LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville men's basketball team never trailed in an 89-81 victory over Florida State on Saturday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center.
The Cards improve to 21-6 on the season and 14-2 in ACC play, while the Seminoles fall to 16-11 and 7-9 against conference opponents. With the win, Louisville sweeps the season series with Florida State and has now won three straight against the Seminoles dating back to last season.
Chucky Hepburn finished with 29 points and five steals in the win, setting a program record with 17 made free throws on the afternoon. J’Vonne Hadley picked up his seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds, going 7-11 (63.6%) from the field. Terrence Edwards Jr. added 16 points on 6-11 (54.5%) shooting, and Reyne Smith joined in double figures with 11 points.
The Cards started the game off hot, knocking down three’s on their first two possessions to take an early 6-0 lead. Louisville’s defense established itself early, holding Florida State without a field goal for the first five and a half minutes of the game by forcing turnovers and tough shots. The Cards staved off a push by the Seminoles to hold onto an eight-point lead at the under-12 media timeout.
Louisville stretched its lead out to 13 with Smith’s second triple of the half, and Hepburn’s stepback three gave the Cards their largest advantage thus far at 29-13. With just over five minutes remaining in the half, Hepburn muscled his way into the paint for a short jumper, converting the and-one at the charity stripe and increasing the Louisville lead to a game-high 20 points.
The Cards and Seminoles traded buckets in the final few minutes of the half, and Louisville held onto a 45-31 lead going into the half. The Cards’ 14-point advantage matched their largest halftime lead since January 28. Both teams pulled down 15 rebounds in the first 20 minutes, but Louisville held the shooting advantage, going 15-28 (53.6%) from the field, 5-12 (41.7%) from deep and 10-12 (83.3%) from the free throw line in the first half. The Cards held Florida State to just 1-9 (11.1%) from three and forced 12 Seminole turnovers at the halfway point. Hadley led the way for the Cards with 12 first-half points on 5-6 (83.3%) from the field, including a pair of three’s.
Florida State came out strong offensively to begin the second half. They knocked down four of their first six field goal attempts to chisel the Louisville lead down to 11, forcing the Cards to use a timeout just over three minutes into the half.
The Seminoles held Louisville without a field goal for almost four minutes in the middle of the half, allowing them to trim the Louisville lead to as little as six. The Cards remained resilient, playing physical basketball to bring their lead back to 12 with just under seven minutes remaining and forcing Florida State into a timeout.
Louisville fought hard down the stretch, and while the Seminoles kept the game within single digits in the final two minutes, the Cards knocked down their free throws, guiding them to an 89-81 victory.
Louisville shot 26-52 (50%) from the field, 7-21 (33.3%) from long range and an impressive 30-34 (88.2%) from the free throw line in the win. The Cards outrebounded Florida State 31-27 and forced 14 Seminole turnovers in the game.
Louisville will hit the road for the final time in the regular season, heading to Blacksburg for a matchup with Virginia Tech on Tuesday, February 25 at the Cassell Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ACC Network.
