Hoops Game Day: FSU Basketball takes on Louisville

After not playing for 15 days, the Florida State Seminoles are making up for lost time. They are about to play their third game in six days, and their second in three days, when they take on the Louisville Cardinals tonight at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Florida State is coming off an impressive 82-75 victory over North Carolina on Saturday, while playing without injured point guard Scottie Barnes (ankle). M.J. Walker had 21 points, RaiQuan Gray added 19 and the Seminoles were able to hang with the Tar Heels on the glass all game.

FSU was a remarkable 26-of-27 from the free-throw line, and the 'Noles were able to get contributions up and down the roster to secure the victory and improve to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in the ACC.

Now they take on Louisville, which is 9-2 on the year but is coming off its first ACC loss of the season -- a 78-72 defeat at Miami on Saturday night. In that loss, the Cardinals were just 3 of 20 from 3-point range and were out-rebounded 38-30.

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Monday, Jan. 18, 7 p.m., KFC YUM! Center, Louisville

The Cardinals have arguably the best newcomer in the conference in Radford transfer point guard Carlik Jones, who is coming off a 25-point effort against the Hurricanes and is averaging 18 points per game this season. He teams up with sophomore David Johnson to give Louisville one of the best backcourt tandems in the country.

The Cardinals had won five straight games before the loss at Miami. And after losing two physical games with the Seminoles last season, they will definitely have plenty of motivation coming into this one.

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Last meeting: FSU 82, Louisville 67, Feb. 24, 2020

All-time series: Louisville leads 34-14

TV: ESPN | Radio: Seminole Radio Network

Head Coaches: Leonard Hamilton (Florida State), Chris Mack (Louisville)

What to Watch For: Both teams played on Saturday, and Louisville's loss at Miami wasn't over until after 10 p.m. ET on Saturday night. Now less than 48 hours later, the Cardinals have to take the court again.

Florida State was able to get enough contributions from other players that the loss of Barnes wasn't a critical blow, but how long can the Seminoles play at this level without the potential lottery pick? There's no word yet on Barnes' status for the game tonight, but he's questionable at best.

Louisville, like always, is a good defensive team with highly talented athletes all over the floor. Johnson is one of the best rebounding guards in the conference and Jones has become the go-to scoring threat for the Cardinals.

For the Seminoles, a win over Louisville would be a huge boost to their hopes of winning back-to-back regular-season ACC titles. They'll definitely look to continue to their hot shooting against the Cardinals. After scoring 105 against N.C. State on Wednesday night, they put up another 82 against the Tar Heels on Saturday, despite it not being a high-possession game.

The Seminoles are not only 37 of their last 38 from the free-throw line, but they've also hit 20 of their last 34 3-point attempts. Leonard Hamilton has said all year that he thought he had a good shooting team, and over the past week the Seminoles lived up to that promise.

The 'Noles will have to stay hot tonight, and continue to improve defensively and on the boards, to be able to come away with a victory at Louisville.

Opening Line: Louisville minus-2

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