In Louisville’s third top 25 matchup in as many games, they just couldn’t keep their momentum going against a Florida State team that has now won five straight.
Chris Mack’s Louisville basketball squad started out in rhythm and focused, making shots and turning the Noles over early. But then they gave up a 10-0 run, and went back and forth until the last few minutes where they fought back in promising fashion.
They finished on a 14-2 run and were up 6 at the half.
They started the second half with 3 more team fouls and FSU was quickly in the bonus. It was a tight physical game that seemed as if neither team would ever pull away. With about 10 minutes left to go though, Ryan McMahon did what he does, and initiated a mini-boom of his own with 3 three’s that saw the Cardinals go up by 10.
Honestly it’s tough to write a long recap when the game could be summed up in one word: turnovers. It’s no secret that the Cards have struggled with pressure this season, but tonight with a season high in turnovers, it’s become more apparent than ever it’s an issue that needs to be fixed. Per Howie Lindsey’s Twitter post-game:
Why did Louisville lose?
— Howie Lindsey (@howielindsey) February 9, 2019
Turnovers:
UofL - 23, FSU - 8
Points off Turnovers:
UofL 5, FSU - 32
Free Throws:
UofL - 13-16, FSU - 27-36
When you have 23 turnovers, it’s going to be hard to beat anyone, let alone an athletic top 25 FSU team on a winning streak. That being said, if you watch the game as closely as I did, many of those errors were unforced. I won’t go as far as to say this team is undisciplined, but I will say they are young an inexperienced.
The tendency to panic, pick up the dribble to early, force shots, etc. allowed FSU to get out in transition – which played right into their game plan. And while the Seminoles played pretty good defense, many of the turnovers were caused simply by Louisville’s lazy passing, not being strong with the ball and being unaware of their position (caused a lot of traveling).
MVP: Christen Cunningham. Despite an unusually high turnover game, CC kept us in it. As always, you notice when he’s not on the floor. When he’s running the show, the Cards are more in sync, the offense is deliberate, and he can get buckets when they’re desperately needed. He shook a Seminole out of his shoes and quite frankly – besides all the other great stuff he does as this teams leader – that play alone locked up the MVP for him.
LVP: Darius Perry. Once again, Darius didn’t really contribute anything to the team. Besides being a warm body who can take the ball up the court when CC needs a breather. Even then, he had at least 2 turnovers in key moments of the game. If he wants to continue to see the court he flat out has to do better.
X-Factor: Malik Williams. I know I could say the refs, the turnovers, or the combination of both. But I like to focus on our guys. Malik was hampered early by some really suspect whistles, but he still fought hard out there. He also hit 2 clutch three pointers to keep the Cards close in the final minutes of regulation and OT.