Hoosiers Get Emphatic Road Win at Illinois Behind Jackson-Davis' 35-Point Night
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — When Indiana star Trayce Jackson-Davis sat down with coach Mike Woodson to talk strategy before the Hoosiers' game at Illinois on Thursday night, Woodson mentioned that Illinois might not double-team him to start the game, and if that happened, they were going to keep feeding the 6-foot-9 left-hander until something changed.
Jackson-Davis, who's finally feeling better after dealing with a back injury for more than a month, felt a big night coming. Woodson did, too, and he knows something about big nights in this building. When he was a junior in 1979, he scored 48 points here.
Illinois chose not to double Jackson-Davis and he wound up scoring 35 points, the most by an Indiana player in the State Farm Center — formerly Illinois' Assembly Hall — since Woodson's magical night 44 years ago. It helped Indiana roll to an 80-65 win, its first Big Ten road victory of the year. It raised their record to 12-6 and 3-4 in the Big Ten.
Jackson-Davis knew all about Woodson's scoring spree here, and he joked with him about it before the game. ''I told him, 'if I'm getting close to that, you better not take me out,' '' he said.
He was still a long way from 48, but it didn't diminish his performance one bit. It was an exceptional game, especially on a night where the Hoosiers really needed it. Illinois (13-6, 4-4 in the Big Ten) had won four straight games and were hefty 6.5-point favorites coming in, and with good reason considering Indiana was just 1-4 on the road so far.
The senior was 15-for-19 shooting from the floor, and made 5-of-6 free throws. He's only had one night with more field goals, the night he had 18 last year against Marshall when he scored a career-high 43 points. He also had nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
This one felt as sweet as the last time Indiana beat Illinois, in the Big Ten Tournament last March that likely clinched their first NCAA Tournament bid in six years. This one snapped a long road losing streak and got the Hoosiers back on track.
"I played him a lot of minutes, the whole first half, and we rode him,'' Woodson said. "They didn't double-team him. The timeouts I told then the double team might be coming, so we've got to set our offense accordingly. But the double never came and he kept making great plays.''
Jackson-Davis made his first nine shots, and the Hoosiers were wildly efficient. They shot 61.8 percent for the game, the fourth-highest average since 2001. They were 20-for-30 in the first half. Jordan Geronimo was perfect too, making his first six shots.
Indiana actually fell behind in the first minute when two defensive miscues led to Illinois getting two easy baskets to start the game. An angered Woodson, who fully understood the importance of this game, called a timeout just 1:53 into the game and lit into the team.
It might have been the most productive timeout in his two years as Indiana's head coach because the Hoosiers immediately responded with a 12-0 run and never looked back. Their lead reached 11 points at the 12:44 mark in the first half and got to 19 points (33-14) at the 6:38 mark. Illinois hit three three-pointers in the final three minutes of the half to make the halftime margin 10 at 43-33.
Indiana has struggled to close out road games for years, but they came out and quickly gained control in the second half. Illinois scored the first basket, but then Indiana went on a 14-4 run to pull away. The lead got as high as 21 points and the rout was on.
"They didn't send the double, so I really had to make them pay,'' Jackson-Davis said. "Most of the night they let me get that crab dribble to the middle. I was just taking what the defense gave me and I tried to make the right play every time. Tonight they decided that they were going to let me beat them, and that's what I decided to do.
"This just builds confidence for our team. We got that home win with Wisconsin, but a lot of people thought we were going to lay an egg here against Illinois because they had won four straight. We came in to battle, and we did it on the defensive end of the court and we never looked back.''
Geronimo, who's been starting with Race Thompson out since Jan. 5 with a knee injury, finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Freshman point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino had 10 points and four assists and Trey Galloway had 11 points, including two big baskets to quell the Illini run.
Illinois shot just 38.7 and didn't get much done offensively outside of Terrence Shannon Jr, who had 26 points, and RJ Melendez, who had 10 off the bench. The rest of the team was just 12-for-36 shooting and no one else reached double figures. Indiana also outrebounded them 39-27, and Illinois was a miserable 9-for-23 shooting from the free throw line.
The Hoosiers will look to continue their winning ways on Sunday when they take on Michigan State at Noon ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Michigan State beat Rutgers on Thursday night.
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- UNDERWOOD 'NOT WORRIED' ABOUT JACKSON-DAVIS' 35: Indiana star forward Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 35 points in a 80-65 win, but Illinois coach Brad Underwood was more concerned with the Illini's 14 missed free throws, 13 missed layups and plenty more. CLICK HERE
- LIVE BLOG: Welcome to Champaign, where Indiana is set to tangle with Illinois in a critical Big Ten game on Thursday night. Here's our live blog, with news and views straight from press row. 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
