Indiana University Athletics
Thursday, March 10
Indianapolis, Ind.
11:30 AM
Indiana University
vs
Michigan
IU Seeks Payback in Big Ten Tourney
3/10/2022 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Sugar coating solves nothing. Trayce Jackson-Davis knows. The Hoosiers know.
The Big Ten tourney has arrived and Indiana has to play its way onto the bubble, let alone beyond it and into the NCAA Tournament field.
Step one – beat Michigan Thursday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
"Everyone in our locker room knows how much we need this game, and they're willing to do anything to win," Jackson-Davis says. "We know where we stand. We know that we have to go get this one."
The challenge is formidable, starting with Michigan on Thursday. The Wolverines (17-13) beat IU as no team has all season. Its 80-62 victory came at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
"We did nothing right in that game," coach Mike Woodson says. "Our defensive coverages were awful. It was one of those games where we didn't show up to play. They took advantage of it on both ends of the floor."
The Hoosiers (18-12) get a chance at payback, and more.
Win and face top-seed Illinois in Friday's quarterfinals. Win again and a potential Saturday matchup with Rutgers awaits. Win again, and face a possible showdown with Wisconsin or Purdue for the tourney championship.
That would be four victories in four days against some of the best -- and most physical -- teams in the country.
"We know we can play with anybody in the country on any given night," forward Race Thompson says. We all know that."
History is not on the Hoosiers' side. They are 13-23 in the Big Ten tourney. They have never won this event, and only reached the title game twice -- in 2001 and '03.
Given IU has lost seven of its last nine games, and hasn't made the NCAA tourney field since 2016, you have enough pressure to break the steadiest of nerves.
The Hoosiers don't see it that way.
"Our strength coach (Clif Marshall) said, pressure is a privilege," Jackson-Davis says. "It's a privilege to be put in this situation.
"Maybe it's not always a good thing, but a lot of people wish they were in this position. Even though we're fighting on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament, we're still here, and we have pressure to perform. A lot of teams are looking in from the outside, and they have no chance of making it unless they win the tournament, which is up in the air.
"For us to be in the position that we're in and still to be able to make the tournament by winning one or two games is really big for us. Yeah, you can view it as a negative thing, but it's not going to help you. So, I try to take that pressure and help me perform."
IU's inability to close out winnable games has frustrated all parties concerned. It has lost twice in overtime, and six times by eight or fewer points.
"It's always just coming down to one possession," Jackson-Davis says. "One possession that can kill you.
"It was one possession against Purdue, one possession against Rutgers. Those last possessions, we've got to be the most locked-in team and the readiest team, whether it be one stop or to execute a play. We've got to just be able to do that."
In crunch time, with victory a play away against some of the nation's best teams, IU has missed open shots set up by crisp execution, botched makeable passes, blown defensive coverages and done just enough to lose.
"You can't explain those situations," Woodson says, and then tries.
"When you start consistently finishing plays like that and the win comes behind it, then it becomes natural. We've had so many miscues coming down the homestretch.
"If you win those games, they're in a good place mentally in terms of moving forward each time they're in that position. We haven't won them. We keep making some of the same mistakes, missing wide-open shots that other teams seem to make against us.
"It's one of those things. We've just got to keep working our way through it."
IU will likely again be without guard Trey Galloway, who has been sidelined with a groin injury.
"We need him," Woodson says. "He's a big piece of the puzzle.
"If he's able to come back, I'm going to accept him with open arms. We need bodies.
"I don't know if he's going to come back. He hasn't been able to practice.
"My theme has always been the next guy has got to be ready to play. That's all we can do at this point."
Woodson expects to use "seven or eight players." That's more than Michigan, which usually plays six or seven.
"When I go to the bench," he says, "I have to make sure we're doing what we have to do."
Beating Michigan starts with limiting 7-foot Hunter Dickinson, who lit up the Hoosiers for 25 points (including 3-for-4 from three-point range) and nine rebounds in its January victory over the Hoosiers, which came a couple days after IU upset then No. 4 Purdue.
Dickinson celebrated every big play as no Hoosier wanted to see.
"Our bigs are going to have to play him," Woodson says. "I thought he had his way. He was very boisterous about it. He had a monster game.
"You're not going to beat that team if you don't slow him down. We're going to have to do a better job on him to the point where he can't dominate like he did. I thought that was the difference.
"He was the X factor. He did whatever the hell he wanted to do. We can't let that happen again."
Michigan has played its last five games without coach Juwan Howard, who was suspended for his role in an incident against Wisconsin. The Wolverines won three of those games, against Rutgers, Michigan State and Ohio State.
Howard will be back on Thursday.
"Michigan is a team we believe we can beat on any given night," Thompson says. "The last time we played them, we were riding a little bit hot, and you can't do that, otherwise you'll get beat in the Big Ten. We're ready to play and excited to get down there."
Ready or not, in the end, it comes down to this:
"We're trying to win the tournament," Jackson-Davis says.
