Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Florida State Seminoles

The Cardinals are heading back on the road for a crucial ACC matchup against the Seminoles.

Louisville Cardinals (10-4, 4-0 ACC) at Florida State Seminoles (7-5, 1-2 ACC)

- Tipoff: Saturday, January 8th at 8:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Fla.
- How To Watch: ESPNU
- How To Listen: WKRD 790 AM
- Betting Favorite: Florida State -4.5
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 34-15
- Last Meeting: Florida State won 78-65 on Jan. 18, 2021 (KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

• F Samuell Williamson (6-7, 205, Jr.)
• F Matt Cross (6-7, 230, So.)
• C Malik Williams (6-11, 245, Sr.)
• G Noah Locke (6-3, 210, Sr.)
• G Jarrod West (5-11, 185, Gr.).

Florida State

• F Malik Osborne (6-9, 225, R-Sr.)
• F John Butler (7-1, 190, Fr.)
• G RayQuan Evans (6-4, 200, Sr.)
• G Anthony Polite (6-6, 214, R-Sr.)
• G Caleb Mills (6-5, 180, R-So.)

Main Storylines

Here are the more significant storylines to follow ahead of Louisville's matchup with FSU: Points of Emphasis: Louisville vs. Florida State

Comparison

See how the Cardinals stack up against the Seminoles, and who the statistical models favor: Tale of The Tape & Prediction: Louisville vs. Florida State

Game Notes

Louisville

• In its first home game of 2022, Louisville beat Pittsburgh 75-72 on Wednesday in the KFC Yum! Center as El Ellis scored 18 points off the bench, including 14 in the second half, to lead the Cardinals. Sydney Curry added career bests of eight points and eight rebounds as Louisville shot 48 percent from the field for the second straight game, making eight of its final nine shots.
• Ellis' scoring was part of 35 points from the Cardinals’ bench, UofL’s sixth game this season with over 30 bench points. Louisville has averaged 27.1 points per game from its bench this season.
• Jarrod West, third in the nation in career steals among active players with 280, needs three points for 1,300 in his career at Marshall and UofL. West is seventh in the ACC in assists (3.8) and sixth in assists-turnovers ratio (2.30).
• Louisville’s 34 ACC road wins in its eighth year in the league is the fourth-most in the ACC in that period.
• Malik Williams, a preseason All-ACC second team selection, has scored in double figures in seven of his last eight games and is averaging 13.7 points per game in that stretch. He has grabbed at least eight rebounds in 10 of his 13 games and is third in the ACC in rebounding (9.1 rpg) and 20th in the nation in defensive rebounding (6.9 per game). His 20 points and 11 rebounds at Georgia Tech marked his ninth career double-double and fourth of the season.
• Noah Locke scored 13 points vs. Pittsburgh, his 10th game this season in double figures. He is fourth in the ACC in three-pointers made per game (2.5) and three-point FG percentage (.354), and has made at least three threes in eight games.
• Louisville is No. 34 nationally in adjusted defense in KenPom analytics (3rd in the ACC behind Duke, VT). The Cardinals rank 21st in the NCAA in defensive rebounding (29.2 rpg) and 41st in field goal percentage defense (.392).
• The Cardinals have won each of their four ACC games by five points or less.
• Louisville, North Carolina and Virginia are the only ACC teams with two road victories this season.
• Mason Faulkner missed UofL’s game at Georgia Tech due to COVID protocols, but returned to play with four assists and three points against Pitt. He has scored in double figures in three of his last four games, is second on the team in assists (34 total), and leads the ACC in assist-turnovers ratio in ACC only games with 11 assists and only one turnover
• Matt Cross has scored in double figures in five of the last seven games, including 13 points and a season-high eight rebounds and two blocked shots at Georgia Tech. He scored nine vs. Pitt in his last game
• Louisville plays 10 games during the month of January, marking the first time it has played as many in that month since the 1997-98 season, when the Cardinals played 11 games in January
• Louisville has a 47-16 record during the month of January over the last six years (.746)
• Louisville is unbeaten this season when out-rebounding its opponent (8-0), shoots better from the field than the opposition (9-0), or shoots more free throws than its opponent (8-0)
• Dre Davis came off the bench for the first time this season at Georgia Tech and responded with 13 points, all in the second half. Davis, who has five double-figure scoring games this season, had scored just 14 points over the previous four games combined. He had five points and two assists vs. Pitt
• UofL made 25-of-34 free throws against Wake Forest, both of which were season-high totals. The totals were the highest for the Cards since going 30-for-41 against Michigan State on Nov. 27, 2018. UofL’s 30 free throws vs. Pitt was its second-most this season.

