Indiana Hoosiers: Top 5 games from the 2019-20 seasons
By Adam Childs
3. Men’s basketball – Indiana 80 Florida State 64
Indiana cruised through their November games in part of one of the weakest non-conference schedules in the country. They were rarely tested but didn’t play anybody good. That all changed when the calendar turned to December and the Hoosiers took on Florida State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
The Seminoles entered the game 17th in the country with just a single loss in their opening game to conference foe Pittsburgh. The Hoosiers were 7-0 but again hadn’t beaten anybody good. Even though the game was in Bloomington the Seminoles were still viewed as the favorite. Indiana, though, had other plans. More specifically Devonte Green had other plans.
Florida State came out hot and took an 11-4 lead, but the Hoosiers held the Seminoles scoreless for the next four-plus minutes and used a 12-0 to take a lead they would never relinquish. The game remained close for most of the game until Indiana pulled away late for a surprising 80-64 win.
Green was the star for the Hoosiers as he scored a career-high 30 points on 10 of 15 shooting. He would nail five of his seven attempts from deep in a completely dominant game. It was the Green the Hoosier fans were hoping to see all year long.
Trayce Jackson-Davis added 15 points and eight rebounds as he just missed another double-double. Justin Smith was also solid for Indiana scoring 14 points on four of seven shooting.
The win was one of the biggest for the Hoosiers and was definitely their best win of the year up to that point. It was made even bigger by the fact that the Seminoles would go on and win the ACC and finished ranked in the top 10 and was a trendy final four pick had the tournament happened.
It was a complete performance for the Hoosiers, who would show later in the year that was a rarity. Indiana looked like a top 25 team that night and helped propel the Big Ten to an 8-6 win in the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge.