Florida State sweeps Louisville following third road victory of the season

For the first time in over two weeks, Florida State got off to a strong start, something I mentioned needed to happen in the preview. Four straight games they'd had near double digit deficits just four minutes into the game, and I wanted to see the team come out with some gumption. They did that in a big way, flying out to a 14-5 lead over Louisville when the Cardinals called timeout four minutes into the game.

Darin Green Jr. was dialed in early with 8 points in the first four minutes, but he picked up two quick fouls and played just 9 minutes in the half. I was curious to see how the offense would do without him, and they did just fine. The lead got down to 6 points late in the first half, but FSU opened it right back up to take a 45-36 advantage at halftime. It was a really balanced first half attack with six players scoring 6 points or more, and they were doing a great job taking care of the basketball with just one first half turnover. Really the only reason Louisville was keeping pace early was they were 7/14 from 3.

The first four minutes of the second half were going to have a big impact on the rest of the game, and FSU came out of the gates firing on a quick 6-0 run that made Kenny Payne use another timeout to settle his guys down. It felt like Louisville had zero offensive plans for 80% of the game, which allowed the lead to balloon to 15 at a couple of points, with as little as 9 minutes remaining. People complain about how FSU's offense looks sometimes, but the Cardinals' offense is brutal. Credit to the Cards though, they stuck with it and slowly started chipping away, started getting stops, pressuring after makes, and really did a good job of getting to the free throw line. FSU couldn't get anything going and before you know it, it was an 8 point game, then a 6-point game. Following the final media timeout, FSU had just a 74-70 lead. It wasn't without heartache. Darin Green Jr. made just 1/2 from the free throw line with 10 seconds left, giving Louisville a chance down 3.

FSU hangs on. Wow. 81-78 FSU wins pic.twitter.com/U3uGtCD02k
— Austin Veazey (@EasyVeazeyNG) February 4, 2023

FSU's 7 second-half turnovers gave Louisville a chance, as did Louisville's rebounding. Louisville was also able to get into the paint a lot more in the second half, they had just 10 points in the paint at halftime, then 26 in the second half. Couple that with FSU not being able to hit the broadside of the barn, and that's how Louisville got back in, and they honestly did enough to win the game as Coach Kenny Payne said.

Cameron Corhen was simply spectacular for most of this game; I thought he had a real control over where he was on the court and how he was operating. He had one pass from the block to Caleb Mills in the far corner for a wide-open 3 that was super impressive, and speaks to the growth he's displayed all season. His 16 points and 5 rebounds don't really speak enough about the impact he had in this game.

Jalen Warley quietly had a good game as well. He's been under a lot of fire recently, especially after the NC State game, but it's hard to fault how he played in this one. 14 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 clutch free throws at the very end.

Naheem McLeod had his best game of the season after missing the last two games with an illness. He had one really impressive block under the basket midway through the second half, and was doing a great job of all game of catching, turning, and finishing. And for once, being 7 feet tall was actually getting foul calls, much to the disdain of the crowd.

Really it's hard to find fault in the way anyone played for the most part, up until the final 8 minutes or so. Matthew Cleveland was getting out in transition and hitting tough layups and finished with a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double, Caleb Mills hit a couple of 3s (though I wasn't too thrilled with a couple of the wild layups he attempted) and was playing physical defense to go with his 11 points, Chandler Jackson had some impressive moments and has to be the team leader and in forced held ball calls (and also a really impressive block), Darin Green Jr. was knocking down 3s like they were going out of style... just a really good all-around game for the most part. The last 8 minutes were just brutal. FSU was just 1/10 from the 9-minute mark to the 1:44 mark. A dunk by Corhen with 1:36 got them back in motion.

El Ellis finished with 22 points, 14 coming in the second half. He gave Louisville a chance when it felt like they wouldn't have one midway through the second half.

Kamari Lands is the biggest reason there in the game to begin with, as he had 10 points at halftime and finished with 15. Jae'Lyn Withers was the only other Cardinal in double figures with 14.

FSU returns back home Wednesday to play Syracuse at 7 pm.

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