They know they can win away from home. The Florida State Seminoles have done it four times this season.

They also know they can win a true road test against a ranked opponent. They did it in November against arch rival Florida; the Gators came into that game ranked No. 6 in the country.

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The problem for the FSU men's basketball team is that there's more to the story. Leonard Hamilton's team actually has played three true road games this season, and the 'Noles have lost two of them.

They squandered a second-half lead at Pitt, and they got walloped in a non-conference game at Indiana. And it was that 80-64 loss to the Hoosiers that might be most concerning heading into Saturday's top-20 battle against ACC foe Louisville.

Playing before a crowd of about 17,000 in Bloomington, Ind., the Seminoles struggled on defense, got dominated on the boards and shot poorly from the free-throw line.

Looking back this week, Hamilton said his team allowed itself to become distracted by the crowd and the environment in that game.

If the 18th-ranked 'Noles are going to avoid a similar fate on Saturday at Louisville (2 p.m., ESPN2) -- where a crowd of more than 20,000 could be on hand -- they'll need to show they've come a long way over the last month.

"I didn't think that we handled the atmosphere at Indiana very well," Hamilton said. "I thought that was something that our guys had never experienced before."

Indeed, of the 11 Seminoles who played in that game, it was a new experience for at least eight of them.

But as painful as that defeat was, FSU's players and coaches believe it could definitely help them in the long run. Senior point guard Trent Forrest, who led the Seminoles with 13 points in that game, said his younger teammates learned the importance of playing with great focus, communicating clearly and blocking out the crowd noise.

"That's probably one of the best places we've been at since I've been here, as far as the crowd goes," Forrest said. "I feel like that will definitely help us going into this game."

Of course, Louisville presents more of a challenge than just crowd noise.

The Cardinals, who are ranked No. 7 in the country, are 11-2 with their only losses coming against top-25 opponents Kentucky and Texas Tech. And neither of those defeats came in the KFC Yum! Center, where Saturday's game will be played.

Louisville actually opened the season with nine straight victories and briefly soared to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 in early December.

"They're one of the more rich traditional programs in the history of college basketball," Hamilton said. "Great atmosphere. They have been ranked No. 1 in the country, so they have tremendous respect from the nation. So it's a typical ACC game, where you know you're going on the road, you're going to play against a tremendously talented team, well-coached, and with knowledgeable basketball fans. So it doesn't get a whole lot better than that."

While the Cardinals are led offensively by junior forward Jordan Nwora, who averages 20.2 points per game, they are from a one-man gang. Four players average at least 9.4 points per game, and four players average at least 6.9 rebounds.

And as Hamilton pointed out, four of the Cardinals' top eight scorers are fifth-year seniors. He said their team possesses a "high level of maturity."

Making things even more difficult for the Seminoles could be their latest in a long line of early season ailments.

Junior guard M.J. Walker, the team's third-leading scorer, missed Tuesday's game against Georgia Tech with a hip injury and is "questionable" for the Louisville game. Freshman center Balsa Koprivica is "doubtful" after taking a hard fall in the Tech game.

Between injuries and illness, FSU has had a difficult time settling into a steady rotation through 14 games. But Hamilton was quick to praise his players for finding ways to persevere and win 12 of those contests.

"It also can give other players opportunities to step in and make contributions that hopefully will make you stronger toward the end of the season," he said. "The bottom line is you deal with the situation as it is. You try not to make any excuses. ... We want to have a full complement of all our players, but that's not likely. It hasn't been something that we've dealt with all year long.

"I have to say that I'm proud of the fact that even though we've had an unusual amount of comings and goings early in the season, I think our guys have responded. Each night, we've had someone else step up and give us some big plays. Hopefully this will be another one of those opportunities that someone will take advantage of."

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