know, I know. Arguments can be made for other guys like Quentin Snider and Damion Lee. I will probably say this same thing about them at some point. But for right now with the way he is playing, and with no backup that you can always count on, Onuaku’s play as of late has been outstanding.
He notched another double-double against Florida State with 11 points and 14 rebounds. That gives him 5 straight double-doubles and 6 for the season. Seven of his rebounds were on the offensive glass. He added 2 blocks and only had 2 fouls, probably his most important stat.
Quentin being Quentin
That’s about what it is these days. Quentin Snider has another tremendous game, and I can’t think of anything else to name this part other than “Quentin being Quentin”. The sophomore from Ballard had it all working in this game. He scored 20 points on 8-12 shooting, including 3-4 from three. He added 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and did not turn the ball over.
It is just becoming the norm. I expect these kinds of games from Snider. Don’t get me wrong, I am still very happy and impressed. But with his calm demeanor and the trust I have in him as our point guard, Snider is becoming that player that doesn’t have a bad game. He only has “solid to great” games. Lately he has been great.
Final thought
This was another game where I found myself saying “I love this team” on a few different occasions. Winning is one thing, but this is a special group of guys and they are so easy to root for. People have been saying that all season, but it doesn’t get old. It is worth repeating as many times as you deem necessary.
Now Louisville goes on the road for two games, at Georgia Tech on Saturday and at Virginia Tech next Wednesday. No game is a given win, so if the Cards can pick up both victories on the road, those next two games at home against Virginia and North Carolina will be electric.
One game at a time. Beat Georgia Tech.
Go Cards!
