Louisville @ Florida State preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 4, 2020 ) Florida State 78, Louisville 65

No. 11 Louisville looks to avenge a double-figure loss at home and maintain its lead atop the league standings when the Cardinals visit eighth-ranked Florida State for an ACC showdown Monday night. Louisville, which fell to the Seminoles 78-65 on Jan. 4, has won two in a row after a two-game slide while Florida State beat North Carolina State 67-61 on Saturday for its third straight victory and sixth in seven contests.

“These are the games that you want to play in and that you want to be meaningful,” Cardinals coach Chris Mack told reporters of the upcoming matchup. “. … They’re going to be a heck of a challenge for our team. They’re going to pressure the ball, they’re going to switch everything, they’re going to extend their defense all over the floor. We have to be able to get the shots we did in the first half against them and get better ones than we did in the second half.” Louisville owns a half-game lead on both Duke and Florida State to start the week after getting 18 points and 11 rebounds from junior forward Jordan Nwora, the ACC’s second leading scorer (18.2), in Saturday’s 72-55 rout of North Carolina. The Seminoles have won 21 straight games at home, including all 14 this season, and found a way to defeat the Wolfpack on Saturday despite shooting just 40.7 percent from the field overall and trailing by five at halftime. “This time of year for our team, you’d like to think that you’re growing and maturing and adjusting to things that are (happening) on the court,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton told reporters. “I thought our guys responded very well in the locker room.”

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN

ABOUT LOUISVILLE (23-5, 14-3 ACC): Nwora is the only player averaging in double figures scoring for the Cardinals, and the status of second-leading scorer Steven Enoch (9.6 points) is uncertain after the 6-10 senior played just five minutes Saturday due to a sore ankle. Senior Dwayne Sutton is averaging 14 points the last three games to raise his season mark to 9.4 on 51.1 percent shooting, and the 6-5 forward leads the team in rebounds (8.4). Junior forward Malik Williams continues to be a force of late, averaging 13.3 points over the last six games and 11 rebounds in the past two contests.

ABOUT FLORIDA STATE (23-4, 13-3): The Seminoles keep winning with their balance and showed it against NC State as the top four scorers finished between 10 and 12 points with freshman forward Patrick Williams scoring a dozen off the bench. Sophomore guard Devin Vassell leads the team in scoring (12.9) and rebounding (5.3) but is just 10-of-30 from the field the last three games, while senior backcourt mate Trent Forrest (11.5 points, team-high 4.2 assists) has scored in double figures six straight contests. Williams is averaging 15 points the last three games, boosting his average to 9.3.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Florida State junior G M.J. Walker scored a team-high 23 points in the previous win over the Cardinals and Nwora had 32 in the setback.

2. Louisville freshman G David Johnson has dished out a total of 20 assists in his last three games.

3. The Cardinals leads the ACC in 3-point shooting percentage (38.3) and Florida State is second (36.1).

PREDICTION: Louisville 74, Florida State 70