Florida State @ Louisville preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 9, 2019 ) Louisville 75, Florida State 80

Eighth-ranked Louisville looks to rebound from a tough loss at cross-state rival Kentucky when it dives back into ACC play Saturday afternoon at home against No. 20 Florida State. The Cardinals missed 11 of their 20 free-throw attempts in the 78-70 overtime loss to the Wildcats last Saturday, and will try to start the league season with three straight victories when they take on Florida State, which is riding a five-game winning streak.

“The guys in our locker room will figure out a way to make this game make them better,” Louisville coach Chris Mack told reporters after Saturday’s setback. “What I saw on the floor wasn’t anything different than I already knew about my team. We just have to get better in certain areas, and a couple of guys have to play better.” The Seminoles rallied to win the only meeting last season 80-75 in overtime at home and beat the Cardinals in their last trip to the KFC Yum! Center in February of 2018. Florida State lost at ACC foe Pittsburgh to open the season in early November, but has lost just once since (at Indiana) and won the last two league games after outlasting Georgia Tech 70-58 in Tallahassee on Tuesday as its bench made 13-of-22 from the field. “There were periods in the second half where I thought our guys were really locked in,” Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton told reporters. “We made some energy plays. That’s what happens when the quality of your depth is involved as much as it was. And our guys were a little fresher.”

TIME: 2 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN2

ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (12-2, 2-1 ACC): Hamilton liked the team’s ball movement against Georgia Tech as six players scored between seven and 14 points for a balanced offense that boasts four averaging between 11.8 and 9.4. Sophomore guard Devin Vassell (11.8 points, 1.6 steals) leads the way for the Seminoles after scoring 14 on Tuesday and senior guard Trent Forrest averages 11.5 points along with a team-high 3.9 assists. Junior guard M.J. Walker (10.1 points) could miss his second straight game with a hip injury while freshman forward Patrick Williams (9.4) stepped up with 12 points versus Georgia Tech.

ABOUT LOUISVILLE (11-2, 2-0): Junior forward Jordan Nwora, the ACC’s preseason player of the year who is averaging 20.2 points and 7.2 rebounds, must rebound from a rough game at Kentucky as he scored just eight on 2-of-10 from the field. Senior center Steven Enoch, the only other player averaging in double figures scoring (11.6 on 55.4 percent shooting), poured in 18 points against Kentucky and senior guard Lamarr Kimble scored 12 - his second-most of the season - off the bench. Senior guard Ryan McMahon (9.4 points) shoots 44.4 percent from 3-point range and senior forward Dwayne Sutton (9.4) leads the team in rebounds (8.8).

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Florida State 7-0 senior center Dominik Olejniczak has connected on 10-of-14 from the field the last three games.

2. Louisville junior G Darius Perry contributes 5.7 points and a team-best 4.5 assists per contest.

3. The Seminoles lead the ACC in free-throw shooting percentage (76.3) and Louisville is third (72.2) despite the struggles last game.

PREDICTION: Louisville 78, Florida State 72