No. 6 Florida State Rallies to Beat No. 11 Louisville in Pivotal ACC Clash

No. 6 Florida State is in first place in the tight ACC race.

The Seminoles men's basketball team completed its season sweep of the No. 11 Louisville Cardinals with a 82-67 victory in Monday's showdown at the Donald L. Tucker Center. The Seminoles are 24-4 overall and 14-3 in ACC play following their fourth straight win. They are just ahead of the 13-3 Duke Blue Devils after Trent Forrest led the way in a balanced effort with five double-digit scorers.

Florida State trailed by double digits in the second half but took over down the stretch against a Louisville team trending in the wrong direction with a 2-3 mark in its last five games.

The Cardinals are still an impressive 23-6 overall and 14-4 in conference play but missed a golden opportunity for a marquee road win.

Notable Player Stats

• FSU G Trent Forrest: 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals
• FSU G M.J. Walker: 12 points, two assists and two steals
• FSU F Raiquan Gray: 11 points and six rebounds
• LOU G Ryan McMahon: 14 points and three rebounds
• LOU F Jordan Nwora: 11 points and eight rebounds on 4-of-14 shooting

Jordan Nwora, Louisville Fall Apart Down Stretch Without Malik Williams

The outcome took something of a backseat for Louisville in the first half when starting big man Malik Williams rolled his ankle on a teammate's foot while grabbing a rebound and left for the remainder of the game.

Williams had been playing well of late with 31 points and 22 rebounds in his previous two games, and the fact that backup Steven Enoch picked up two quick fouls didn't make the situation any better.

It also put plenty of pressure on preseason ACC Player of the Year Jordan Nwora to continue his bounce-back efforts. The junior scored 35 combined points in wins over Syracuse and North Carolina in the last two games after dismal efforts in losses to Georgia Tech and Clemson earlier this month when he combined for seven points on 2-of-11 shooting from the field.

Entering play, Nwora was the only Cardinals player averaging double-figure scoring totals this season.

He appeared to be the effective version of himself with 11 points in the first half as he attacked the basket and controlled the glass while Louisville built a double-digit lead. It looked as if he would be a stabilizing presence without Williams against a team his side already lost to once.

That went missing in the second half.

Nwora did not score a single point after intermission when his team needed him to stop Florida State's momentum with key baskets. It was anything but a welcome development for the visitors, who will surely count on him as a go-to option in pressure-packed situations in the upcoming conference and NCAA tournaments.

He was not up for the challenge Monday.

Florida State Dials Up the Defense to Take Control

It would have been easy for Florida State to start looking ahead to the season's closing stretch and accept a split with Louisville when it trailed 51-40 with less than 15 minutes remaining.

Instead, the Seminoles dialed up the same defensive pressure they used in the first matchup when they held Louisville to 38.7 percent shooting from the field and forced 16 turnovers. Florida State has length all over the floor to cut off driving lanes, dart into passing windows and challenge jump shots.

As a result, the team is No. 16 in Ken Pomeroy's pace-adjusted defensive rankings and has now won 22 games in a row by feeding off the crowd's energy on that side of the ball.

That defense was nowhere to be found in the first half as the Cardinals poured in 40 points and created a number of open looks. However, Florida State extended the pressure in the second half, met the ball-handlers before they could generate their offensive sets and forced a combined nine turnovers from guards David Johnson and Lamarr Kimble.

Louisville also shot an ugly 5-of-21 (23.8 percent) from deep against that extended defense, and the long rebounds and turnovers led to transition opportunities for the Seminoles.

It is cliche to say defense wins championships, but Florida State's defense may do just that in the ACC.

What's Next?

Florida State is at Clemson on Saturday, while Louisville hosts Virginia Tech on Sunday.