"Michigan is the first team on our schedule. We've got to worry about them. They're playing really well. We have to fight and try to get a W."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Sugar coating solves nothing. Trayce Jackson-Davis knows. The Hoosiers know.
The Big Ten tourney has arrived and Indiana has to play its way onto the bubble, let alone beyond it and into the NCAA Tournament field.
Step one – beat Michigan Thursday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
"Everyone in our locker room knows how much we need this game, and they're willing to do anything to win," Jackson-Davis says. "We know where we stand. We know that we have to go get this one."
The challenge is formidable, starting with Michigan on Thursday. The Wolverines (17-13) beat IU as no team has all season. Its 80-62 victory came at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
"We did nothing right in that game," coach Mike Woodson says. "Our defensive coverages were awful. It was one of those games where we didn't show up to play. They took advantage of it on both ends of the floor."
The Hoosiers (18-12) get a chance at payback, and more.
Win and face top-seed Illinois in Friday's quarterfinals. Win again and a potential Saturday matchup with Rutgers awaits. Win again, and face a possible showdown with Wisconsin or Purdue for the tourney championship.
That would be four victories in four days against some of the best -- and most physical -- teams in the country.
"We know we can play with anybody in the country on any given night," forward Race Thompson says. We all know that."
History is not on the Hoosiers' side. They are 13-23 in the Big Ten tourney. They have never won this event, and only reached the title game twice -- in 2001 and '03.
Given IU has lost seven of its last nine games, and hasn't made the NCAA tourney field since 2016, you have enough pressure to break the steadiest of nerves.
The Hoosiers don't see it that way.
"Our strength coach (Clif Marshall) said, pressure is a privilege," Jackson-Davis says. "It's a privilege to be put in this situation.
"Maybe it's not always a good thing, but a lot of people wish they were in this position. Even though we're fighting on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament, we're still here, and we have pressure to perform. A lot of teams are looking in from the outside, and they have no chance of making it unless they win the tournament, which is up in the air.
"For us to be in the position that we're in and still to be able to make the tournament by winning one or two games is really big for us. Yeah, you can view it as a negative thing, but it's not going to help you. So, I try to take that pressure and help me perform."
IU's inability to close out winnable games has frustrated all parties concerned. It has lost twice in overtime, and six times by eight or fewer points.
"It's always just coming down to one possession," Jackson-Davis says. "One possession that can kill you.
"It was one possession against Purdue, one possession against Rutgers. Those last possessions, we've got to be the most locked-in team and the readiest team, whether it be one stop or to execute a play. We've got to just be able to do that."
In crunch time, with victory a play away against some of the nation's best teams, IU has missed open shots set up by crisp execution, botched makeable passes, blown defensive coverages and done just enough to lose.
"You can't explain those situations," Woodson says, and then tries.
"When you start consistently finishing plays like that and the win comes behind it, then it becomes natural. We've had so many miscues coming down the homestretch.
"If you win those games, they're in a good place mentally in terms of moving forward each time they're in that position. We haven't won them. We keep making some of the same mistakes, missing wide-open shots that other teams seem to make against us.
"It's one of those things. We've just got to keep working our way through it."
IU will likely again be without guard Trey Galloway, who has been sidelined with a groin injury.
"We need him," Woodson says. "He's a big piece of the puzzle.
"If he's able to come back, I'm going to accept him with open arms. We need bodies.
"I don't know if he's going to come back. He hasn't been able to practice.
"My theme has always been the next guy has got to be ready to play. That's all we can do at this point."
Woodson expects to use "seven or eight players." That's more than Michigan, which usually plays six or seven.
"When I go to the bench," he says, "I have to make sure we're doing what we have to do."
Beating Michigan starts with limiting 7-foot Hunter Dickinson, who lit up the Hoosiers for 25 points (including 3-for-4 from three-point range) and nine rebounds in its January victory over the Hoosiers, which came a couple days after IU upset then No. 4 Purdue.
Dickinson celebrated every big play as no Hoosier wanted to see.
"Our bigs are going to have to play him," Woodson says. "I thought he had his way. He was very boisterous about it. He had a monster game.
"You're not going to beat that team if you don't slow him down. We're going to have to do a better job on him to the point where he can't dominate like he did. I thought that was the difference.
"He was the X factor. He did whatever the hell he wanted to do. We can't let that happen again."
Michigan has played its last five games without coach Juwan Howard, who was suspended for his role in an incident against Wisconsin. The Wolverines won three of those games, against Rutgers, Michigan State and Ohio State.
Howard will be back on Thursday.
"Michigan is a team we believe we can beat on any given night," Thompson says. "The last time we played them, we were riding a little bit hot, and you can't do that, otherwise you'll get beat in the Big Ten. We're ready to play and excited to get down there."
Ready or not, in the end, it comes down to this:
"We're trying to win the tournament," Jackson-Davis says.
"Michigan is the first team on our schedule. We've got to worry about them. They're playing really well. We have to fight and try to get a W."
Players Mentioned
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