BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana guard Devonte Green felt great shooting the ball Tuesday night.
He made sure everyone knew it, too.
The senior scored a career-high 30 points, knocked down five 3-pointers and helped fuel a late spurt with two big shots to lead the undefeated Hoosiers past No. 17 Florida State 80-64 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
“It's something you just feel, I can't explain it,” Green said. “Shots were dropping tonight, so I guess I had the hot hand.”
There was no guesswork about it.
Green went 10 of 15 from the field, 5 of 7 on 3s and 5 for 7 at the free throw line. He also grabbed six rebounds and finished with three assists and two steals — not bad for someone who missed Indiana’s first three games with an injured hamstring.
With Green back, the Hoosiers (8-0) 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.”