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Louisville vs Miami Mens Basketball Highlights (1/16/2021)

Preview: Louisville Cardinals vs. Florida State Seminoles

The Cardinals return home for a matchup of two of the ACC's best

(Photo of MJ Walker, David Johnson: Jamie Rhodes/USA TODAY Sports)

Florida State Seminoles (7-2, 3-1 ACC) at No. 16 Louisville Cardinals (9-2, 4-1 ACC)

- Tipoff: Monday, January 18th at 7:00 p.m. EST
- Location: KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
- How To Watch: ACC Network
- How To Listen: WKRD 790/WHAS 840
- Betting Favorite: To Be Determined
- All-Time Series: Louisville leads 34-14
- Last Meeting: Florida State won 82-67 on Feb. 24, 2020 (Donald L. Tucker Center - Tallahassee, Fla.)

Projected Starting Lineups

Louisville

  • F Samuell Williamson (6-7, 210, So.)
  • F Dre Davis (6-5, 220, Fr.)
  • C Jae'Lyn Withers (6-8, 215, R-Fr.)
  • G Carlik Jones (6-2, 185, Gr.)
  • G David Johnson (6-5, 210, So.)

Florida State

  • F RaiQuan Gray (6-8, 260, R-Jr.)
  • C Balsa Koprivica (7-1, 240, So.)
  • G Anthony Polite (6-6, 215, R-Jr.)
  • G Scottie Barnes (6-9, 227, Fr.)
  • G MJ Walker (6-5, 213, Sr.)

Main Storylines

Here are the more significant storylines to follow ahead of Louisville's matchup with Florida State: 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

  • Louisville lost for the first time in five games on Saturday as the Cardinals fell 78-72 at Miami, UofL’s fourth ACC road game in its first five conference contests. After connecting on 21-of-49 three-pointers (.429) in its previous three games, the Cardinals made just 3-of-20 threes at Miami (.150).
  • UofL allowed the Hurricanes to shoot 49.2 percent from the field, the second-highest for a Cardinal opponent this season. After three game postponements due to COVID-19 issues, Florida State (7-2, 3-1 ACC) has beaten NC State 105-73 on Jan. 13 and North Carolina 82-75 on Jan. 16 since returning.
  • Louisville has started with at least a 9-2 record through 11 games for the 10th time in the last 11 years. The Cardinals have opened with a 4-1 ACC record for the fourth time in its seven years in the conference. Louisville and Virginia are the only ACC teams with three road wins this season.
  • Louisville has a 58-16 record in its conference home games over the last nine years (.784). UofL has the fourth-most conference home wins in its seven years in the ACC with a 43-13 ACC home record (9-1 last season).
  • Carlik Jones is the only player in the ACC to rank among the top 20 in scoring (18.0 ppg, 4th in the ACC), rebounding (6.2 rpg/17th) and assists (4.9 apg/3rd). Jones has 93 career double-figure scoring efforts, including the last 33 consecutive games (all 10 this year). His season-high 25 points at Miami with seven assist and three steals marked the 29th game of his collegiate career with 20 or more points (three in the last five games). He has collected nine steals in the last three games (three each game).
  • Jae’Lyn Withers has produced double-doubles in two of his last three games, including 18 points and 11 rebounds at Miami (8-of-9 field goals). He is the Cardinals’ rebounding leader and ranks second among ACC freshman (7.2 rpg, 10th in the ACC), averaging 10.2 points while shooting a team-best 61.6 percent from the field.
  • Louisville has held six opponents below 40 percent shooting from the field this year, but allowed Miami to shoot 49.2 percent in its last game. The Cardinals are second in the ACC in field goal percentage defense (.398) and 50th nationally in scoring defense (64.4 ppg).
  • Louisville committed a season-low seven turnovers at Miami. The Cardinals’ 12.4 turnovers per game is the fifth-fewest in the ACC.
  • Miami out-rebounded the Cardinals 38-30, the first time UofL had lost the rebounding battle in ACC play this season. The Cardinals had six straight ACC rebouding advantages dating back to last season before that. Louisville’s +5.6 rebounding margin is third-highest in the ACC.
  • Louisville has played four of its first five conference games on the road for the first time since 1994-95 in a season which the Cardinals finished tied for second in the Metro Conference. The Cardinals and Virginia are the only two teams with three ACC road wins this year.
  • Dre Davis has scored in double figures in the last two games, averaging 13.0 ppg in those two.
  • Carlik Jones needs two free throws for 400 in his career (41 at UofL, 357 at Radford).
  • Through its 11 games this season, Louisville has produced 12 runs of 8-0 or better, including a 16-0 and 8-0 run at Wake Forest two games ago. The 16-0 run at Wake Forest was its best of the season. UofL has forced its opponents into 27 scoring droughts of three minutes or more, including a stretch of 3:16 at Miami in its last game. UofL held Evansville scoreless for a season-best 8:36 stretch on Nov. 25.
  • Carlik Jones’ 37.2 minutes ranks 18th in the nation. He has played a full 40 minutes twice this season and six games of 38 or more minutes.
  • UofL has made 80.3 percent of its free throws in the final five minutes of its games (53-of-66). The Cardinals are fifth in the ACC in free throw percentage for the season (.748, 54th in the nation).
  • Louisville has shot 80 percent or better from the free throw line on three occasions this season, including 83.3 percent (15-for-18) in its last game at Miami.
  • Louisville’s offense produced its highest scoring total in seven games at Wake Forest (77 points). UofL made just 3-of-20 three-pointers at Miami, after a three-game stretch in which the Cardinals made 21-of-49 threes (.428). The Cardinals’ offense ranks 35th nationally by KenPom. Louisville’s 47.3 field goal percentage is second in the ACC (60th in the nation). Louisville has shot 50 percent or better in seven halves this season, including 53.1 percent in the second half at Miami. After scoring just 21 points in the first half at Miami, the Cardinals scored a season-best 51 points in the second half, but conversely gave up a season-high 45 points in the half.
  • Carlik Jones handed out his 500th career assist at Boston College (518 now; 49 at Louisville, 469 at Radford), part of his 15 points and game-high nine rebounds and six assists. Jones, who is second in the ACC in assists, has had at least six assists in five of his 10 games this season.
  • Louisville’s last 4-0 start in conference play with three wins coming on the road was 28 years ago in the 1992-93 season.
  • Quinn Slazinski has averaged 7.5 points and 4.5 rebounds off the bench in the last four games, reaching double figures for the fourth time this season with 10 points and four rebounds against Virginia Tech.
  • Dre Davis scored 15 points at Wake Forest, his most in six games, and followed that with 11 points at Miami. He was named the ACC Freshman of the Week for games Nov. 30-Dec. 6. In the Cardinals’ only game of the week, Davis scored 21 points in UofL’s 75-54 victory over Western Kentucky, adding two rebounds and two assists while connecting on 7-of-9 shots from the field. His 21 points are the most by a UofL freshman since V.J. King scored 24 at Virginia in 2017.
  • UofL’s last in-season jump from unranked one week to No. 16 or higher the next week in the AP poll -- as it did in the Jan. 11 poll -- was Jan. 23, 1984, when Louisville re-entered the AP Top 20 at No. 14.
  • Louisville is No. 11 in the RPI, No. 24 in the Sagarin Ratings, No. 30 by KenPom, No. 35 in the NCAA NET and No. 47 in ESPN’s College BPI through Jan. 16.

