The struggles continued for the Louisville men’s basketball team on Saturday as the Cardinals lost 78-65 at home against Florida State. Louisville falls to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in the ACC. Florida State is now 13-2 and 3-1.
Jordan Nwora matched his career high with 32 points along with 10 boards. With 10 points, Steven Enoch was the only other Cardinal who scored more than 6. As a team, Louisville shot 38.7 percent from the field. Nwora went 5-6 from three, but the rest of his team shot 3-13 from downtown.
For Florida State, M.J. Walker had 23 points and 3 assists on 9-11 shooting. Trent Forrest added 20 points of his own with 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals. Devin Vassell added 14 points and 6 rebounds. The Seminoles shot 55.2 percent from the field and went 11-23 from behind the arc.
This was a game that started off promising, Jordan Nwora could not be stopped in the first half and the Cards led by 5 early on. FSU got hot from three and clamped down defensively on its way to a 39-32 halftime lead. Florida State blocked 5 shots in the first half and only ended up with 6 total for the game, but they were effecting every shot Louisville put up around the rim and that was really the difference. The Seminoles never trailed in the second half and blew it open late.
It seemed like Florida State could not miss, but they were consistently getting good shots and the Cards had no answer. The perimeter defense was non existent and they were unable to make a difference down low. Florida State was the better, more energetic team all afternoon and really showed why it needs to be taken seriously as a contender in the ACC.
It’s hard to take anything positive from this performance by Louisville. They have real issues offensively and outside of Nwora the team has struggled immensely to create shots. If the threes aren’t falling this team is usually in trouble. It was good to see Nwora bounce back and play well in a big game, but the Cards have to get more from the supporting cast.
There are plenty of reasons for concern, but its also just the first week of January. Louisville has now lost four out of five games against Florida State; its a matchup that has given them problems for years now regardless of how good the Cards season is going. The schedule slows down until Louisville travels to Duke in two weeks, so they have an opportunity to right the ship and put together some impressive wins here.
Up Next: Louisville is home for Miami on Tuesday night @ 7:00 ET on ESPN2.
Coach Chris Mack
Malik Williams
