Louisville bombards FSU in second half, rolls to 90-76 win at Tucker Center
It didn’t matter that Florida State senior Jamir Watkins scored 17 points in the second half and finished with 25 for the game on Saturday against Louisville.
It didn’t matter that Malique Ewin had another solid offensive performance with 17 points. Or that Florida State wound up shooting over 50 percent from the floor and committed only nine turnovers.
Nope. None of that mattered because the Seminoles simply could not stop Louisville’s offense. Never came close actually. And the battle-tested Cardinals stormed into Tallahassee and spoiled FSU’s ACC home opener with a 90-76 win inside a half-empty Tucker Center on Saturday afternoon.
Florida State is now 9-4 overall and 0-2 in the ACC. The Cardinals, whose only losses this season have come to teams inside the top 20 (including three in the top 5), improved to 7-5 overall and 1-1 in the ACC.
The Seminoles only trailed 36-34 at halftime but allowed the visitors to score 54 in the second half. Louisville, which came into the game ranked 339th in the country in 3-point shooting percentage (28 percent) was 15-of-29 on Saturday. Reyne Smith hit six 3s and scored 27 points.
Noah Waterman added four 3-pointers, and point guard Chuckie Hepburn had three 3s and finished with 16 points and eight assists as the Cardinals routinely got any shot they wanted in the final 20 minutes.
Terrence Edwards Jr. also chipped in 19 points as the Louisville offense got little to no resistance from an Florida State defense that came into the game No. 1 in the ACC in 3-point percentage defense.
Top 10
- 1Hot
Kirk Herbstreit
Shot fired at First Take, Stephen A. Smith
- 2New
Ohio State vs. Oregon odds
Early Rose Bowl line released
- 3
Updated CFP Bracket
Quarterfinal matchups set
- 4Trending
Paul Finebaum
ESPN host rips CFP amid blowout
- 5
Klatt blasts Kiffin
Ole Miss HC called out for tweets
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
After a mostly evenly played first half, Louisville raced out to a 56-45 lead with 13:35 left.
The Seminoles, behind Watkins’ stellar second-half offense, was able to cut it to three at one point and then four a few moments later. Each time FSU made a run, though, Louisville had an answer. Usually in the form of a wide-open 3.
With the game in the balance, the Cardinals made 6-of-7 from beyond the arc at one point and then were able to make all the free throws down the stretch to leave Tallahassee with the victory.
Watkins and Ewin were the only two Florida State players in double-figures, and no Seminole had more than three rebounds. Florida State also forced just seven turnovers for the game.
The Seminoles now have almost two weeks off before hosting Syracuse on Jan. 4 at the Tucker Center.
SIGN UP: Join Warchant’s FSU Community for $1 today
***Talk about this story with passionate FSU Basketball fans on the Seminole Hoops***
