LOUISVILLE, Ky. — M.J. Walker scored 23 points for Florida State as the 18th-ranked Seminoles beat No. 7 Louisville 78-65 on Saturday.
The Seminoles (13-2, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who were 6 1/2-point underdogs, endured a big game from Louisville’s Jordan Nwora to pull the upset. The preseason All-American scored 32 points, matching a career high.
But the Cardinals (11-3, 2-1) could not overcome a 55.2% shooting performance by the Seminoles in losing their second straight. Florida State made a season-best 11 of 23 3-pointers.
Nwora had a hot hand early for Louisville, scoring 21 points in the first half. The junior shot 6 of 9 from the floor, but the Cardinals combined to make just 10 of 37. They went the last 5:04 without a field goal as the Seminoles took 39-32 lead into the break.
Walker helped offset Nwora’s early barrage. The junior came off the bench to score 15 points in the first half on 6-of-8 shooting, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
Walker finished one point short of his career high. Trent Forrest added 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting, and Devin Vassell scored 14.
Florida State led 52-42 with 13:43 remaining. Louisville cut that to 54-51 on Nwora’s putback, but that was as close as the Cardinals would get.
The Seminoles’ perimeter shooting not only helped them beat a top-10 team on the road, it also gave them wins at Louisville in consecutive seasons for the first time in a series that dates back to 1968.
Florida State travels to Wake Forest on Wednesday.
