Louisville Overcomes Injuries, Outlasts Florida State to Snap Six-Game Skid

 Returning home to the KFC Yum! Center for a showdown with Florida State, the Louisville men's basketball program was finally able to get back on the right side of the win/loss column, capturing a 101-92 victory on Saturday night.

The Cardinals (7-15, 2-9 ACC) not only snap a six-game losing streak on the season, they also break a seven-game skid against the Seminoles (12-8, 6-4 ACC). It's UofL's first victory against FSU since Mar. 7, 2018, and their first 100-point outing since a 104-54 win over Southern on Nov. 13, 2018.

The victory over Florida State came despite Louisville being heavily shorthanded at the point guard spot, with Skyy Clark and Hercy Miller both being sidelined due to hip injuries. Ty-Laur Johnson was the only available point guard, and the Cardinals only had eight scholarship players total at their disposal against the Seminoles.

Even with Louisville limited due to injuries, the winning effort was fueled by Herculean efforts from Johnson and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield. Johnson finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds and six rebounds, logging the first 25-point/10-assist game in program history. Huntley-Hatfield scored a career-high 29 points, along with seven rebounds.

Curtis Williams and Mike James also cracked double figures, with Williams reaching 19 points and James hitting 18. FSU had five players score in double figures, led by 23 points by Jalen Warley. 

As evidenced by the final score, both offenses were clicking, as Louisville shot 54.4 percent overall while Florida State connected on 51.6 percent of their attempts. This came despite nether team shooting the three ball well, with the Cardinals going 3-for-11 and the Seminoles at 3-for-19.

The inflated score was also assisted by a whopping 57 combined fouls called, resulting in the teams attempting 80 combined free throws. Louisville made the most of the whistle-happy officials, going 36-of-45 from the charity stripe, while Florida State was 23-of-35.

Even with both teams turning the ball over like crazy, they each capitalized on their extra possessions. The Cards collected 22 points on 18 forced turnovers, while the 'Noles scored 19 on 16 forced turnovers.

A staple of Louisville's losing streak was them finding themselves getting down big early, but this was not the case against Florida State. In fact, over the first 13 minutes of the game, it was a competitive back-and forth affair between the two where the lead never ballooned more than six points.

But in the final seven minutes, thanks mainly Johnson and Huntley-Hatfield - who combined for 31 points in the first half - the Cardinals began to pull away from the Seminoles. They ended the half on a 14-5 run, leading by as much as 13 points and taking a 47-35 lead into the locker room for their first halftime advantage since their Dec. 17 win over Pepperdine.

Despite this, Florida State certainly made Louisville work for it in the second half. They scored 14 of the period's first 20 points to get within four points, and even trailed by as little as five points with just under a minute to go.

But instead of folding in the face of adversity, the Cardinals showed resolve and withstood the storm. While their defense certainly featured some lapses, as they allowed the Seminoles to shoot 19-of-37 from the field and 17-of-25 at the free throw line, UofL countered by going 14-of-24 and 24-of-30 at the charity stripe themselves to keep FSU at arm's length for most of the half and secure the victory.

Next up, Louisville will head back on the road to take on Syracuse. Tip-off against the Orange is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 7:00 p.m. EST.