Baseline Breakdown: FSU’s 28-game home winning streak snapped vs. Louisville

Despite being up 17 points with less than two minutes remaining in the opening half, Florida State couldn’t hold on in an eventual 73-69 home loss to Louisville. It was the Seminoles’ first loss at home in 28 games, which was the third longest active streak in the NCAA.

Above the rim:

• Terance Mann continued his sensational 2017-2018 season, tying his career high of 25 points. He did so efficiently as well, making nine of his 14 shot attempts and both attempts from beyond-the-arc. It’s the fifth time the junior scored 20+ points this season after only reaching that mark once in his previous two years. Mann continues to be the shinning star on Florida State and shows that his success is not just a fluke.
• The only other bright spot on FSU’s offense was Braian Angola. He added 18 points on 6-13 shooting. He made four of seven attempts from three which included two big long-range shots with less than a minute and a half to keep Florida State in the game. It was his eight game with 15+ points and his fourth straight. The Columbia native consistently puts up solid offensive numbers game in and game out, and should start receiving more recognition for his role in FSU’s success this season.
• Now for the not so good. Phil Cofer shot 1-10 and finished with two points. His production continues to tail off after a strong start to the season. He has made just eight of his last 34 shots. Despite the woeful shooting, he did add 10 rebounds in the loss. Cofer needs to slowly work on rotating the ball more, taking less contested shots, and continuing his production on the offensive glass.
• C.J. Walker finished scoreless for the second consecutive game, something the sophomore has never done at Florida State despite finishing last season with 21 consecutive single-digit scoring efforts. It could be just a slight cold stretch for the guard, who scored 18 points in a loss at Duke. Walker needs to be more aggressive going to the rim or just get better at drawing contact as he did not reach the free throw line on Wednesday for the sixth time in his past seven games.
• The Seminoles played better on the offensive glass than anyone had against Louisville so far this season. The ’Noles had 19 offensive rebounds and its 45% rebounding percentage off its missed shots was the highest Louisville has allowed all season. However, on the other end of the court, FSU struggled just as much, allowing the Cardinals to grab 13 offensive rebounds.

Court Level:

• The loss sets Florida State back in the rankings and standings as it looks toward Selection Sunday. The defeat drops FSU to 1-3 in conference play. With upcoming games vs. Syracuse, at BC, and at GT, the Seminoles could get back on track and a little winning streak would put FSU back over .500, however as many have witnessed in the past, no game in the ACC is easy. In the RPI, the main metric used for the selection committee, the Seminoles fell from No. 29 to No. 48.
• After such a strong start to the game, everything fell apart for FSU in the second half. At the break, the Seminoles had a strong 13 point lead with things looking up. However, they followed a 45-point first half performance with just 24 in the second half on just 30.8% shooting. They also went 0-8 from three-point range until Angola’s two big long range shots late. In that second half, FSU committed nine turnovers, had four shots blocked, and allowed 1.281 points per possession. Despite leading for nearly 34 minutes of the game, everything that could have went wrong, did.

Post Game:

Looking Ahead:

Florida State will host Syracuse on Saturday at 2 PM from Tallahassee, Fla.