Defense and Devonte lead Hoosiers over #17 Florida State
By Jay Siskin (@jaysiskin)
ISL Contributor
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Entering Wednesday night’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge, an undefeated IU basketball team had yet to be truly tested, amounting to a 7-0 start without playing a Power 5 program. The Hoosiers’ bout with No. 17 Florida State was the first exam and Archie Miller’s young team passed it.
IU overcame an early deficit to the ranked Seminoles, fighting its way to a 80-64 win at Assembly Hall thanks in large part to a great team defensive effort and career night from senior shooting guard Devonte Green.
Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton had high praise for the Hoosiers after the Noles’ loss, calling FSU’s matchup with IU his team’s best, true test up until this point in the season.“There’s no doubt that this is the best team we’ve played up until this point,” Hamilton said to the reporters. “I think (the Hoosiers) are definitely a top-25 team ranked team. I think they’re going to be a NCAA tournament team and I think the fans can be very proud and happy that they are showing signs of coming back to the Hoosier style of ball they’ve been accustomed to over the years.” That style of play Hamilton mentions was IU’s ability to wreak havoc on the defensive end and turning FSU turnovers into points. IU pressured the Seminoles into 14 turnovers while forcing Hamilton’s young basketball team to commit 25 fouls in 40 minutes. Those fouls resulted in 38 attempts from the free throw line, giving IU 23 points from that area. In comparison, the Seminoles visited the charity stripe just 15 times, amounting to seven points.“If there’s one area of the floor that this team is built to do very well, it’s getting fouled and getting to the line,” Miller said. “I thought we did a good job of being aggressive and attacking their pressure.”
While Indiana’s great effort on defense was on full display, the play from Green was on even larger site to see. Even though Miller decided to have the senior guard come off the bench with the absence of point guard Rob Phinisee, the senior delivered with 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-7 from the 3-point-line. Trayce Jackson-Davis added 15 points and eight rebounds, while forward Justin Smith chipped in 14 points. “It’s something you just feel,” Green said when asked about how it felt being in the zone against a good defensive team like FSU. “You can’t explain it. It’s just a feel thing. The shots were dropping tonight, so I guess I had the hot hand.”Hot hand was right, and Green’s teammates encouraged their senior leader to keep finding his shot. “I tell him to keep shooting. But take good shots,” Smith said after the win.
The Seminoles jumped out to an early 11-4 lead, giving IU fans some worry that this type of game could turn ugly for a young team looking to establish some identity and momentum heading into Big Ten play on Saturday. The Hoosiers responded with a 16-1, thanks in large part the Green’s 14 points off the bench in the opening 20 minutes. IU took that momentum into the locker room with a 41-30 advantage. FSU wasn’t going to lay down, though. The Hoosiers struggled with increased defensive pressure, producing 12 turnovers. IU managed just six turnovers in the first half. The Seminoles rode their energy on defense and knocked three quick triples, cutting the IU lead to just 3 at one point in the second half. But with the help of Green’s 16 points in the second half, Florida State simply couldn’t keep up. “Obviously, Devonte Green was special tonight,” Miller said. “There wasn’t a whole lot of coaching that went into that.”
The Hoosiers will now begin conference play on Saturday at Wisconsin. If they can find a way to win that game, look for the Hoosiers to crack the rankings for the first time this season next week.
