Indiana University Athletics
Friday, March 11
Indianapolis, Ind.
11:30 AM
Indiana University
20-12,9-11Big Ten
65
vs
63
Illinois
22-9,15-5Big Ten
1
2
F
Indiana
31
34
65
Illinois
33
30
63
Indiana Punches Ticket to Big Ten Semifinal
3/11/2022 2:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Sometimes you have to be tougher than the other guy.
Sometimes you have to let him blink.
You'd better believe Indiana did Friday afternoon amid fierce Big Ten tourney pressure.
The Hoosiers -- steeled by a regular season of late-game disappointments, invigorated by postseason opportunity -- have learned how to win crunch time.
Top-seed Illinois, a potential Final Four team, can vouch for that.
Forward Trayce Jackson-Davis hit three of the biggest free throws of his life in the closing seconds Friday to lift the ninth-seeded Hoosiers (20-12) to a 65-63 victory over the Illini in the conference tourney quarterfinals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to earn their first semifinal berth since 2013.
"For us, it's always been one key stop," Jackson-Davis said. "Before, we weren't getting them. We're finally getting those breaks. That's good for us."
Down the stretch, with a potential NCAA tourney bid at stake, IU made play after game-winning play to become the first No. 9 seed to reach the semifinals since Iowa in 2002.
"It was another great effort," coach Mike Woodson said. "We competed for 40 minutes. They competed. Nobody wanted to give an inch. We made some damn good plays down the stretch to secure the win."
The Hoosiers want more. Two more victories would earn them their first Big Ten tourney title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
"This is big for us," Jackson-Davis said, "but we didn't pack for two days. We packed to win the Big Ten tourney.
"I'm glad we got this W to solidify (an NCAA tourney) spot, but at the same time, we want to play two more games."
With Illinois (22-9) pushing hard to avoid an upset, reserve guard Trey Galloway had crucial steals, a layup and an assist. Starters Race Thompson and Xavier Johnson made key baskets.
No Hoosier stepped up more than Jackson-Davis, who for the second straight game played at an MVP level.
He totaled 21 points and seven rebounds to follow up on Thursday's 24-point, eight-rebound effort against Michigan. In two tourney games he's averaged 17 second-half points while playing all 20 minutes.
This was vindication for a guy who had struggled in the postseason in his first two years.
"There has been a lot of talk of me not showing up at the end of the season," he said. "I'm trying to change that narrative.
"(Illinois) is the team that got me in the slump I've been in for the last month. When we played them (he had six points and six rebounds in the 74-57 loss), it took a lot of my confidence away.
"Illinois was a bully today and we took care of that problem. I'm going to keep playing the way I'm playing and we go from there."
Illinois, meanwhile, committed a couple of late turnovers, shot just 35.7 percent from the field, was only 10-for-22 on layups and was 15-for-23 on free throws.
"At the end of the day," Illini coach Brad Underwood said, "you can't do that in postseason play."
Did victories over Michigan and Illinois in consecutive days clinch an NCAA tourney bid?
Underwood is convinced it did.
"It was Indiana's day," he said. "It's the best league in the country. If there was any doubt them getting in, this should solidify that."
IU hasn't made the NCAA tourney since 2016. One of Woodson's goals when taking the head coaching job last spring was to get the Hoosiers back to NCAA tourney relevance.
"That would be great for our players," he said. "This season has been fun. It's been a roller-coaster ride watching these guys develop.
"Even though we lost a lot of close games, we are competitive. It would be great for our program if we're back in the Dance."
Johnson had 13 points, six assists and four rebounds to continue his strong late-season play. Thompson had 10 points and nine rebounds. Galloway had eight points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal.
The Hoosiers flexed their Big Ten-leading defensive muscles early.
Illinois hit its first two shots – both three-pointers – and missed its next 11 over eight minutes.
IU, with an 8-0 advantage in points in the paint, capitalized to take a 15-10 lead.
With Galloway driving for a layup over 7-foot center Kofi Cockburn, the Hoosiers kept the advantage until Cockburn (who finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds) picked up the offensive pace with seven points to forge a 21-21 tie with 7:29 left.
Illinois pushed ahead 26-21. IU pushed back with baskets from Johnson, Jackson-Davis and Rob Phinisee to trail 28-27 with three minutes left.
The Illinoi reached halftime with a 33-31 lead. Galloway, Jackson-Davis and Phinisee each had six points. The Hoosiers had a 20-10 edge in points in the paint.
