Brad Underwood 'Not Worried' About Jackson-Davis' 35 Points in Illinois' 15-Point Loss
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Trayce Jackson-Davis spun around, dunked over and flat-out dominated Illinois with 35 points in Indiana's 80-65 win at the State Farm Center on Thursday.
But Illinois coach Brad Underwood seemed more concerned with just about everything else.
"I'm not worried about his 35," Underwood. "I'm worried about Geronimo's 13 when he's averaging five. Dain guarded [Jackson-Davis] pretty good for about three possessions and then we just laid behind him."
Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood reacts to a call during the first half against the Indiana Hoosiers at State Farm Center.
Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Jackson-Davis added nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks, a stat line no other major conference player has achieved in a road game in the last 20 seasons, according to the Big Ten Network. Underwood said Jackson-Davis caught the ball in his desired spot too often. Illinois let Jackson-Davis go one-on-one against Dain Dainja and Coleman Hawkins for most of the night, which turned out to be a total mismatch.
But Underwood thought the Illini's 14 missed free throws and 13 missed layups were more impactful than Jackson-Davis' performance.
"His 35 didn't beat us," Underwood said. "He wasn't beating us by himself. You add his five assists, okay, those are what hurt you. We tried not to give them any 3s. It's no different than what we played last year. Now, his touches were way too easy. And sure, do you have to run at him some? Throw him a different bone? And we actually tried.
But again, it's very, very hard to score enough twos to beat you in a college game," Underwood said. "Our problems were on the offensive side because if we make any free throws and any layups, 35 is not going to out-do you."
Dainja will face additional talented big men as the season progresses – Zed Key, Hunter Dickinson and Zach Edey, just to name a few. Underwood thinks tonight can be a good learning lesson for Illinois' post defense, but he admits Jackson-Davis has a unique skillset that is hard to prepare for.
"They're different. This one's slippery," Underwood said of Jackson-Davis. "This one's a freak athlete. This one's the best athlete in our league at any position. That's the way Dain needs to play."
Illinois finished the night 24-for-62 overall, 8-for-19 from 3 and 9-for-23 from the free throw line. Terrence Shannon Jr. led the Illini with 26 points on 8-for-18 shooting, but the four remaining starters were held to single-digit scoring and R.J. Melendez added 10 off the bench. Illinois' second-leading scorer Matthew Mayer was sick entering the game, and he was held scoreless in 22 minutes of play. Underwood said Indiana bothered the Illinois offense, which hasn't happened all year.
This loss snaps a four-game win streak for the Illini, which included victories over Wisconsin, Nebraska, Michigan State and Minnesota. Illinois got hot during that 10-day stretch, but Underwood thinks they ran out of gas.
Thursday's game marked 19 consecutive days with either a game or a practice for Illinois and zero off-days. Underwood was frustrated with Illinois' schedule, now having to take two mandatory off-days on Friday in Saturday, wherein "We can't touch a basketball. We can't be in the gym. We can't be with our guys for two straight days," Underwood said.
Underwood believes this scheduling caused mental and physical fatigue for the Illini, which was evident on the court Thursday. He said Indiana looked like a team that had five days to prepare, and Illinois looked like a team that went 19 days without rest.
"We didn't fight very hard," Underwood said. "We looked like a team that was not in the gym tonight. That's on me."
Indiana owned the rebounding advantage 39-27 and shot 23.1 percent better than the Illini. Despite allowing 18 Illinois points off 17 turnovers, Indiana saw offensive contributions from more than just Jackson-Davis. Jordan Geronimo added 13, Trey Galloway scored 11 and Jalen Hood-Schifino finished with 10.
The result was Indiana's first true road win since Nov. 18 in a game the Hoosiers led for 36 minutes and 35 seconds.
"They whooped our butt in every category," Underwood said.
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- INDIANA-ILLINOIS GAME STORY: Illinois chose not to double-team Trayce Jackson-Davis on Thursday night, and the senior made them pay. He scored 35 points and the Hoosiers got a huge road win with an 80-65 victory. Jackson-Davis made 15 of his 19 field-goal attempts and his 35 was a season-high. CLICK HERE
- WATCH JACKSON-DAVIS' BLOCK: Illinois forward Dain Dainja drove to the left block, but Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis was there to reject the shot off the backboard. CLICK HERE
- WATCH HOOD-SCHIFINO'S DUNK: Indiana freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino split the Illinois defense and dunked over Coleman Hawkins in the first half. CLICK HERE
- WATCH JACKSON-DAVIS' DUNK: Indiana star forward Trayce Jackson-Davis spun past Dain Dainja for a massive slam dunk in the second half against Illinois. CLICK HERE
