After seven games against non-Power Five programs, Indiana still had niches to carve out for its individual contributors but didn't want to compromise its basic identity as a team against No. 17 Florida State on Monday in Bloomington.
The Hoosiers walked the line on their way to an 80-64 win.
Indiana had played one team within the KenPom.com top-100 before welcoming No. 13 Florida State – No. 17 in the Associated Press poll – into Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Before the tip, much was unknown about the Hoosiers.
There had been flashes of potential on the defensive end in the first seven games, but perimeter defense had been a vulnerability and no team in the country is as tall and long as Florida State. Indiana has yet to play a game this year with a healthy backcourt, and it was coming off its first true offensive struggle of the season against South Dakota State.
Many of the vulnerabilities of the team could be brushed under the carpet of inexperience, with three starters being newcomers and several more contributors with limited minutes logged. But during Indiana’s 80-64 win over Florida State, the core identity of the team filtered through, along with some tertiary facets.
“I think if you want to be a part of something like this tonight, stay with it, because I think that's the group that we have right now,” Indiana head coach Archie Miller said. “That's been the group that we have talked about very early, before we started this season, how we had to play, how we're going to have to do it. And at the end of the day, there can't be any compromise on that.”
There wasn’t much compromise in the way Indiana intends to win games Monday. It got to the free throw line for 38 attempts, attacked the offensive glass, allowed Devonte Green to play within himself and pushed Florida State deep into its own shot clock on most defensive possessions.
Perhaps the only statistical results that Miller would want to see improved are the number of assists (10) rise and the number of turnovers (18) fall. There was a stretch of eight-to-10 minutes to begin the second half when the ball was stagnant on offense, and the Hoosiers recorded a 0-to-7 assist-to-turnover ratio. The defense was able to absorb that blow, though, and never lost the halftime lead Indiana had built.
While Miller had emphasized the strength of Indiana’s nonconference opponents, there was the feeling surrounding the program that the true identity of this Indiana team wouldn’t be found until it dipped its toes into Power Five competition. And what was clarified the most Monday was the way each of the 10 available scholarship players fit individually within what Miller is asking of his team in 2019-20.
“There's a lot of different guys searching for their niche on the team,” Miller said. “And I think this was the opportunity to put all the individual stuff – we haven't had much of it – out the window because this is the one you want to win.”
Freshman forward Trayce Jackson-Davis (15 points, eight rebounds, 9-of-14 on free throws) proved that he could produce his basic expectations against top competition. Sophomore guard Damezi Anderson made his mark on the defensive end, even though he’s been known primarily as a shooter since his commitment to Indiana. Freshman guard Armaan Franklin logged 23 minutes with the absence of sophomore guard Rob Phinisee and played mature basketball on both ends of the floor.
Franklin scored nine points, brought down four second-half rebounds and only turned the ball over once against a team that forces a top-30 turnover percentage in the country. But Miller said what he contributes doesn’t show on a box score. What jumped out to the head coach was a coupe drives-turned-kickouts against a good shot-blocking team.
The freshman guard also put a couple moves on Florida State defenders to free up space to hit open layups.
“He grew up tonight,” Miller said. “He played on a big-time stage and a big environment and made big plays. He made some things happen that weren't probably visible to the spectator as much as they were to our staff.”
Miller said, with the size of Florida State, rated as the tallest team in the country by KenPom.com, Indiana needed size on the perimeter, and Anderson provided that. He knew he was going to be called upon, Miller said, and no one was more excited for the game Monday than the sophomore forward. Anderson played the most inspired ball that he’s played so far and recorded the best game of his career, with 20 minutes and a big three to seal the win.
While it seemed like Jerome Hunter, Race Thompson and De’Ron Davis were on the outside looking in – none of them played more than 10 minutes – Miller had each of his players on the court by the time seven minutes had passed in the game, matching Florida State’s depth with some depth of his own.
And without its starting point guard, Indiana brought down its toughest test with 23 more tests to follow.
“A lot of people have been saying, like, we have been facing littler teams,” Jackson-Davis said. “How are they going to do against the big dogs? Well, you witnessed it.”
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