VIDEO: Here’s What Trayce Jackson-Davis Said After Loss at Rutgers
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The scrappy Rutgers defense had a simple plan on Saturday, and that was to take star forward Trayce Jackson-Davis away from Indiana, and force others to beat them.
The plan worked to perfection in its 63-48 win over the Hoosiers. Jackson-Davis scored 13 points and had 10 rebounds, but outside of Miller Kopp — who had 21 points and made five three-pointers — the rest of his teammates failed to make shots.
Here is the transcript from Trayce's complete postgame interview:
QUESTION: "They doubled you heavy. What was supposed to happen? How were you supposed to get points when they were sending two or three guys at you?
TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: "Its tough because when they were - I'm used to doubles really - but they were really honing in. They were sending two guys there and then they had one at the rim and I think I rushed things a bit sometimes, a few turnovers, but at the same time I just feel like shots just weren't falling tonight for us. We had a lot of in and outs and sometimes the ball doesn't bounce your way but I think that overall it wasn't really our offense. Our offense did kill us but at the same time defensively rebounding the ball was the biggest factor in the game."
Q: Energy early it really felt like you guys were struggling to find a spark. Where do you go for that on the road and where couldn't you find it?
JACKSON-DAVIS: "That's the thing. It was big for us. North Carolina, Jalen stepped up. Obviously he didn't play tonight but still no excuse. So, at the end of the day, we have to have players step up at the beginning of the game especially on the road because you can't dig yourself into a hole and try to fight back the whole game. It's a losing outcome."
Trayce Jackson-Davis had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Hoosiers. (Photo by Tom Brew/HoosiersNow.com)
Q: They had 13 offensive rebounds in the first 13 minutes. You guys don't normally give up anything like that. What happened?
JACKSON-DAVIS: "I just feel like we weren't hitting our guys. I know Caleb McConnell was crashing the glass hard, they were sending almost all of their guys to the glass and so it's hard. We've just got to get a man on a body and in that aspect of the game I think they out-toughed us."
Q: Is this just a bad matchup for you guys or what?
JACKSON-DAVIS: "I don't necessarily say that it's a bad matchup for us because I think defensively we still right where we want to be but at the same time our offense just wasn't clicking tonight. We are going to have to look at it, watch film and listen to what Coach Woody has to say and get back to it."
Q: Trayce, obviously you aren't going to win them all, but what do you take from this? What has to get better quickly?
JACKSON-DAVIS: "I think it's just how we respond. We have Nebraska on Wednesday, and so we just have to have a good week of practice because we cannot compound these things. A loss hurts, but at the same time what you love about college basketball is that you've got a game 3 days away."
Q: How much does not having Jalen hurt you when you are also not hitting 3s - not having another player then get downhill and get at the rim?
JACKSON-DAVIS: "Yeah, Jalen is huge for us. He's huge for our team and without him it hurts, especially since he's a big playmaker. He makes a lot of good plays. He's about 6-foot-6, so he's a matchup nightmare, but we've still got to learn to play without players and he couldn't play tonight but hopefully he gets back soon."
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- GAME STORY, RUTGERS TOPS INDIANA: Indiana struggled to shoot the ball and got whipped on the boards in a 63-48 loss to Rutgers on Saturday in their Big Ten opener. It was the Hoosiers' first loss of the season. CLICK HERE
- LIVE BLOG: The Big Ten season is upon us already, with Indiana opening the conference season on the road at Rutgers. Welcome to our live blog straight from press row at center court. CLICK HERE
- MILLER KOPP VIDEO: Here's what Indiana forward Miller Kopp said after Saturday's loss to Rutgers. CLICK HERE
- PHOTO GALLERY: Indiana's basketball game at Rutgers might not have been very pretty on Saturday, but the pictures sure were. Here's our photo gallery from the game, with lots of wonderful images. CLICK HERE
- TOM BREW COLUMN: Indiana has lost five straight times to Rutgers in the past three years, but Trayce Jackson-Davis and the Hoosiers hope to change all of that on Saturday in Piscataway, N.J. The recent history is ugly, but that can be fixed with another solid performance. CLICK HERE
