Florida State Top Indiana in OT in ACC/Big Ten Challenge Thriller
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Indiana did a great job of keeping Florida State's five-star freshman Scottie Barnes in check for most of Wednesday night, but when the Seminoles needed him the most, he came through in a 69-67 overtime victory.
Barnes, a 6-foot-9 point guard from West Palm Beach, Fla., made his first college three-pointer to tie the game at 65-65 with three minutes left in overtime and then drove the length of the court hit the game-winner with two seconds to go in overtime. A half-court heave at the buzzer by Indiana's Al Durham drifted left.
It was a tough loss to swallow for Indiana (3-2) who was playing its fourth straight top-50 team. Florida State, ranked No. 20 this week in the Associated Press poll, moves to 2-0.
Barnes finished with just nine points on 3-for-10 shooting, harassed most of the night by Indiana guard Armaan Franklin, who was giving up five inches but is still the Hoosiers' best defender. But on the final drive, Barnes was never slowed down enough, and he banked in a short shot over Franklin to win the game.
"That coast-to-coast layup to end the game is on me,'' Indiana coach Archie Miller said. "We've got to be better in those special situations. That's not on the players, that's on me.''
Florida State has a huge lineup with size at all five positions. Barnes is just the start of it, and 7-foot-1 center Balsa Koprivika (12 points, eight rebounds) was an issue, too. Both teams had 44 rebounds, but the Hoosiers were outrebounded 12-3 down the stretch and gave up 19 total offensive rebounds, which allowed Florida State to keep possessions alive.
"They came up with at least five to seven rebounds near the end of regulation and we can't let that happen,'' Miller said. "As crazy as it sounds, that's the No. 1 thing that's going to hold us back. Rebounding, it's our No. 1 concern.
'Our inability to get one, especially late, really hurt us. In our losses, that's been a big concern. We get a few more of those 50-50 balls and we win this game.
The loss spoiled a brilliant night sophomore forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, who finished with 25 points and 17 rebounds.
"He was ready to play, and Trayce played great tonight,'' Miller said. "Games like this, you need your best players motivated. He did an unbelievable job of pursuing the ball all night, as you can tell by those 17 rebounds.''
In the final minute of overtime, Indiana allowed two offensive rebounds, and when Florida State missed a third shot, there was a tie-up on the floor and a jump ball as called with 6.6 seconds to go. Florida State had the alternate possession and inbounded the ball underneath the basket. Franklin stole the pass and tried to call timeout, but the officials didn't grant it.
Miller thought the officials got it wrong.
"Armaan stole the ball and called a timeout with a foot on the ground. That was my view,'' Miller said. "They said he was falling out of bounds, and they couldn't reward him for that. There were a lot of tough plays in this game, but when you're on the road, that's what you expect.''
Senior guard Al Durham returned from an ankle sprain that forced him to miss a game. He played 38 minutes and scored 9 points. Starters Rob Phinisee, Race Thompson and Franklin all had 9 points. ...
Jackson-Davis was upset after the loss, because he felt like the Hoosiers let one get away.
'I'm not going to lie. I was angry in the locker room,'' Jackson-Davis said. "To be different, we've got to win these kind of games. But we'll live to fight another day.
Indiana had only 14 turnovers against Florida State's pressure defense. It was a vast improvement from the 22-point loss to Texas, where they struggled all day against their ball-hawking defense.
"That's a difficult style of play to go against, and I thought we handled their pressure well for the most part,'' Miller said.
Indiana's next game is Sunday against North Alabama in the second and final nonconference home game of the year. Indiana played North Alabama at home last year as well, winning 91-65.
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- LIVE BLOG: Here's everything you need to know about tonight's Indiana-Florida State game, in real time in our live blog. CLICK HERE
- HOOSIERS STILL BANGED UP: Indiana coach Archie Miller said that Joey Brunk is still out and Al Durham is doubtful for Wednesday's game. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA IN ACC/BIG TEN: Indiana has an 8-11 overall record in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Here's a complete list of all their games, and records against every opponent. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA SCHEDULE: Here is the full Indiana basketball schedule for the 2020-21 season, including links to the game stories and Tom Brew columns. CLICK HERE
