Jackson-Davis Leads Indiana in Win Over Minnesota

Wednesday, February 19

Minneapolis, Minn.

9:00 PM

Indiana University

17-9,7-8Big Ten

Minnesota

12-13,6-9Big Ten

Team	1	2	F
Indiana	28	40	68
Minnesota	31	25	56

Box Score (PDF)

2/19/2020 11:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- For Indiana, toughness ruled, adversity steeled.

Road victory followed.

Repeat and savor.

The Hoosiers took charge early in the second half and went on to win at Minnesota 68-56 Wednesday night.

It wasn't a NCAA tourney bid clincher but it was a huge step in that direction.

"It's all about what you can control," coach Archie Miller told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during his post-game radio show. "The season is just beginning. This is when it gets really good. This is when you want to be involved."

IU's second road win of the season boosted its record to 17-9 overall and 7-8 in the Big Ten. It also was the Hoosiers' fifth Quad 1 win, a big NCAA tourney-qualifying factor.

Miller called it a "gutty performance."

"It's so hard to bounce back, to keep bouncing back," he told Fischer. "You have to show what type of grit you have and how much you care about each other."

Grit followed the Michigan loss debacle that left everyone on edge.

The flaws from that defeat became strengths at Williams Arena. The defense ripped away the made layup from the Gopher game plan. The Hoosiers controlled the down-the-stretch rebounding to finish with a 39-38 advantage. They had 15 assists against 10 turnovers as the guards controlled the game. They also had a 34-24 edge in points in the paint

"For us to win this type of game," Miller told Fischer, "I hope breathes some life into these guys."

Miller's get-tough-inside message resonated with big men Trayce Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson, Justin Smith, De'Ron Davis and Joey Brunk.

They all had their moments but towering over it all was Jackson-Davis, the 6-9 freshman who shot and shot and shot again en route to career-high totals of 27 points and 16 rebounds.

He did much of it against 6-10 Daniel Oturu, one of the Big Ten's best big men.

"Offensively, our main focus was to get Trayce going early," Miller said in the post-game interview. "He responded with a great performance."

Jackson-Davis was 11-for-15 from the field. Three days earlier at Michigan, he took just three shots.

"We wanted to get him more touches," Miller said. "At times he doesn't post hard. He was engaged tonight. He delivered on some timely shots."

Added Jackson-Davis in a BTN post-game interview: "In practice, Coach put an emphasis on pounding the ball inside. My teammates did a great job of finding me."

It was Jackson-Davis' eighth double-double of the season.

"He doesn't get enough credit nationally," Miller said. "He's been a bright spot for us all season. I think he's the freshman of the year in our league."

The 6-8 Thompson was nearly as impressive. He came off the bench for nine points and 10 rebounds while playing tenacious defense.

"I can't say enough about Race," Miller told Fischer. "He's a blue-collar guy and a great rebounder. He was unbelievable."

The Hoosiers thrived under must-win pressure that followed a stretch of five losses in six games.

"We had a great attitude," Miller said in the BTN post-game interview. "We responded well (from the Michigan loss). We defended.

"On the road, you just have to find a way."

IU opened big with Davis joining Jackson-Davis and Smith inside but it was swingman Jerome Hunter who unleashed the most impressive early paint presence by blocking Oturu's dunk attempt.

Still, Minnesota (12-13, 6-9) hit nine of its first 12 shots to build a 10-point lead.

The Hoosiers didn't blink.

They inched their way back to trail 31-28 at halftime.

IU got three-pointers from Al Durham and Devonte Green and a monster dunk from Jackson-Davis to surge ahead 44-38 seven minutes into the second half.

A few minutes later, the Hoosiers had a 51-44 lead and never wavered despite a couple of Minnesota runs.

"The whole team played hard, competed," Miller said.

Next up is No. 9 Penn State on Sunday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

"We got two (games) on the week," Miller told Fischer. "We got the first one. I can tell you this, we don't want a split."