FSU 92 Louisville 101 The Good, The Bad, and The UGLY
The Good
Jalen Warley with a career high 23 points on 9 of 10 shooting and added 6 rebounds. All that while fighting foul trouble before eventually exiting late in the game. It was Warley's offense that kept FSU in the game. He is the 6th player in FSU history to start off a game 7 of 7 from the floor.
Just to mention a couple of his highlights. Darin Green with the steal getting the ball up the floor to Warley who makes the alley oop pass to Cameron Corhen for the slam dunk, 82-72 UL. Warley using his height to grab the offensive rebound reaching over the UL player and avoiding the foul. Warley with the blazing coast to coast drive to the rim for the lay up. The bucket tied the game at 20. It was part of a 6-0 run. Primo Spears jumper on the next possession gave FSU its last lead of the game.
The Bad
We will get the refs out of the way right away. They call the game one way in the first half that caused play to get quite chippy. The lack of whistles just allowed the game to get overly physical. For example, Baba Miller was grabbed, pulled, and thrown off balance as he flashed into the lane and got no whistle. And then they call it tight in the second half that sent player after player to the FT line. Oh, and that continuation call for the three point play was absurd. The UL player took at least two steps to the basket after Corhen fouled him. Combined, the refs sent the players to the line 80 fricking times leading to four players fouling out. Yeah, FT shooting contests always make for entertaining basketball over the time frame of more than two hours and forty five minutes. Fresh paint on the wall dries faster than that.
FSU just plain got outhustled. And that after a week off. There was no reason to be that sluggish. As Leonard Hamilton said after the game, this was one of FSU's worst efforts of the season. This team tonight was a team "not mentally prepared" as Hamilton said to play the game. And there is no reason for that when you are trying to make a case for playing in the NCAA.
Case in point of lack of effort was Spears trying to scoop up the ball instead of diving for the ball. FSU lost possession and UL scored when FSU desperately needed points.
Miller was darn lucky IMO that he did not get a flagrant one or worse after having had just about enough of that UL player in his grill catching him in the face and pushing him away.
FSU (12-9, 6-4) slides down the standings into a tie for 5th place.
The UGLY!!!!
FSU, you just lost to a team that was 6-15 overall and 1-9 in the ACC. You just lost to a team you had previously beat seven straight times, a team that had lost its last 6 games. It was also UL's first ACC win at home this season. You just lost to a team that has played horrible all season long. In fact when the score was 40-30, that was the first double digit lead Louisville had at home against a major program this season. Just two weeks ago the Cardinals were down by 30 to UVa. In the first half!!! Done. You're done. You can forget about the NCAA. Losing to UNC is one thing. Losing to a team the likes of UL? That is a resume killer. Oh, you are not mathematically eliminated yet. But to have a chance of making the tournament, you need to be 15-5 in the ACC. At 6-4 in the ACC and with ten games to play, that means you have to go 9-1. Not seeing it. Your next game? Its at Boston College where you have not won since January, 2016. That is followed by UVa, a team that always gives you trouble. In other words, or word in this case .... done. You do not have a prayer. Not with that kind of play we saw tonight.
Ty-Laur Johnson. Remember that name. The freshman, yes, a freshman, ripped the FSU defense to shreds on his way to a career high 27 points and dished out 11 assists to boot. He ripped through the Seminole defense with ease as once again FSU defenders failed to contain the dribble. It has been a recurring story all season. Teams just ditch their offense when playing FSU and drive the ball straight to the rim because they know FSU cannot keep the ball carrier in front of them.
Memo to Hamilton: Please don't mention again how good this team is shooting the ball. That is certainly not the case from outside where FSU was once again in the teens from the arc. The 'Noles shot a horrid 3 of 19. That's 16% for those keeping track at home. And just to be fair and balanced, UL was hardly much better shooting 3 of 11. Of course why worry about that when you could drive the ball right to the rim and either make the basket or go the FT line. Or both!!!
Seemingly every time FSU would make a push at the Cardinals, they would give it right back. For example FSU trailed 84-74. Back to back turnovers negated any momentum FSU had at that point. It was just two of the 18 total turnovers that by my count gave UL 24 points. Or FSU closed it to 53-49 only to see UL go on a 9-0 run. Or the fouling of Tom House while taking a three. He made just 1 of 3 FTS that kept the lead to a three possession game. Or UL turning the ball over on the inbound play only for FSU to come up empty. Followed directly by a UL cross court pass that sailed OB and FSU still came up empty on that possession. The Seminoles rarely capitalized on the chances it did get. Play a halfway decent game and the 'Noles very possibly win the game.
Up Next:
As previously mentioned, FSU heads to BC for a Tuesday tip off at 7 PM. The game will be broadcast on the ACCN. The Eagles are 13-8 overall and 4-6 in the ACC. They are 8-3 at home and on a two game winning streak. F Quentin Post leads Boston College with 16.2 ppg.
