Here's What Trayce Jackson-Davis and Miller Kopp Said After Indiana's Win over Illinois
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana overcame a nine-point deficit in the second half to secure a 71-68 win over Illinois on Saturday.
Trayce Jackson-Davis led the Hoosiers with 26 points on 12-for-19 shooting, 12 rebounds, five blocks, three steals and two assists. Miller Kopp added 12 points on 4-for-5 3-point shooting.
Here's what the two seniors said after the game.
Postgame Media Conference
Indiana 71, Illinois 68
Q. I know you don't like talking about what is said in the locker room, but what were your first words to Coach when you're looking down at him on the all-time scoring list?
TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: I mean, it's an accomplishment. Again, I'm going to probably look at it more during the end of the year, but I'm just glad that we found a way to get that one. They were fighting. They were clawing. They were without one of their best players, and those dudes showed a lot of heart here. Just finding a way down the stretch and getting stops when we needed to, it was big for us.
Q. Miller, Coach Woodson said you got an earful at the half, tried to shut down Matthew Mayer, had a big first half, not a great second half. What was that conversation like, and what did you do especially better in the second half to shut him down?
MILLER KOPP: Pretty much he was just saying I had to step up. He got too many good looks in the first half from transition, from broken plays, and a couple of my mishaps just mentally and not being aware and really locked in. He just got into me and pretty much let me know I had to step up and be more active and aware off the ball and do my work early.
Q. Trayce, what has it been like just to watch Race coming back from the injury kind of deal with the mental and physical hurdles of getting back? How have you seen him deal with that?
JACKSON-DAVIS: Race is a great player, and he helps our team a lot. It's hard for him. I know it is, especially mentally, because he wants to be out there. Even if he says he's good, he's 100 percent, I know he's still going through some things. But he's playing as hard as he can, and that's what we need from him. He's starting to get back healthy, and he had a lot of big buckets today.
Q. Miller, I know it was a tough night for you against Northwestern just from a shooting perspective, but the ability to bounce back tonight, go 4 of 5 from three and be able to move on, what did that take from you to move on from that game, and then also just tonight it felt like you were a little bit maybe more aggressive with the shots.
KOPP: Well, you know, that night is over. It wasn't fun, but it is what it is, and it's over. I've got an amazing support system around me with teammates, with coaches, with Scott Dolson, just letting me know that they're with me and behind me and have my back no matter what for as long as I'm here and on.
For me, it was just about locking into this game, and my teammates needed me and I needed them, and we got it done.
Q. They had a ton of offensive rebounds, the most you guys have given up all year early, but then they had none late, and you also won just a ton of 50/50 balls late, too. What does it say about this team and just playing as hard as you possibly can until that final whistle?
JACKSON-DAVIS: Yeah, in the first half I remember a certain play where they might have gotten three, and Coach ripped us at halftime. I remember the first time we played them, I think they had 14 offensive rebounds. They're a good rebounding team, but in the second half I felt like we took a lot of things away. Coach just ripped us; he told us that we've got to start playing harder, we've got to get these 50/50 balls if we want to win, and we did that down the stretch.
Q. Trayce, just want to get your thoughts on [Jalen Hood-Schifino]. He's having a struggling game shooting the ball, but down the stretch last minute and a half or so makes three or four big plays. Your thoughts on his ability to make plays in key times?
JACKSON-DAVIS: Yeah, so Fino, he's a gamer. He works hard every day. He has the ultimate confidence in his abilities. Obviously he's a freshman, and sometimes he's going to struggle. That's when I come in, Miller comes in, and we get behind him and we tell him to keep going. I remember in the last media time-out, I said, if we run that high angle, get to your spot because you're going to be open. He was kind of frustrated a little bit, he didn't really want to run it, and then down the stretch got to that spot and hit a huge shot, especially after turning the ball over. It just shows how high of like a focus he has, and he's just next-play mentality, and he's just ready to go always.
Q. Miller, the Indiana offense, different phases, whether Jalen trying to get to the basket or working through Trayce. For you, what helps you the most get into the rhythm? Tonight your first attempt was probably the longest three-point attempt you've had here at Indiana, and that went in. What is it that helped you get into the offense and get in early and get in that rhythm?
KOPP: Well, I think the way they trapped, they were in rotation and early. I saw it even before I shot it, I kind of saw how they were playing Trayce and how they were trapping and rotating, and so I remember one of the first plays I was the feeder for Trayce and then after that when I wasn't, I could tell that they were pre-rotating to the feeder after leaving to go trap, and so I was the second pass, and I knew that one out of the trap, whether it was the one more or the skip that Trayce is so good at finding me at, I knew it was going to be open, so I just pulled it.
After that, it was about kind of, again, just finding my angles and making myself open so that Trayce could find me. He always says to me, just like be ready, be ready, be ready. Every time. Literally every time-out be ready, be ready.
JACKSON-DAVIS: I'm so angry if he doesn't shoot it. Every time he touches it I want the ball up. Every single time.
KOPP: But he knows I want to do the best thing. So yeah, that's really it.
Q. Trayce, the next game Tuesday is going to be probably about a little bit more than basketball going up to Michigan State. How do you balance out the competitive job that you have to do versus kind of the human empathy part of what that is probably going to be all about?
JACKSON-DAVIS: Yeah, first and foremost, just thoughts and prayers out to them. I think I speak for our whole team on that. I love Coach Izzo, and that place is going to be rocking. They're going to play with a lot of emotion, a lot of heart. We've got to be ready. But sometimes it's bigger than basketball.
Obviously we've just got to go, and it's business, but at the same time, it is what it is, and we're going to play hard and they're going to play hard, and if we get one, we get one, but we've got to go at them.
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- GAME STORY: Jalen Hood-Schifino made big plays down the stretch and Trayce Jackson-Davis had 26 points and 12 rebounds as Indiana erased a nine-point second-half deficit and beat Illinois 71-68 on Saturday at Assembly Hall. CLICK HERE
- ILLINOIS REMAINS POSITIVE AFTER LOSS: Illinois suffered a 71-68 loss on Saturday at Indiana, but coach Brad Underwood said he believes in his team more right now than he has at any point this season. CLICK HERE
- WATCH JACKSON-DAVIS CLIMB SCORING LIST: Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis passed his coach Mike Woodson for fifth on the Indiana all-time scoring list on Saturday against Illinois. CLICK HERE
- WATCH JACKSON-DAVIS TRIM LEAD: Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis came down with a loose ball and laid it in just before halftime of Saturday's game against Illinois. CLICK HERE
