Indiana's 'Other' Big Men Sparkle With Jackson-Davis Out In Win Over Little Rock
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The smooth left-hander dominated inside early for Indiana, and he played great buddy-ball with his running mate, Race Thompson. Just not THAT left-hander.
We've seen three-plus years of lefty Trayce Jackson-Davis having his way in the post, but he's ''banged up,'' and missed Wednesday night game. Instead, fellow 6-foot-9 lefty Malik Reneau got his first start, and the Hoosiers didn't miss a beat. Thompson had 20 points and eight rebounds and Reneau added 10 points — with eight of them coming in the first five minutes — in Indiana's 87-68 win over Little Rock.
Junior Trey Galloway (knee) and Anthony Leal (ankle) also didn't dress, but Indiana coach Mike Woodson wasn't the least bit concerned about it.
"I just said next man up,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said about his depleted roster. "He and Gallo were out and I said next man up. That's what this team has got to be about.
"I've always been about that as a coach. I've coached games where my best players have been out of the lineup. I can't wait on those guys. I've got to still coach and get guys to perform and play at a high level. I expect guys to be ready to play.''
Woodson didn't get specific about Jackson-Davis' injury and said they'll evaluate again before Friday's game with Jackson State, the final game of the Hoosier Classic. That's not nearly as important as next Wednesday's showdown in Bloomington with No. 1-ranked North Carolina in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Jackson-Davis had started 98 games in a row before missing Wednesday's outing.
"We'll continue to evaluate him. He's kind of beat up a little bit physically. Nothing major. We rested him tonight, and we'll get him ready for hopefully Jackson State. I mean, that's the next one on our schedule.''
The Hoosiers (5-0) struggled to put Little Rock (2-4) away until midway through the second half, but they scored 80-plus points for the fifth straight time, and did most of that damage inside. In was the first time they've scored 80 points or more in five straight games since Dec. 5-22, 2015.
It was the first time Indiana opened a season with five straight over 80 since the 1969-70 year. (They did it seven times in a row.)
Reneau was great early and Thompson didn't miss a beat all night, despite taking an elbow to the head that opened up ''a big ol' gash'' and required some glue to close the cut. He wore a headband in the second half. He was 7-for-8 from the field and made all six free throws. His 20 points Wednesday nearly matched his total (22) in the first four games.
Indiana forward Race Thompson took and elbow to the head that drew blood, but he came back in the game and finished with 20 points. (USA TODAY Sports)
Buddy ball was alive as well, even with Jackson-Davis out. Reneau had four assists, two for easy Thompson dunks. It was just the second time in his career that he had scored 20 points or more.
Thompson, who's spending his sixth year at Indiana, can appreciate Indiana's depth better than anyone. Forward Jordan Geronimo had 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting and had five blocks, and sophomore Logan Duncomb made both of his shots and had. three rebounds in seven minutes of action.
This team is deep — and different.
"I would say we're doing great (through five games),'' Thompson said. "I've been a part of a lot of teams here at IU, and we've had teams be cliquey, we've had all types of things. I don't think we have that at all this year.
"Everybody sits with everybody, we're all joking around, laughing in the locker room. We have a really tight-knit group, so it's a lot of fun to be around them.''
Indiana's backcourt played well too in long stretch. Wingman Miller Kopp was 3-for-5 from three for his nine points, and he hit two critical back-to-back threes in the second half when Little Rock had cut the lead to seven.
Point guard Xavier Johnson was solid with nine points and 10 assists, where several of them coming on the screen/roll actions that often work so well with Jackson-Davis.
"I think me and X, we got into like a little ball screen thing,'' Thompson said. "You see Trayce and X do it all the time, but you get X and (Hood-Schifino) on a ball screen and you set a good screen, you're going to make something happen. They'll make the play for you. It was really just X playing, and he made the plays.''
Indiana guard Jalen Hood-Schifino (1) had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Hoosiers. (USA TODAY Sports)_
Hood-Schifino had 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting, along with seven rebounds and three assists.
"With Trayce out, that's a big part of what we've got here,'' Hood-Schifino said. "I think today, obviously, as everyone has seen, Race and Xavier were great tonight, especially in the pick-and-roll actions. They made plays, and I think they stepped up as our seniors and really led us tonight.''
The Hoosiers shot 67 percent from the field in the second half and were 5-for-10 from three after going just 1-for-7 in the first half. And outside of three Kaleb Banks misses, the others made all 10 second-half free throws.
It was god to see others step up.
"X is capable of doing that, and I expect him to do that,'' Woodson said. "I thought he was solid even after things weren't going well early.
It was the third straight game where the Hoosiers were dramatically better than they were in the first half. Woodson doesn't see that as a trend, and he's not even really concerned about it.
"Well, we came in up nine after the half, but you've got to give them credit, too. They're a competitive team, and they were competing just like we were trying to compete,'' Woodson said. "You'd like to come in the locker room up 20. I guess that's what you want to see. But it was nine, and I was pleased with that.
I thought we started the second half a little slow. They scored, I think, the first four points, and now we've got to really play and pick it up, and I thought we responded.''
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- LIVE BLOG: Relive all the action from Wednesday night's Indiana game in real time with Tom Brew's live blog. CLICK HERE
- HOW TO WATCH: Indiana hosts Little Rock in the Hoosier Classic on Wednesday in Bloomington, Ind. Here's how to watch, with game time and TV information, three leading storylines, the latest on the point spread, the coaching matchup, series history and more. CLICK HERE
- OPENING LINE: The Hoosiers, who have won and covered in all four games so far, are heavy favorites over Little Rock. CLICK HERE
- TOM BREW COLUMN: Little Rock coach Darrell Walker has a connection to Indiana coach Mike Woodson as well. He was on Woodson's staff when he was the head coach of the NBA's New York Knicks. They'll oppose each other when the Hoosiers take on Trojans Wednesday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. CLICK HERE
