 are off to their best start since 2012-13. They earned their third straight win over a ranked team dating to last season and head into Big Ten play with a boost of confidence.It wasn't just Green, either. Freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis had 15 points and eight rebounds, while junior Justin Smith chipped in with 14 points and five boards.Trent Forrest scored 13 to lead the Seminoles (7-2), who had their seven-game winning streak snapped. M. J. Walker and Devin Vassell added 10 points apiece.Clearly, though, the difference was Green.''He had one of those nights,'' Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. ''Tonight was his night.'' After Indiana took a 15-point lead in the first half, the Hoosiers watched Florida State methodically cut into the deficit.When the Seminoles opened the second half with three successive 3s in less than two minutes, Indiana's lead was down to 47-41.Green helped steady the Hoosiers, who extended the margin to 10 with 13:53 left. But when Anthony Polite made a 3 with 10:23 left, the Seminoles trailed 53-50.That's when Green helped spur the decisive sequence. Jackson-Davis and Smith each hit three of four free throws, Green scored on a nifty layup and hit a contested 17-footer, and Damezi Anderson closed out the 13-2 run with a 3 from the corner to give Indiana a 72-58 lead with 3:35 to go.Florida State never challenged again.''Obviously, Devonte Green was special tonight,'' Indiana coach Archie Miller said. ''There wasn't a whole lot of coaching that went into that.'' BIG PICTUREFlorida State: The Seminoles are masters of winning ugly. But they were dreadful in the first half, getting outrebounded 17-10, going 2 of 8 on 3s and committing six turnovers. That simply left too big a hole for Florida State to dig out of.Indiana: At times, the Hoosiers looked downright impressive. At others, they looked as though they were still trying to find their way against their best opponent of the season. Either way, it was a good win that could have long-term implications for the program.STAT SHEETFlorida State: The Seminoles were outrebounded 35-25 and outscored in bench points 33-20. ... Florida State came up with eight steals but was 7 of 19 on 3s. ... The Seminoles hadn't given up more than 74 points in their previous eight games this season. ... Florida State is 0-5 all-time against the Hoosiers.Indiana: Jackson-Davis also had two blocks and two steals. ... Indiana shot 55.6% from the field and went 7 of 15 on 3s against the Seminoles' stingy pressure defense. ... Armaan Franklin, another freshman, added nine points and four rebounds.THEY SAID ITFlorida State: ''I thought they showed Indiana's on its way back,'' said Hamilton, who got a technical after the Seminoles drew a five-second call on an inbounds pass in the second half. ''I thought they had an exceptional amount of energy and focus.'' Indiana: ''Green light, every time,'' Jackson-Davis said when asked what he thinks when Green is shooting well.UP NEXTFlorida State resumes ACC play Sunday at home against Clemson.The Hoosiers play their Big Ten opener Saturday at Wisconsin.---More college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/-Top25)
Dec 03, 2019Florida State showed over the weekend at the Emerald Coast Classic that it is ready for a tough stretch in its nonconference schedule.The No. 17 Seminoles (7-1) will get another chance to show how far they've progressed when they face Indiana on Tuesday night in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Bloomington, Ind.Florida State has won seven straight and jumped into the Top 25 after wins last week over then-No. 17 Tennessee and Purdue in the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla.The Seminoles have won early this season with defense and timely scoring. Florida State is holding opponents to 35.8-percent shooting from the floor and 59.9 points per game.Since a 63-61 loss in the season opener at Pittsburgh, Florida State has knocked off Florida, Tennessee and Purdue during its seven-game win streak. In a 63-60 overtime win over the Boilermakers on Saturday, the Seminoles held the Boilermakers scoreless in the final 1:40 of the extra session.Senior guard Trent Forrest scored a team-high 17 points to lead the Seminoles to the win."Since the Pitt game, we've done nothing but improve each week," said Forrest, who is averaging 12.4 points and a team-high four assists per game. "We're winning games like we're supposed to win." Indiana (7-0) has taken advantage of a soft early schedule to get off to its best start since going 9-0 to start the 2012-13 season.Hoosiers freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis has been a force inside, posting four double-doubles in his first seven career games. Jackson-Davis, who is averaging 15.6 points and 9.6 rebounds, earned Big Ten freshman of the week honors for the second time this season by averaging 20 points and 12.5 rebounds in wins over Louisiana Tech and South Dakota State last week."He's got great hands and length," Indiana coach Archie Miller said. "He's a spring off the boards in terms of being able to go get the ball. He's getting balls that other guys can't get, so that's, obviously, a gift that he brings to the table." Indiana is getting contributions up and down its roster, as nine players have already reached double figures in scoring this season."Our team's got to keep getting better," Miller said. "And I think as we continue to evolve here, I think you're starting to see a lot of different guys contribute, which I'm happy about, but I think we can still make a big, big jump. And as we can get some more guys in the game to play more minutes, I think that's going to be very, very important." Indiana sophomore point guard Rob Phinisee has missed the past two games and is questionable for the Florida State game due to rib and abdominal ailments. With Phinisee out, senior guard Devonte Green, junior guard Al Durham and freshman guard Armaan Franklin have helped pick up the slack. Durham is averaging 13.7 points, Green is averaging 12.3 points and Franklin has a team-high 21 assists."I like that we improve every game," Green said. "I think we get a little better and take something away from the last game. Also, we come out to play as hard as we can every game." --Field Level Media
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