Florida State

• Florida State enters Saturday’s game with a series-best four-game winning streak against Louisville. The streak includes two consecutive wins at home at the Donald L. Tucker Center (2019 and 2020) and two consecutive wins on the road at the KFC YUM! Center (2020 and 2021). The Seminoles’ current four-game winning streak against Louisville is their longest in the series that began on December 16, 1968 and includes membership in two different conferences – the Metro Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference.
• Florida State is 4-1 at home this season; has won two of their last three overall games including its victory at NC State on January 1; has won seven consecutive home ACC games during the month of January.
• Florida State is ranked first in the ACC in steals with 125 and a 10.4 steals per game average; FSU is ranked third in the AC in blocked shots with 60 and a 5.0 blocked shots per game average; FSU (first and third) and Duke (first and second) are the only two teams in the ACC who are ranked in the top three in the ACC team statistics in both steals and blocked shots; has earned more than 50 steals more than its opponents (125-71) and nearly twice as many blocked shots as its opponents (60-33) in its first 12 games of the season.
• With 10 or more steals in six of its first 12 games of the season, Florida State enters Saturday’s game against Louisville as the ACC leader in steals with 125. The Seminoles average 10.4 steals per game and are the only team in the ACC who averages 10 or more steals per game. Florida State has led the ACC in steals two times – 2012 (ACC Tournament Champions) and 2020 (ACC Champions) and have won the conference championship in both of those years.
• Led by a six of six performance from the free throw line by Caleb Mils against Wake Forest on Tuesday night, the Seminoles shot 80 percent from the free throw line. It marked the second time this season the Seminoles have shot 80 percent or better from the free throw line.
• Florida State committed a season-low 10 turnovers in its game at Wake Forest on Tuesday night. The Seminoles also held their turnovers down in its victory over Lipscomb on December 15 with only 10 turnovers.
• Freshman Matthew Cleveland, the reigning ACC Freshman of the Week, enters Saturday’s game against Louisville averaging a career-high 9.9 points scored per game. He is the ACC leader in scoring (9.9 ppg) amongst all players who have not started a game this season.
• Redshirt senior RayQuan Evans enters Saturday’s game against Louisville ranked seventh in the ACC in steals (17 steals in 10 games, 1.7 spg) and 11th in the ACC blocked shots (nine blocked shots in 10 games, 0.9 bpg). He is the only player in the ACC to rank in the top 11 for both steals and blocked shots.
• Redshirt Sophomore Caleb Mills enters Saturday’s game against Louisville averaging a team-leading 12.1 points scored per games. He has scored in double figures in eight of Florida State’s 12 games and totaled his Florida State career-high of 22 points against Purdue in the Big Ten / ACC Challenge on November 30.
• Redshirt senior Malik Osborne enters Saturday’s game against Louisville shooting .450 percent from the 3-point line this season. He is the Seminoles’ leader in 3-point shots made (18) and 3-point field goal percentage (.450) and averages 1.5 3- point field goals made per game.
• Sophomore Cam’Ron Fletcher has played in double figure minutes in each of his 12 appearances as a Seminole, is shooting .500 from the field, has five steals in his last two games (2.5 spg) and has scored in double figures in two of his last three games (10.3 ppg).

(Photo of Matt Cross: Sam Upshaw Jr. - Louisville Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC)

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