UofL falls to Flor. St
Falling behind 14 – 0 on the road to the No. 10 team in the country is not the way the No. 12 Louisville Cardinals wanted to start the game. However, the Cards fought back, but were never able to take the lead in the 73 – 68 loss to the Seminoles.
The second game without Quentin Snider and foul trouble by Donovan Mitchell gave Tony Hicks a huge opportunity to earn playing time. He made the most of the opportunity scoring a season-high 16 points. Rick Pitino had this to say about Hicks going forward, “Tony Hicks has come from zero ability mentally and physically to play the point guard position, to about 60% of the way there, which is awesome in less than 4‐5 months. Now he’s got another 40% to go, and with his speed, by the end of the season he should be a decent point guard.”
Mangok Mathiang had his second straight strong game scoring 13 points and tying a career-high with 13 rebounds. Pitino explained the resurgence of Mathiang saying, “About 10 days ago was the first time I’ve seen him 100%.”
Louisville’s bench outscored FSU’s 40 – 11. Not only was Hicks play significant off of the bench, but so was the Play of David Levitch. He contributed nine points, grabbed three rebounds, and dished out three assists.
The Cards fought back to within one at 69 – 68 with 2:06 remaining on a Jaylen Johnson dunk, but could not take the lead. FSU would score the final four points and U of L missed its last four shots.
The Cards once again struggled from the field, shooting only 38.5 percent. They made only 2 of their 13 three-pointers.
The Cards will travel to Pittsburgh Tuesday evening at 7:00. The Cards beat the Panthers earlier this month 85 -80.