The Good
Jalen Warley with a career high 23 points on 9 of 10 shooting and added 6 rebounds. All that while fighting foul trouble before eventually exiting late in the game. It was Warley's offense that kept FSU in the game. He is the 6th player in FSU history to start off a game 7 of 7 from the floor.
Just to mention a couple of his highlights. Darin Green with the steal getting the ball up the floor to Warley who makes the alley oop pass to Cameron Corhen for the slam dunk, 82-72 UL. Warley using his height to grab the offensive rebound reaching over the UL player and avoiding the foul. Warley with the blazing coast to coast drive to the rim for the lay up. The bucket tied the game at 20. It was part of a 6-0 run. Primo Spears jumper on the next possession gave FSU its last lead of the game.
The Bad
We will get the refs out of the way right away. They call the game one way in the first half that caused play to get quite chippy. The lack of whistles just allowed the game to get overly physical. For example, Baba Miller was grabbed, pulled, and thrown off balance as he flashed into the lane and got no whistle. And then they call it tight in the second half that sent player after player to the FT line. Oh, and that continuation call for the three point play was absurd. The UL player took at least two steps to the basket after Corhen fouled him. Combined, the refs sent the players to the line 80 fricking times leading to four players fouling out. Yeah, FT shooting contests always make for entertaining basketball over the time frame of more than two hours and forty five minutes. Fresh paint on the wall dries faster than that.
FSU just plain got outhustled. And that after a week off. There was no reason to be that sluggish. As Leonard Hamilton said after the game, this was one of FSU's worst efforts of the season. This team tonight was a team "not mentally prepared" as Hamilton said to play the game. And there is no reason for that when you are trying to make a case for playing in the NCAA.
Case in point of lack of effort was Spears trying to scoop up the ball instead of diving for the ball. FSU lost possession and UL scored when FSU desperately needed points.
Miller was darn lucky IMO that he did not get a flagrant one or worse after having had just about enough of that UL player in his grill catching him in the face and pushing him away.
FSU (12-9, 6-4) slides down the standings into a tie for 5th place.
The UGLY!!!!
FSU, you just lost to a team that was 6-15 overall and 1-9 in the ACC. You just lost to a team you had previously beat seven straight times, a team that had lost its last 6 games. It was also UL's first ACC win at home this season. You just lost to a team that has played horrible all season long. In fact when the score was 40-30, that was the first double digit lead Louisville had at home against a major program this season. Just two weeks ago the Cardinals were down by 30 to UVa. In the first half!!! Done. You're done. You can forget about the NCAA. Losing to UNC is one thing. Losing to a team the likes of UL? That is a resume killer. Oh, you are not mathematically eliminated yet. But to have a chance of making the tournament, you need to be 15-5 in the ACC. At 6-4 in the ACC and with ten games to play, that means you have to go 9-1. Not seeing it. Your next game? Its at Boston College where you have not won since January, 2016. That is followed by UVa, a team that always gives you trouble. In other words, or word in this case .... done. You do not have a prayer. Not with that kind of play we saw tonight.
Ty-Laur Johnson. Remember that name. The freshman, yes, a freshman, ripped the FSU defense to shreds on his way to a career high 27 points and dished out 11 assists to boot. He ripped through the Seminole defense with ease as once again FSU defenders failed to contain the dribble. It has been a recurring story all season. Teams just ditch their offense when playing FSU and drive the ball straight to the rim because they know FSU cannot keep the ball carrier in front of them.
Memo to Hamilton: Please don't mention again how good this team is shooting the ball. That is certainly not the case from outside where FSU was once again in the teens from the arc. The 'Noles shot a horrid 3 of 19. That's 16% for those keeping track at home. And just to be fair and balanced, UL was hardly much better shooting 3 of 11. Of course why worry about that when you could drive the ball right to the rim and either make the basket or go the FT line. Or both!!!
Seemingly every time FSU would make a push at the Cardinals, they would give it right back. For example FSU trailed 84-74. Back to back turnovers negated any momentum FSU had at that point. It was just two of the 18 total turnovers that by my count gave UL 24 points. Or FSU closed it to 53-49 only to see UL go on a 9-0 run. Or the fouling of Tom House while taking a three. He made just 1 of 3 FTS that kept the lead to a three possession game. Or UL turning the ball over on the inbound play only for FSU to come up empty. Followed directly by a UL cross court pass that sailed OB and FSU still came up empty on that possession. The Seminoles rarely capitalized on the chances it did get. Play a halfway decent game and the 'Noles very possibly win the game.
Up Next:
As previously mentioned, FSU heads to BC for a Tuesday tip off at 7 PM. The game will be broadcast on the ACCN. The Eagles are 13-8 overall and 4-6 in the ACC. They are 8-3 at home and on a two game winning streak. F Quentin Post leads Boston College with 16.2 ppg.
