Jalen Hood-Schifino Scores 35, Indiana Sweeps Purdue With Win at Mackey
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Trayce Jackson-Davis has been so good for so long for Indiana this year that the thought of winning a huge game without him — especially at a place as hostile as Mackey Arena — seemed unfathomable.
But that's exactly what the No. 17-ranked Hoosiers did on Saturday night, putting together a great second half and riding an incredible 35-point performance from freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino to beat No. 5 Purdue 79-71.
It was Indiana's second win in three weeks over Purdue, who was ranked No. 1 on Feb. 4 when the Hoosiers won in Bloomington, and it kept Indiana's very faint Big Ten title hopes alive. The Hoosiers are 20-9 overall, and 11-7 in the Big Ten. Purdue fell to 24-5 and 13-5 in league play.
And the Hoosiers did it without any real production early from Jackson-Davis, their 6-foot-9 All-American forward. Indiana scored its first 53 points of the game before Jackson-Davis finally scored on two free throws with 11:44 to go in the second half.
But it was all OK because Hood-Schifino was unreal. It was even OK with Jackson-Davis, who didn't mind the 6-foot-6 freshman from Pittsburgh going off like he did.
"We feed off of him, and I told him before the game even started that he was going to get his opportunities,'' Jackson-Davis said. ''I told him, 'Get them up, and score the ball.' Coach Woody was trying to get me baskets, and I told him, 'Coach, not right now. We're riding him right now, and when a guy is hot like that, you've got to keep giving him the ball.''
Hood-Schifino was able to get into the lane at will, and made 14-of-24 shots. His 35 points were the second-most by a freshman in Indiana history, surpassed only by Jay Edwards, who had 36 against Minnesota in 1988.
He had 23 first-half points, and Purdue didn't really have an answer for his penetration. It was Indiana's first win here since 2013 and had lost seven straight on the road at Purdue.
''Everyone in this room knows how good he is,'' Purdue guard Brandon Newman said of Hood-Schifino. "He did a great job of getting to his spots, and we didn't do a very good job of stopping him.''
Indiana never led in the first half, but it did well to hang around. Jackson-Davis was getting doubled on every touch, and Indiana coach Mike Woodson kept dialing up screen-roll plays for Hood-Schifino. Purdue, fearful to leave Jackson-Davis, made it too easy for Hood-Schifino.
He also got help in the first half from Miller Kopp, who hit two threes and had eight points in the period. Trey Galloway had three points, and they were the only three Hoosiers that scored.
Galloway got rolling in the second half though, as the Hoosiers went on a 12-0 run to go from down six to up six in just two-plus minutes. Galloway hit two threes and a layup during the run.
Jackson-Davis then played a big role as the Hoosiers started to pull away, They got the lead to 11 and then kept it between nine and 13 points for long stretches of the second half. He had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, with six assists in the second half alone.
Hood-Schifino never slowed down, either. He's gotten so much better with his decision-making in the screen-roll game, and he played a full 40 minutes with just three turnovers. Galloway, who finished with 13 points, played 38-plus minutes and didn't have a single turnover. Kopp also had 13 with just one turnover in nearly 36 minutes. Indiana had only eight turnovers all night as a team.
Indiana's biggest lead was 65-52 with 8:32 to go and Purdue never got closer than nine most of the way. A late three made the final an eight-point deficit.
The Boilermakers had an abysmal shooting night. They were just 5-of-23 from three, and also missed 11 free throws. Purdue's two freshman guards, Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer combined to shoot just 6-for-23 from the field. Loyer had 14 points and Smith just six.
Purdue was just 22-for-63 from the field, for 34.9 percent. Zach Edey, their 7-foot-4 national player of the year candidate, had 26 points and 16 rebounds, but he was just 8-for-17 from the field and the Hoosiers did a good job of getting him off his spot in the second half.
"To come into this hostile environment and get a win, it just says a lot about our players," said Woodson. "Jalen, it was an unbelievable display of basketball for him. Our defense got us back in it. In the second half it was an unbelievable combination of defense and getting the ball in the bucket.''
Woodson was also thrilled that Jackson-Davis rallied in the second half when the Hoosiers were pulling away.
“He stayed in the game mentally,'' said Woodson, who won his first-ever game at Mackey. He lost every time he played here as a player from 1976-80. "A lot of great players when they’re struggling like that, they’ll start complaining about this and that. He just rode what was going on. He knew what was happening. He filled in nicely the second half.”
Hood-Schifino embraced the hostile environment, and then fed off of it. It was a game for the ages, one that no one will forget anytime soon.
"The aggressive came out. My shot was falling, so my teammates just told me to keep going,'' Hood-Schifino said. "The whole night, my shot was falling and it just worked out good for me.
"I'm a lot better (at reading screens). I put in a lot of work and I think with (Xavier Johnson) out, it just gave me a better chance to have the ball in my hand more. I've watched a lot of film and it's helped me. I love playing in big games, and I was pumped up for this game.''
Indiana plays Iowa on Tuesday and Michigan on Sunday, both at Assembly Hall. After that comes the postseason, and the sweep of Purdue gives Indiana a ton of confidence going forward.
"We were locked in and the coaches had a great game plan. We locked in on our assignments. It's a big-time win. I'm 2-0 against Purdue, so it feels great.
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- WHAT WOODSON SAID: Indiana coach Mike Woodson met with the media after the Hoosiers' 79-71 win over Purdue at Mackey Arena. He discussed Indiana's defense, Jalen Hood-Schifino's 35 points, winning without a big game from Trayce Jackson-Davis and more. Here's the full transcript, with video attached. CLICK HERE
- UNEXPECTED BIG-MAN BATTLE: Purdue's Zach Edey and Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis provided one of the best individual battles of the season on Feb. 4, but Purdue made sure Jackson-Davis' scoring wouldn't take over the second game. Edey was his usual, dominant self, and Jackson-Davis battled foul trouble and found other ways to contribute as Jalen Hood-Schifino's 35 points led to a 79-71 Indiana win. CLICK HERE
- PHOTO GALLERY: The No. 17 Indiana Hoosiers traveled to West Lafayette for the second of two in-state matchups with the No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers this season. Mackey Arena was hot but the Hoosiers were hotter, as Indiana won 79-71 to sweep the season series. CLICK HERE
- WATCH HOOD-SCHIFINO'S HOT START: Indiana freshman point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino had the hot hand early on against Purdue, scoring 15 points in roughly 12 minutes of action. CLICK HERE
- WATCH GALLOWAY'S THREE-POINTER: Trey Galloway knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing early in the first half against Purdue on Saturday. CLICK HERE
- WATCH THOMPSON'S DUNK: Indiana found its stride at the end of the first half and the start of the second half, going on a 17-2 run in five minutes and 10 seconds, capped off by this Race Thompson dunk. CLICK HERE
