Cardinals Take 4-0 ACC Mark to Florida State on Saturday

Game Information
Site: Donald L. Tucker Center, Tallahassee, Fla. (11,500)
Television: ESPNU - Dave O'Brien, play-by-play; Cory Alexander, analyst.
Radio: WKRD (790 AM) Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Bob Valvano, analyst (XM channel 384, SiriusXM App 974)
Series History: Louisville leads 34-15 (17-4 in Louisville, 13-10 in Tallahassee, 4-1 neutral)
Last Meeting: Florida State 78, UofL 65 (Jan. 18, 2021 at KFC Yum! Center)
UofL National Ranking: unranked in USA Today & Associated Press polls
Next UofL Game: Jan. 12 vs. NC State, KFC Yum! Center, 9 p.m. ET (ACC Network)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Sitting atop the ACC standings with Miami at 4-0 for the second straight season, Louisville will be back on the road on Saturday at 8 p.m. as the Cardinals visit Tallahassee, Fla. to face the Florida State Seminoles.

In its first home game of 2022, Louisville beat Pittsburgh 75-72 on Wednesday in the KFC Yum! Center as El Ellis scored 18 points off the bench, including 14 in the second half, to lead the Cardinals. Sydney Curry added career bests of eight points and eight rebounds as Louisville shot 48 percent from the field for the second straight game, making eight of its final nine shots.

Ellis and Curry's scoring was part of 35 points from the Cardinals' bench, UofL's sixth game this season with over 30 bench points. Louisville has averaged 27.1 points per game from its bench this season.

Louisville has started 4-0 in ACC games for the second consecutive season. The Cardinals have won each of their four ACC games by five points or less. This marks the sixth time the Cardinals have started 4-0 in conference play in consecutive seasons, the last time occurring in 2002-03/2003-04. Louisville last won its first five conference games in the 2008-09 season then the Cardinals won their first eight Big East games.

Louisville, North Carolina and Virginia are the only teams with two ACC road victories this season. Louisville's 34 ACC road wins in its eighth year in the league is the fourth-most in the ACC in that period.

Florida State (7-5, 1-2 ACC), which has won two of its last three, dropped its last outing 76-54 at Wake Forest on Jan. 4 as the Seminoles shot just 24.2 percent from the field and were outrebounded 53-30. Matthew Cleveland, the reigning ACC Freshman of the Week, had 13 points and three steals off the bench to lead FSU. The Seminoles have beaten NC State and fallen to Syracuse in their other two ACC games.

Florida State leads the ACC in steals and ranks 12th in the nation averaging 10.4 per game. Guard Caleb Mills is FSU's scoring leader (12.1 ppg) and is second on the team in assists (2.8 apg).

Louisville has a 34-15 series advantage over Florida State, but the Seminoles have won the last four straight meetings. In the last matchup, Florida State had five players score in double figures while winning 78-65 over the Cardinals in the KFC Yum! Center last season (1-18-21) as Carlik Jones led Louisville with 17 points.

Game Notes

While playing at Western Carolina, Mason Faulkner totaled 21 points and seven assists at Florida State in a 79-74 WCU loss on Nov. 15, 2019.
Louisville and Florida State were fellow members of the Metro Conference from 1976-91.
Jarrod West, third in the nation in career steals among active players with 280, needs three points for 1,300 in his career at Marshall and UofL. West is seventh in the ACC in assists (3.8) and sixth in assists-turnovers ratio (2.30).
Mason Faulkner missed UofL's game at Georgia Tech due to COVID protocols, but returned to play with four assists and three points against Pitt. He has scored in double figures in three of his last four games, is second on the team in assists (34 total), and leads the ACC in assist-turnovers ratio in ACC only games with 11 assists and only one turnover.
Malik Williams has scored in double figures in seven of his last eight games and is averaging 13.7 points per game in that stretch. He has grabbed at least eight rebounds in 10 of his 13 games and is third in the ACC in rebounding (9.1 rpg) and 20th in the nation in defensive rebounding (6.9 per game).
Noah Locke scored 13 points vs. Pittsburgh, his 10th game this season in double figures. He is fourth in the ACC in three-pointers made per game (2.5) and three-point FG percentage (.354), and has made at least three threes in eight games.
Louisville is No. 34 nationally in adjusted defense in KenPom analytics (3rd in the ACC behind Duke, VT). The Cardinals rank 21st in the NCAA in defensive rebounding (29.2 rpg) and 41st in field goal percentage defense (.392).
Louisville has a 47-16 record during the month of January over the last six years (.746).
Louisville is unbeaten this season when outrebounding its opponent (8-0), shoots better from the field than the opposition (9-0), or shoots more free throws than its opponent (8-0).

Cardinals Take 4-0 ACC Mark to Florida State on Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Sydney Curry

El Ellis

Mason Faulkner

Carlik Jones

Noah Locke

Jarrod West

Malik Williams

University of Louisville Athletics