Florida State shows glimpses of being an elite team in win over Louisville

The first three minutes were as impressive as three-minute stretches come. They were also outliers.

Florida State could do no wrong early on in its 73-68 win over No. 12 Louisville. The 10th-ranked Seminoles outshot, outran and overpowered the Cardinals. They harassed and suffocated them anywhere within 35 feet of the basket. They bludgeoned them inside. They hit threes and mid-range jumpers and layups.

And then they stopped.

Florida State jumped out to a 14-0 lead; the Tomahawk Chop was rolling around the Tucker Civic Center. Rick Pitino had called a timeout two minutes in, but not much changed, and the Seminoles charged into the under-16 timeout up 16-4.

Then things did change — or, more specifically, Florida State’s personnel changed, and the early dominance proved to be fleeting. Leonard Hamilton subbed out four of his starters at the under-16, and the fifth 11 seconds later. The second-unit let the Cardinals back into the game, and quelled Florida State’s ascendancy.

Over the final 16 minutes of the half, Louisville, even without its best player, outplayed the favored Seminoles. David Levitch and Tony Hicks came off the bench and excelled in the absence of the injured Quentin Snider. The Cardinal frontcourt had their way inside. Louisville got back to within seven at the under-12 timeout, to within five less than two minutes later, and to within three shortly after the under-eight.

Hamilton’s substitution patterns have been effective so far this season, and Florida State’s depth is one of the reasons the Seminoles are so intriguing. But they seemed to interrupt Florida State’s early rhythm Saturday. Its defensive pressure abated. Its tempo slowed. Its energy waned. Its offense stalled. The previously roaring crowd was strangely quiet.

With such a talented starting group that includes a couple of the ACC’s top players in Jonathan Isaac and Dwayne Bacon, it’s fair to question whether Hamilton needs to shorten his rotation, even if ever so slightly, for Florida State to become an elite team. Isaac was awesome in the first half Saturday, just as he had been three days earlier against Notre Dame. But he was awesome in just 12 minutes of action, while players like Phil Cofer and Trent Forrest each got eight minutes. All five Florida State starters had first-half plus/minus figures in the positive double digits. Six reserves, meanwhile, had negative numbers.

The final plus/minus totals were, of course, heavily influenced by those opening three minutes, but they nonetheless tell part of the tale of Louisville’s comeback:

Bacon played 15 of 20 first-half minutes, but when he wasn’t in with the first unit, the quality of Florida State’s offense declined. The Seminoles shot 6-of-28 after the early flurry, and too often settled for contested jumpers.

Florida State went into halftime up six, and came out of it in a mood similar to the one it had carried into the game. It got the ball down to Michael Ojo for an and-one, and pushed the lead to nine on three different occasions early in the half. But a quick 8-0 Louisville spurt cut the lead to one, 54-53, with 11 minutes remaining. It was the closest the Cardinals had been since 0-0, and was representative of the shorthanded Cardinals’ superiority since the opening three minutes.

Five Florida State points from the free throw line re-opened up a six-point lead for the home team, and re-energized its fans, but Louisville was here to stay. An offensive rebound and a Levitch three with eight minutes remaining brought Louisville to within one in the midst of a wild sequence of turnovers and near turnovers.

The Cardinals barely failed to get over the hump, though. Jaylen Johnson’s dunk with just over two minutes remaining again brought Louisville within one, and the ensuing defensive stop gave the visitors a chance to take the lead, but Donovan Mitchell’s jumper rimmed off. Florida State sealed the win with defensive rebounds and free throws.

What is so tempting about buying into the Seminoles is the diversity of ways in which they can beat fellow top teams. Bacon beat Virginia with six three-pointers back in December, the first game of a six-game gauntlet. In game three of six, their front line bullied Duke in the paint in a 16-point victory. In game five of six, Isaac and some stifling two-point defense held off Notre Dame.

For three exceptional minutes, and then at brief moments later on Saturday afternoon, Florida State showed all of those attributes, and showed it can be an elite team — definitely a top 10 squad, and perhaps top five. It also showed the inconsistency that will fuel skeptics.

But five wins in six against six Top 25 teams is nothing to ignore. And Florida State, with all its talent, won’t be a team to ignore anytime soon either.