Florida State jumped out to an early 11-4 lead on Tuesday night against Indiana.
But the Hoosiers had a secret weapon on the bench.
Devonte Green scored 30 points, collected 6 rebounds, and dished out 3 assists to lead IU to an 80-64 win in Bloomington in connection with the 2019 Big Ten / ACC Challenge..
The 6-foot-3 senior guard reached his career high scoring total in just 28 minutes of action as he continues to play in a reserve role for the Hoosiers.
“Obviously, Devonte Green was special tonight,” Indiana head coach Archie Miller said after the game. “There wasn’t a whole lot of coaching that went into anything he did, as usual. When he’s good, he’s good on his own.”
Green subbed into the game with IU trailing 11-7 with 15:43 remaining in the first half. By the time he subbed out just four minutes later, the Hoosiers were up 16-11, and his contributions would fuel Indiana the rest of the night.
Later in the first half Green caught fire, hitting three straight 3-pointers over the course of a 10-2 IU run late in the first half.
Indiana sustained their strong play into halftime, taking a 41-30 lead into the locker rooms.
But the Seminoles came out of the break on fire. FSU made three consecutive shots from behind the three-point line in the first two minutes of the second half.
“They went small in the second half,” Miller said. “They started the ball screen in the middle of the floor and kind of go five out off the pop action, which I think that surprised us a little bit. They were able to hit a couple threes to get going.”
Coupled with their aggressive pressure defense, Florida State pulled to within 59-56 with 8:17 remaining.
But in the end, the Seminoles had no answer for Green.
The New York native terrorized FSU with 14 points in the first half and another 16 in the second. He finished the night 10-of-15 from the field including 5-of-7 from behind the three-point line. Green was also 5-of-7 from the foul line.
“Shots were dropping tonight so I guess I just had the hot hand,” Green said after the game.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
Playing against the tallest team in the country according to KenPom, IU was able to more than hold their own in the paint. Indiana out-rebounded FSU 35-25 and outscored the Seminoles 30-28 in the paint.
Freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis added 15 points and 8 rebounds, while junior forward Justin Smith scored 14 points and 5 rebounds.
Indiana turned the ball over on 26.9 percent of their possessions and had 12 miscues in the second half.
The free throw line once again played a significant part of IU’s offense. The Hoosiers took 38 shots from the stripe, making 23.
UP NEXT:
Indiana will open Big Ten play on Saturday afternoon on the road at Wisconsin. The game tips of at 4:30 p.m. ET at the Kohl Center.
The Hoosiers have not won in Madison since 1998.
GAME NOTES:
Sophomore point guard Rob Phinisee sat out for the third straight game. Miller indicated that Phinisee turned his ankle in practice yesterday and he could be seen in a walking boot on the bench.
Indiana (8-0) is off to its best start since it beginning the season 9-0 in the 2012-13 season.
You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no additional cost to you.
