Fatigue 'No Issue' for Indiana Despite Playing 4 Games in 6 Days
DAYTON, Ohio — It's not a stretch to say that Trayce Jackson-Davis' three days at the Big Ten Tournament last week was the best time of his career at Indiana.
He was engaged and energized, and outplayed big men Hunter Dickinson and Kofi Cockburn in wins over Michigan and Illinois. And he scored 31 points against Iowa on 15-of-21 shooting, only to see Jordan Bohannon send them home with a banked 30-footer in the final seconds.
You would think three games in three days would have wiped him out, but the truth of the matter is it was just the opposite. Adrenaline — and a major dose of good karma — took over.
There was no stopping him, let alone slowing him down. Jackson-Davis had no interest in coming off the court last weekend, and he's 100 percent ready to roll for the quick turnaround game on Tuesday night against Wyoming in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament. (Game time is 9:10 p.m ET; TV: truTV)
"With all the work we put in this summer, I didn't think it was that big of a deal for me,'' Jackson-Davis said. "And then just going on that run, I was actually just ready to play. I was ready to go after the first game. I was ready to play the next one. After the next one I was ready to play the next one.
"I think that's how all of our teammates were. And even with the Iowa game we had, I feel like we were still competing at a really high level. And I feel like everyone was wanting to win, and we set out to win. I don't think fatigue is big for us when you're trying to win a championship.''
They were off their feet most of Sunday until the NCAA Selection Show, and got a good practice in Monday morning before the quick flight over to Dayton. They got up some shots at Dayton Arena for 40 minutes on Monday night, and they are ready to go.
More than ready. They've waited their whole lives for this, so four games in six days means nothing to them. Mike Woodson isn't bothered by it, either. He knows he has a well-conditioned team, one that's playing in its first NCAA Tournament game in six years.
"It is what it is. You can't run from it,'' Woodson said Monday night. "Guys, you've got four games in six days. Hey, this is what you signed up for. And again I say it, these guys are 18, 19, 20-year-old young men. They'll be just fine. You've just got to go play.''
It helps that Indiana has an experienced starting lineup that's seen a lot. What they haven't seen, though, is an NCAA Tournament game. Tuesday night's showdown with Wyoming will be their first. The hope is that total experience with trump the jitters that come with that first-ever NCAA game.
Jackson-Davis has played in 92 games during his three years at Indiana. Race Thompson has played in even more, with 98 appearances.
Xavier Johnson, who started for three years at Pittsburgh before transferring to Indiana last spring, has played in 116 games. Miller Kopp has played more than all of them, playing in 120 college games after three years in Northwestern. Parker Stewart has played in 89 games now during three seasons at Pitt, UT-Martin and now Indiana.
That's 515 games of college experience.
They have also scored a lot of points. Look at these totals through Saturday:
- Trayce Jackson-Davis: 1,547 points
- Xavier Johnson: 1,544 points
- Miller Kopp: 1,041
- Parker Stewart: 975 points
- Race Thompson: 739 points
- TOTAL POINTS: 5,846
So. even though they have no NCAA experience, this moment isn't going to be too big for them. It's Dayton, after all, not Mackey Arena. It's Wyoming, no less, not Wisconsin or Purdue or Illinois. They've experienced a lot all year, and seem to be peaking at the right time.
"We've got a lot of confidence coming in, and playing a whole bunch of games back to back is important and it tells us about our legs,'' Johnson said. "Now that we've gotten to the day where you've got to win to go to the next day.''
Thompson likes the idea of getting right back out on the floor, and that the carry over of the good vibes will be a good thing. He also knows with certainty that Clif Marshall, their Director of Athletic Performance, will have their bodies' ready.
"There's a benefit to not having too much time between games,'' he said. "We played well in Indy and hopefully we can put that together and carry it over here and get a win.
"Coach Clif is always pushing electrolytes, making us stretch, making us foam roll, giving us massage guns, and just setting up stuff to help us take care of our bodies. He definitely helps us a lot and learning about taking care of our bodies. He always tells us to be a pro. So with him, he really just gives us all the tools we need to do that.''
The Hoosiers should be closer to full strength on Tuesday night as well. Rob Phinisee, who missed seven games with a foot injury, feels great now that he's been back for a couple of weeks and Trey Galloway's groin issue hasn't been an issue. And even Jordan Geronimo, who injured his knee on Friday, seemed fine during Monday's shootaround.
All hands on deck, now that it's one and done. Woodson has done his best to balance work vs. rest.
"I'm still learning. We haven't grinded as much based on all the games that have been coming at us, but I still always try to get conditioning in,'' Woodson said. "I think our conditioning is fun, and it's with the basketball. So that's every day. But the banging and going up and down, we've kind of gotten away from that a little bit based on the fact that we've had so many injuries.
"I mean, people don't mention it. but we lost Galloway for 14 games and Rob for 10 games, I think it is. When we started this journey, they were a major piece to the puzzle. And I like to think if I had them all the way through, man, things would have been a little bit different. But that's a part of basketball. It's good that we got them back now.''
Indiana is a 4-point favorite against Wyoming on Tuesday night, according to the FanDuel.com gambling website. If they win, they play again on Thursday night against No. 5 seed Saint Mary's in Portland, Ore.
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- GERONIMO READY: Indiana coach Mike Woodson said "I think he's going to play'' when asked about sophomore forward Jordan Geronimo on Monday. He injured his knee last Friday in the Big Ten Tournament, but Woodson thinks he'll be ready to roll for Tuesday night's NCAA Tournament game against Wyoming. CLICK HERE
- UNDERSTANDING FIRST FOUR: For the first time in school history, Indiana is playing in the ''First Four'' in the NCAA Tournament. It was created in 2011 to allow four more teams the opportunity to play in the tournament. Indiana plays Wyoming in a No. 12 seed game, and the winner will then travel to Portland, Ore., to play No. 5 seed Saint Mary's. CLICK HERE
- HOOSIERS FAVORED: Indiana is a 4-point favorite according to the opening line on FanDuel.com on Monday. Here's the latest on the point spread, and a complete breakdown on what Indiana and Wyoming have done vs. the spread all season. CLICK HERE
- GOING DANCING: Indiana has made its first NCAA Tournament since 2016, and it starts right away with a play-in game on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio. They are the No. 12 seed and will play Wyoming from the Mountain West Conference, and if they win they have to travel to Portland, Ore. for its first-round game against St. Mary's. CLICK HERE
- NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET: Here is the full 2022 NCAA Tournament bracket for the 68-team field. CLICK HERE
- 1,000-POINT SCORERS: Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis scores 76 points in three days in the Big Ten Tournament as is now No 16 all-time on the school scoring list. Here's the full list of all 54 Hoosiers who have scored more than 1,000 points. CLICK HERE
