Four Things: Indiana 80, No. 17 Florida State 64

In what was its first real test of the season the IU basketball team passed with flying colors. On Tuesday the Hoosiers took down No. 17 Florida State (score) in Assembly Hall to improve to 8-0 on the season and in doing so may have punched their ticket to return to the top 25. There were a lot of positives to take away from this one, but there were a few things that stuck out in particular.

1. DEVONTE GREEN

If you, for any reason, want to hate on Devonte Green after his performance in this game you may be subject to having your head dunked in the nearest toilet. He was absolutely electric in this game and deserves a very large amount of credit for the win.

When he checked in for the first time the Hoosiers were down 11-7 and things were a bit lifeless. He immediately got fouled on a 3-pointer and made his free throws. Then he proceeded to unleash a barrage from downtown the likes of which hasn’t been seen in Assembly Hall in what feels like years.

He scored 30 points on 10-15 shooting from the field and 5-7 shooting from beyond the arc in 28 minutes. He also had six rebounds, three assists, two steals and received MVP chants as he shot free throws with a few seconds left on the clock.

This was seemingly Green’s finest performance as a Hoosier thus far.

2. Trayce Jackson-Davis

At the same time, the freshman was pretty good too. Coming into this game there were a lot of eyes on TJD as he was expected to be a key player given FSU’s size. Frankly, the Hoosiers needed him to play well to have a chance and he delivered.

He put up 15 points on 3-5 shooting from the field and, more importantly, got to the free-throw line with frequency. He shot 9-14 from the charity stripe. Add on eighT rebounds, five on the offensive end, as well as a pair of blocks and a pair of steals and you have one heckuva night. That’s without considering that he absolutely hammered down a dunk to bring the IU faithful to their feet.

3. Second Half Struggles

Indiana entered the second half with an 11-point lead. Upon play resuming, the Hoosiers promptly lost that lead as the Seminoles charged back to within three points with roughly 10 minutes left.

IU survived, but when you’ve got a chance to put your foot down and close out a game early against a top 25 team, doing the opposite isn’t ideal. Turnovers, fouls and generally hard-to-watch basketball plagued IU early in the period and it might not have cost them against FSU, but it very well could down the road.

4. Victor Oladipo’s Fanny Pack

As you assuredly know by know, IU alumnus Victor Oladipo was in attendance at this game, sitting courtside and supporting the Hoosiers. What you might not have noticed, however, was that he was rocking a fanny pack that seems to feature the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

That’s it. That’s the content. The fanny pack rules.

What’s Next?

A big trip to the Kohl Center on Saturday. The Hoosiers will take on Wisconsin on BTN and though the Badgers might not be as good as they normally are, the Kohl Center is still a tough place to play. Also, on Sunday the football team will announce which bowl game it will be playing in so watch out for that.