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No. 23 FSU hoops takes on talented Louisville tonight

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Braian Angola and the FSU men's basketball team returns home tonight to take on Louisville.
Braian Angola and the FSU men's basketball team returns home tonight to take on Louisville. (Gene Williams / Warchant.com)

The gauntlet isn’t over.

The Florida State men's basketball team began conference play with a road trip to No. 4 Duke, a home game vs. No. 12 North Carolina and then another road trip to No. 15 Miami.

The Seminoles (12-3, 1-2 in the ACC) came out of that stretch with one win and two narrow losses. But just when you might be hoping for a little breather, well, no such thing really exists in the ACC.

Leonard Hamilton’s team gets Louisville (12-4, 1-1) tonight in its second home conference game of the season.

The Cardinals, who had to deal with head coach Rick Pitino being fired right as preseason practice was beginning, started out the season ranked No. 10 in the country. They haven’t played up to those lofty expectations, however, as they’ve had to adjust to life without Pitino.

But, it’s still Louisville.

“They’re still doing their thing,” FSU sophomore guard C.J. Walker said. “They still play hard. They still play well in transition, still play aggressive on defense. Louisville is still a top team to play.”

All four of the Cardinals’ losses -- to Purdue, Seton Hall, Kentucky and Clemson -- have come against Top 25 teams.

It’s a different head coach. And Hamilton said there’s probably been an adjustment period for the Louisville players to get used to 32-year-old interim coach David Padgett. But he then quickly pointed out: They’re Louisville players. They’re good. And quite capable of coming into the Civic Center and ending the Seminoles’ 28-game home win streak.

“It’s a typical ACC game, man,” Hamilton said. “Everybody you play is just loaded with talent. … It’s a typical top ACC program and team. They’re extremely dangerous, and we have a tremendous amount of respect for them.”

If the Seminoles are to even their conference record at 2-2, they’ll have to shoot the ball better than they did in their loss at Miami on Sunday night. They were just 5 of 24 from 3-point range and missed many point-blank shots at the rim.

Even in defeat, they were helped by the return of 7-foot-4 center Christ Koumadje, who had five points, eight rebounds (six offensive), one block and four fouls in 13 minutes of action. He had missed the previous 12 games with a foot injury.

“He’s physically 100 percent, but you can’t just be out seven weeks and then be totally on top of your game,” Hamilton said. “We’re going to be patient with him. We’re going to give him a chance to (get) himself back.

“We’re not going to hold him back, but we’re not going to pressure him either.”

Getting minutes from Koumadje is imperative for a team that has struggled at times on the boards. On Sunday, despite the loss, the Seminoles had one of their best rebounding efforts of the season -- collecting 22 offensive rebounds.

“It means a lot (getting him back),” Walker said of Koumadje. "He’s a rim protector. Can blocks shots, rebound, can catch lobs, finish at the rim. Things like that. It’s good for him to get back in. ...

"I was just happy for him to be back on the floor.”

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