Louisville vs Florida State: 2018-19 College basketball game preview, TV schedule
By Joey Loose
Louisville and Florida State meet on Saturday afternoon in a high-profile ACC match-up; will the Seminoles hold at home or will the Cardinals have another road upset brewing?
TV schedule: Saturday, February 9, 4:00 pm ET. ESPN2
Arena: Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida
In a typically deep ACC, Louisville (17-6) has really stood out in their first year under Chris Mack. The Cardinals sit at 8-2 in league play and already boast road wins over North Carolina and Virginia Tech. There have been a few games this team should’ve won (like at Indiana two months ago) but for the most part, they’ve taken care of business and Mack has immediately rebuilt a winning culture.
The player to watch for these Cardinals is sophomore forward Jason Nwora (17.8 ppg, 7.7 rpg), an above average shooter and rebounder. Most of the offense runs through Nwora, but there have been considerable contributions from junior forward Dwayne Sutton (10.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg). Sutton led the way with 17 points in their win over the Hokies on Monday. Senior guard Christen Cunningham (10.2 ppg, 4.6 apg) can also score in bunches and is the team’s best distributor.
The Cardinals have a very solid team, sitting at 13th in KenPom (5th best in the ACC). The offense (15th) and defense (22nd) are both in the top 25 in efficiency and have been shooting free throws well for most of the year. Despite a few bumps along the way, the team already has five road wins and they won’t be intimidated by another stout road test.
Across the court, Florida State (17-5) finds themselves in the middle of the pack in ACC play. The Seminoles surprised everyone with a run to the Elite Eight as a 9-seed last season and have looked to build on that success. They boast wins over LSU and Purdue but really struggled early in ACC play. Regardless, the team has won their last four games, including Tuesday’s win at Syracuse.
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The Seminoles’ most prolific scorer comes off the bench: Canadian sophomore forward Mfiondu Kabengele (13.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg). Senior guard Terance Mann (11.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg) has led the team in points during their last two outings and rebounds the ball very well. Both Kabengele and Mann shoot 3-pointers at a solid rate, though they’re the only consistent range shooters on this team.
An up and down season has the Seminoles at 22nd in KenPom. The team sits at 18th in defensive efficiency, giving up less than 70 points in each of their wins on this 4-game streak. They don’t shoot a lot of long-range shots and this is definitely a team buoyed by their defense. Additionally, the Seminoles are 29th in the nation on free throws.
For the Cardinals, snatching another road win is well within the ‘cards’, especially if Sutton continues playing like he has been. If this game becomes a foul fest, whichever team makes their free throws will have a major advantage. For the Seminoles, playing lock-down defense on Nwora and forcing other players to beat them might be the best way to play this game.
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The Seminoles have been playing better in recent weeks and the Cardinals are a surprising team at this point in the year. Florida State’s only home loss has come against Duke, but this is a hungry Louisville squad who’s already shown they can win away from home. Expect big things out of Nwora and I see Louisville in a close game.