Here's What Trayce Jackson-Davis, Jalen Hood-Schifino Said After Beating Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino were a two-man wrecking crew on Saturday night, helping No 18 beat Michigan 62-61 at Crisler Center. Jackson-Davis had 28 points and Hood-Schifino had 21 in the big road victory.
With the win, Indiana raised its record to 18-7 on the year and 9-5 in the Big Ten, which is good for solo second place as of Sunday morning. The two Hoosiers stars met with the media after the game. Here's the video of their press conference, plus the full transcript.
QUESTION: Trayce, you were a freshman once that had a lot of expectations placed on him. Jalen has that, too. Have you given him any advice on how to deal with that? What's been the message?
TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: Really, honestly just for Jalen it's just to play his game. He is a super talented player. He's probably one of the best guards I've ever played with regardless of where or when. I feel like he and I are one of the best duos in the country. I wouldn't want him on any other team. He's my guy and he's doing his thing this year and we needed it. We need every single bucket he's got.
Q: Jalen, you got hit with the turnover bug a little bit today but it didn't seem like it impacted your scoring at all. What was different in your confidence?
JALEN HOOD-SCHIFINO: Yeah I started off a little slow and missed a couple of shots, but I'm not the type of person that's ever going to lose confidence. I'm always going to shoot the ball and I had some turnovers here and there but that just comes with the game. Mentally, I just told myself to stay in it. I knew it was going to be a tough environment, so I just stayed in it mentally.
Q: Trayce, you guys held them scoreless for the last 5:12. What was the big key there? Why did that happen?
JACKSON-DAVIS: We were just preaching. Just chipping away, and we finally broke through with about four or three minutes left and we were just getting stops. Every time we went to the media timeouts we said, "Get three stops in a row. Get a kill. Get a kill. Get a kill." Then we started getting stops — we might have gotten about seven in a row (eight, actually) —and that's what you've got to do on the road. You've got to get big stops, and that's what we did.
Q: Jalen, you kind of struggled a little bit with the screen rolls early in the first half there but kind of locked in the rest of the way. Did that just take a little adjusting to what they were running or what changed?
HOOD-SCHIFINO: Just going with the flow of the game. You know, sometimes you might start off a little slow here and there, but we ended up picking it up and we got the win. So everything worked out.
Q: Trayce, are you tired at this point? Battling guys like (Hunter) Dickinson, like (Dain) Dainja? Just the guys they throw at you, the doubles they throw at you? How do you recover from that?
JACKSON-DAVIS: I've just got to take it day by day just mentally, before the game. Even before this game I knew that Race (Thompson) probably wasn't going to play, so I knew I was probably going to play 40 minutes. So just already getting there two or three days before the game and just mentally preparing for it, preparing myself, and just going out there and trying to perform. It's the end of the season now. There's no time to be tired. We've got to keep pushing and keep carrying through. We'll rest after the season.
Q: Trayce and Jalen, why have you guys become such a good duo?
JACKSON-DAVIS: I just think that our chemistry is very high. When we set ball screen and rolls, and a lot of bigs especially in this league like to drop. If they drop, he's getting to his middies (mid-range jump shots) and he's got one of the best pull-up games in the country. If they help up, he's got a really good touch on throwing the lob, so I think we just read off of each other. Just going through this season and practicing and getting game experience has really helped us.
Q: Jalen, this isn't the first time that Trayce has had to play the whole game or most of the game. How do you see him get through those and push himself through those types of games?
HOOD-SCHIFINO: I mean, he's a big-time player, so at the end of the day he's going to be able to thug it out and do what he does. So you see every night he's able to perform at a high level. Like you said, he's playing 40 minutes a game, so he's going to be tired. He's going to be banged up but at this point we need him so he's going to thug it out and get through recovery when he needs to and he'll be fine.
Q: Jalen, what are games like this teaching you about toughness? You needed (eight) straight stops on the road in the Big Ten. What are you learning? What does this say about the team?
HOOD-SCHIFINO: We learn a lot, really. As far as the team, it just shows our character, toughness and playing hard. Going on the road and beating a team like Michigan in this hostile environment is big time, and I feel like the coaches do a great job with us - just preaching that we have to get stops and play hard and today we really did that.
Q: Trayce, how good does this feel to close out a game like this? The last couple of years, games like this kind of went the other way.
JACKSON-DAVIS: Absolutely. Games like this in the past, a lot of them went differently. Especially with Michigan. They've had our number the past few years, so coming into this game being down most of the game, we earned this one. And we kind of stole one. So, that's what Coach Woodson was preaching before the game. We've got to treat it like playoffs where you go and steal one on the road and now they come see you (on March 5). So we've got to prepare for them but it's on to the next game, which is Northwestern.
Q: Jalen, it's pretty obvious that you just have incredible self-belief. How are you able to be so confident?
HOOD-SCHIFINO: Just mentally, I've been through a lot in my career on and off the court so for me I just, I just go out there and play. I know the work I put in. I believe in God, so God puts work though me and I feel like I'm unstoppable.
Q: Can you take us through that last play they had? What kind of defense was set up and how that developed from your point of view?
JACKSON-DAVIS: So basically Coach Woodson said we were going to switch one through four because we thought if we did one through five and Hunter was going to set the ball screen and then come back down. But Miller (Kopp) was putting pressure on the ball and Terrance's hand and I don't think he wanted that shot. So he passed it to Jett with about two or three seconds kind of panicking and obviously he threw something up. Luckily, it was with little time left because Joey did get the rebound. We have to look at that and we've got to box out and make sure we don't let that happen again.
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- GAME STORY: Indiana didn't allow a point in the final 5:12 and stole a huge road win at Michigan on Saturday night, winning 62-61 with a great defensive effort and 28 points from Trayce Jackson-Davis and 21 from Jalen Hood-Schifino. CLICK HERE
- WHAT WOODSON SAID: Indiana held Michigan scoreless for the final 5:12 of the game on Saturday and got a huge Big Ten road win to move into second place. Hoosiers coach Mike Woodson was thrilled with the win and talked all about it after the game. Here's the full video of his postgame press conference, plus the transcript. CLICK HERE
- WATCH INDIANA DEFENSE ON FINAL PLAY: Michigan had the ball with a chance to secure a much-needed win, but the Indiana defense stood strong to escape with a 62-61 win. Here's the video highlight. CLICK HERE
- WATCH JACKSON-DAVIS DUNKS ON DICKINSON: Trayce Jackson-Davis caught an alley-oop from Jalen Hood-Schifino and dunked the ball through a foul from Hunter Dickinson. Here's the video highlight. CLICK HERE
- WATCH JACKSON-DAVIS OPEN GAME WITH DUNK: Trayce Jackson-Davis continued his strong play on Indiana's first possession of the game with a two-handed slam dunk. Here's the video highlight. CLICK HERE
- LIVE BLOG: It's primetime Saturday night in Ann Arbor, where the No. 18-ranked Indiana Hoosiers take on Michigan in a critical Big Ten game. Welcome to our live blog, where we'll keep you updated with all the news and views in real time, with opinion and highlights thrown in as well. CLICK HERE
- OPENING LINE: Indiana and Michigan are tied for second place in a crowded Big Ten logjam and the two teams get together on Saturday night in Ann Arbor. Because the Hoosiers have struggled on the road so much this season, the Wolverines are favored. Here's the latest line, plus a great breakdown of both teams. CLICK HERE