Florida State

  • The Seminoles won two games last week with victories over NC State (January 13, 105-73) and North Carolina (January 16, 82-75) in games which they averaged 93.5 points scored and shot .602 percent from the field (65 of 108).
  • Florida State has shot a combined .915 from the free throw line in its last three games and enters Monday’s game against Louisville ranked sixth in the ACC team free throw shooting percentage. The Seminoles are one of only six teams in the ACC shooting above 74 percent from the line for the season.
  • Seminole Head Coach Leonard Hamilton has said through the 2020-21 season that team is a good free throw shooting team. Hamilton’s players have begun to prove the three-time ACC Coach of the Year to be correct. The Seminoles are shooting better than 91 percent from the free throw line in the last three games and enter Monday’s game shooting a season-high .746 from the free throw line.
  • Florida State totaled 10 steals in its victory over North Carolina on Saturday and enter Monday’s game against Louisville ranked sixth in the ACC with a 7.7 steals per game average. The Seminoles totaled a season-high 12 steals in its season opening victory over North Florida and have earned at least five steals in each of their first nine games of the season.
  • Florida State accomplished a feat that few teams achieve against North Carolina in its victory over the Tar Heels by winning the rebounding battle. The Seminoles out-rebounded the Tar Heels by a 30-29 margin and held North Carolina to 13 offensive rebounds. The Tar Heels lead the ACC with a +12.1 rebounding margin while also leading the ACC with a 16.4 offensive rebounds per game margin.
  • Florida State enters Monday’s game against Louisville as the ACC leaders in blocked shots with 5.0 blocked shots per game average. The Seminoles totaled six blocked shots in its win over North Carolina, blocked seven shots in their win over NC State on Wednesday in Tallahassee and have earned 19 blocked shots in their last three ACC games at Clemson (six), against NC State (seven) and in their most recent win over North Carolina (six). Florida State totaled a season-high eight blocked shots in its win over Gardner-Webb on December 21.
  • RayQuan Evans is averaging 17.0 points (34 total points), is shooting .600 from the field (12 of 20), is shooting 1.000 from the 3-point line (two of two), 1.000 from the free throw line (eight of eight), has six assists (3.0 apg) and has totaled four steals (2.0 spg);
  • Redshirt junior Anthony Polite enters Monday’s game against Louisville shooting a career-high .500 from the field and a career-high .533 from the 3-point line. He has made at least one 3-point shot in each of Florida State’s nine games this season and has made 50 3-point shots in the last two seasons.
  • Scottie Barnes has scored in double figures in four of the first eight games of his career with each of his double figure scoring games coming against a Power 5 team (Florida, 17; Georgia Tech, 16; Clemson, 14; NC State, 11). He has one blocked shot in each of his last three games and has two blocked shots in the first three ACC games of his career.
  • Sophomore Balsa Koprivica enters Monday’s game against Louisville shooting .604 from the field in the first nine games of the season. With a career field goal shooting percentage of .659, he is looking to challenge Florida State’s all-time field goal shooting mark of .668 by Murray Brown (1977-80).

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