Hoosiers Roll in Final Exhibition, Beat Saint Francis 104-59
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The two dress rehearsals are over now, and it's time to raise the curtain on the most anticipated Indiana basketball season in a decade.
The No. 13-ranked Hoosiers, favorites to win the Big Ten this season, won their second exhibition game on Thursday night, beating Saint Francis, an NAIA school from Fort Wayne, 104-59 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, who missed the first game last Saturday with a mild hand injury, led the way with 19 points and nine rebounds in just 21 minutes of action.
Now the real stuff begins for the Hoosiers, who open the season ranked No. 13 in the country and probably have the most talented Indiana roster since 2013. The regular season begins on Monday, with a home game against Morehead State at 7 p.m. ET.
They seem ready to go. And it starts for real on Monday.
"Only time will tell,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said when asked if his team was ready to start the regular season after two blowout exhibition wins. "I don't know. These were two exhibition games and, yes, our size was a big difference in both ballgames. We know as we continue this journey, we're going to face teams that are just as big as we are. Then we've got to see what we're made of.
"I just was anxious to get these two games under our belt just to see where we were from a player-coach standpoint, and now it starts for real on Monday against Morehead State. We've got a lot of work on our hands still. I mean, the real thing starts Monday.''
Jackson-Davis put on a show in his first bit of real action this season. He had a huge size advantage inside, and it paid off. He was 6-for-8 from the field, and 7-for-8 from the free throw line. His hand didn't seem to bother him at all, and he was one of five Hoosiers in double figures.
Indiana's freshman looked good again as well. Jalen Hood-Schifino and Malik Reneau each had 15 points, and C.J. Gunn added nine. The fourth freshman, Kaleb Banks, missed the game with an undisclosed illness. (Sophomore Logan Duncomb missed the game as well.)
Tamar Bates (10) and Jordan Geronimo (10) also were in double figures.
The freshmen playing at a high level is no surprise to their teammates. The veterans have seen them come in and compete all summer, so all the good things they've done in these first two outings is expected.
"Yeah, there's no surprise over here because coach (Woodson), even the first exhibition, Coach has a lot of trust in Malik to put him in the starting lineup, and we believe in him, too,'' Indiana forward Miller Kopp said. "There's no surprise on our end. We've seen what they can do. They compete their butts off.
"When it comes to game time, we trust them, and they're only learning a lot more every single day, so we're in a good spot.''
Saint Francis actually hung around early, with the scored tied 11-11 at the first media timeout. Brayton Bailey, the son of former Indiana legend Damon Bailey, had two early baskets, and finished with six points on 3-for-4 shooting. He received a nice ovation when introduced to the Assembly Hall crowd, his father watching from his seat in the south end zone.
The Hoosiers rolled from there, though, getting a lot of easy baskets in transition. St. Francis shot just 28.8 percent the rest of the way, and the Hoosiers tried to push the ball with every miss. It worked.
With all five players on the floor being able to push the ball up the court, Indiana scored 28 fastbreak points. This is a deep team, which we already know, but it's athletic at all five spots, too.
"Trayce and Race did that last year, and Malik can do that, too,'' Woodson said. I started this in Atlanta coaching the Hawks, and when I coached the Knicks, I got away from the whole conventional way of the big gets it off the board, he gives it to the guard, he brings it up. We've got a number of guys and we work on ball handling drills. I feel good about guys making plays in the open court and being able to push to initiate our break.
"Now, until you prove me wrong, then I'll scale you back and take the ball out of your hands and tell you that hey, you've got to play the conventional way. But Race, Malik and Trayce have proven that they can make basketball plays in the open court.''
The freshmen have been the story so far, too. Hood-Schifino and Reneau, who won national titles together at Montverde Academy before coming to Bloomington, look as good as advertised. C.J. Gunn, the freshman from Indianapolis, has played well, too, especially on the offensive end.
"They've been solid. They're doing all the things that we've been working on for the last four and a half, five months now,'' Woodson said. " It's nice to see practice is totally different than the game, but I always felt if you develop good habits in practice, it can be a nice carryover for you into ballgames, and I think that's what's happening to these two guys.
"(Gunn) played well tonight but he made a lot of mistakes from a defensive standpoint,'' Woodson said of Gunn. "And you expect that from a freshman. I get it."
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- PHOTO GALLERY: Here's our look at Indiana's victory through the lens with action from Thursday night's game against Saint Francis. CLICK HERE
- BAILEY FAMILY HOMECOMING: Brayton Bailey, the son of Indiana legend Damon Bailey, started for Saint Francis and was shown lots of love from Hoosier Nation. Here's the story on their night, with great video, too. CLICK HERE
- WATCH HOOD-SCHIFINO BEHIND THE BACK: Indiana freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino made a crafty behind-the-back move through the lane against Saint Francis for an easy layup. CLICK HERE
- WATCH JOHNSON PASS FOR DUNK: Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson connected with Trayce Jackson-Davis for an easy slam dunk in transition against Saint Francis. CLICK HERE
- LIVE BLOG: Follow Tom Brew's news and views from press row during the Hoosiers win over St. Francis on Thursday. CLICK HERE
- WOODSON TELLS RECRUITING STORIES: Montverde Academy teammates Jalen Hood-Schifino and Malik Reneau are the Big Ten's top-ranked incoming recruits for the 2022-23 college basketball season. On Inside Indiana basketball with Don Fischer, coach Mike Woodson offered insight into their recruitment to Indiana. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA BASKETBALL SCHEDULE: Here is the complete 2022-23 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball schedule, with dates, game times and TV information for each game. CLICK HERE
