The #16 Louisville Cardinals (17-6) are to travel to Tallahassee, Florida on Saturday to face off with the #22 Florida State Seminoles (17-5). Louisville will move into the game with a big road win against Virginia Tech earlier this week. And for the Seminoles, they are on a four game win streak with their most recent win against Syracuse on the road.
How Louisville Can Win
Keep on the impressive road streak and play accordingly. Louisville went into Cassell Coliseum on Monday and knocked off Virginia Tech. The Hokies were undefeated at home until then. Louisville matches Florida State in every category playing wise, so if they can bring the road heat like they did in Blacksburg, they’ll be fine.
How Florida State Can Win
Shoot smarter and keep the ball moving at a slow pace. Florida State is already outmatched at both assists and rebounds against the Cardinals. Limiting the attempts for the Cardinals to grab boards and to grab misplaced shots is important. I think if Florida State takes their time on their possessions and shoots the ball well, they can win the game.
Players to Watch:
Louisville: G Christen Cunningham was a major point of motivation for the Cardinal win earlier this week. Keeping a high assist line this game will be important, so Cunningham needs to be on. Watch for Cunningham to lead the game in assists, as well as, contributing some points towards Louisville too.
Florida State: G Terance Mann has been grabbing tons of boards recently for the Seminoles. And in a game that Florida State team is wanting to limit shots, grabbing the shots that don’t land will be crucial. Mann will need to be ready to crash inside and grab some boards for a winning effort.
Score Prediction:
The Seminoles haven’t ran a good home effort for a while now. This is not helpful, especially with a hungry team coming in for another big win. I think Louisville will start slow with Florida State, with both notching each other time to time. Then the second turns, this is where Louisville will take it and grab another win. Louisville 74, Florida State 68
Photo Credits: https://www.cardchronicle.com/2018/1/10/16877228/louisville-erases-13-point-halftime-deficit-to-top-no-23-florida-state-in-tallahassee
