Louisville vs. FSU: Score and Reaction from 2017 Regular Season

The No. 10 Florida State Seminoles kept pace in the ACC regular-season title race Saturday, as they defeated the No. 12 Louisville Cardinals 73-68 at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida.

With the victory, FSU improved to 18-2 overall and 6-1 in the conference, which ties it atop the standings with North Carolina and Notre Dame.

The Cardinals fell to 16-4 overall and just 4-3 in ACC play, but they have a favorable schedule on the horizon.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, the win marked Florida State's sixth of the season against an AP Top 25 opponent, which leaves it one shy of tying the school's single-season record.

Tim Linafelt of Seminoles.com put FSU's recent string of success into perspective:

Both teams struggled from the field as they each shot under 40 percent, but Florida State's 36 free-throw attempts to Louisville's 24 may have made the biggest difference.

FSU and Louisville each emptied their benches and displayed considerable depth; however, freshman forward Jonathan Isaac stood out for the Noles. He recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double.

A blowout appeared to be brewing in the early going, as the Seminoles jumped out to a 14-0 lead in less than three minutes.

That run riled up the Florida State faithful and included this nifty shot by guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes, courtesy of FSU Seminoles on Twitter:

As Linafelt pointed out, Florida State's red-hot start created a raucous atmosphere:

Following that great start, though, Florida State went cold from the field and allowed Louisville to pull to within two points with just over eight minutes remaining in the half.

The Cardinals benefited from FSU's rough patch, but they didn't do themselves any favors on the offensive end.

Per Eric Crawford of WDRB, Louisville missed a number of high-percentage shots that could have changed the complexion of the game:

The Cards' poor shooting allowed Florida State to work through its slump and get back to building toward the big lead it had previously held.

FSU has enjoyed a ton of success with transition offense this season, and getting out in space behooved it Saturday as well. 

This dunk by guard Terance Mann with Louisville trailing by just three points was a momentum-shifter that helped quell the Cardinals' rally:

Florida State entered the locker room with a six-point advantage, which was something of a win for Louisville considering how poorly it had started.

One of the biggest keys to the Cardinals tightening things up was the play of their bench, which is usually among Florida State's top assets, per Linafelt:

FSU pushed its lead to nine at 54-45, but an 8-0 run by the Cardinals got them to within one point near the midway mark of the second half.

According to Corey Clark of the Tallahassee Democrat, the Seminoles gave up far too many easy looks, which allowed Louisville to chip away at the lead:

Florida State finally stopped the bleeding with a pair of free throws, and a huge mistake by the Cardinals shifted the momentum back in the Seminoles' favor.

Mangok Mathiang fouled Isaac on a three-point attempt with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation, and Isaac nailed all three of his free throws to extend FSU's lead to 59-54.

Although Louisville shrunk the lead to one shortly thereafter, Florida State's resiliency was on full display, as Rathan-Mayes nailed a trifecta to make it a six-point advantage with 6:40 left.

Cardinals forward Jaylen Johnson then cut that lead to just one point with two minutes remaining with a big dunk.

Four straight missed free throws by Mann gave the Cardinals another chance to take their first lead of the game, but Isaac came through by hitting two clutch foul shots at the 1:22 mark to make it 71-68.

After a Louisville miss, Dwayne Bacon then put the game away with two more free throws to push FSU into a tie for first in the ACC.

Following a brutal stretch, the Seminoles will play five straight against unranked opponents, which could allow them to take sole possession of first in the conference.

The Cardinals also have a fairly easy stretch on the horizon with six of their next seven games coming against unranked teams.

Florida State further proved Saturday it belongs in the conversation of college basketball's elite teams, but Louisville's ability to hang tight after a disastrous start suggests it isn't too far out of the running either.

Postgame Reaction

Florida State allowed Louisville to get close on several occasions Saturday, but it never relinquished the lead, and head coach Leonard Hamilton explained why he believed his team was able to remain in control, per Linafelt:

"We believe in each other. And I think that's allowed them to maintain some focus. We work on last-minute situations, not a whole lot, but enough for the guys to understand what we expect of them. Each game takes on a different personality. Today we had to be really, really be focused for the entire 40 minutes and not have any of those spells where you have three or four possessions where you make poor decisions, and I thought we eliminated most of those."

The Seminoles entered 2016-17 with fairly low expectations in the stacked ACC, but they now sit at 18-2, and Bacon touched on their remarkable start:

"Nobody thought that we would be in this situation [after] this stretch. Nobody thought we would be top-10 in the country. Nobody thought we would go 5-1 in the six games against six ranked teams. Everybody doubted us. Nobody thought we would have the record we have today."

One person who isn't doubting FSU is Louisville head coach Rick Pitino, as he was highly complimentary of the Noles following Saturday's loss, according to Ariya Massoudi of Seminoles.com:

Pitino also made it clear that he was happy with the way his team fought despite the defeat, per Jody Demling of Scout.com:

Louisville couldn't quite dig out of the early hole it put itself in, but its ability to keep the game close should bode well for its chances in similar situations moving forward.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.