IU used a 9-0 run to surge ahead 47-42 eight minutes into the second half. Thompson had a three-pointer and two free throws. Jackson-Davis and Johnson added layups.
Thompson made another three-pointer for a six-point Hoosier lead. The Illini continued going inside to Cockburn.
Illinois' Coleman Hawkins hit his fourth three-pointer to give Illinois a 57-54 lead. A Galloway steal and assist to a Jackson-Davis basket left the Hoosiers ahead 58-57 with 3:45 left.
A Galloway layup gave IU a 62-59 lead. Illinois scored four straight points, the last two on a pair of Cockburn free throws with 33 seconds left.
Jackson-Davis' two free throws pushed the Hoosiers ahead 63-62.
Then Illinois cracked.
Guard Trent Frazier threw the ball away. Guard Andre Curbello missed a driving layup.
Jackson-Davis got the rebound and made a free throw with 1.9 seconds left to clinch it, enabling the Hoosiers to leave the tourney amid cheers rather than last season's boos.
"We're now in the semis," Jackson-Davis said. "Our team is playing with a lot of confidence.
"This isn't last year's team. We're finally getting over the hump."
IU snapped a four-game losing streak to Illinois, just as it snapped a nine-game losing streak to Michigan the day before.
"The biggest thing for us is this was finally a chance to prove something," Jackson-Davis said. "Coming into this tournament, we had a chip on our shoulders to prove ourself and I think we've done that so far."
The Hoosiers will face Iowa (24-9) on Saturday. The Hawkeyes also have won two straight Big Ten tourney games, blowing out Northwestern on Thursday and beating fourth-seed Rutgers 84-74 on Friday.
Iowa won the only meeting with IU, 83-74 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
"Now we've got to get ready for the next opponent," Woodson said. "That's what it's all about."
IUHoosiers.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Sometimes you have to be tougher than the other guy.
Sometimes you have to let him blink.
You'd better believe Indiana did Friday afternoon amid fierce Big Ten tourney pressure.
The Hoosiers -- steeled by a regular season of late-game disappointments, invigorated by postseason opportunity -- have learned how to win crunch time.
Top-seed Illinois, a potential Final Four team, can vouch for that.
Forward Trayce Jackson-Davis hit three of the biggest free throws of his life in the closing seconds Friday to lift the ninth-seeded Hoosiers (20-12) to a 65-63 victory over the Illini in the conference tourney quarterfinals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to earn their first semifinal berth since 2013.
"For us, it's always been one key stop," Jackson-Davis said. "Before, we weren't getting them. We're finally getting those breaks. That's good for us."
Down the stretch, with a potential NCAA tourney bid at stake, IU made play after game-winning play to become the first No. 9 seed to reach the semifinals since Iowa in 2002.
"It was another great effort," coach Mike Woodson said. "We competed for 40 minutes. They competed. Nobody wanted to give an inch. We made some damn good plays down the stretch to secure the win."
The Hoosiers want more. Two more victories would earn them their first Big Ten tourney title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
"This is big for us," Jackson-Davis said, "but we didn't pack for two days. We packed to win the Big Ten tourney.
"I'm glad we got this W to solidify (an NCAA tourney) spot, but at the same time, we want to play two more games."
With Illinois (22-9) pushing hard to avoid an upset, reserve guard Trey Galloway had crucial steals, a layup and an assist. Starters Race Thompson and Xavier Johnson made key baskets.
No Hoosier stepped up more than Jackson-Davis, who for the second straight game played at an MVP level.
He totaled 21 points and seven rebounds to follow up on Thursday's 24-point, eight-rebound effort against Michigan. In two tourney games he's averaged 17 second-half points while playing all 20 minutes.
This was vindication for a guy who had struggled in the postseason in his first two years.
"There has been a lot of talk of me not showing up at the end of the season," he said. "I'm trying to change that narrative.
"(Illinois) is the team that got me in the slump I've been in for the last month. When we played them (he had six points and six rebounds in the 74-57 loss), it took a lot of my confidence away.
"Illinois was a bully today and we took care of that problem. I'm going to keep playing the way I'm playing and we go from there."
Illinois, meanwhile, committed a couple of late turnovers, shot just 35.7 percent from the field, was only 10-for-22 on layups and was 15-for-23 on free throws.
"At the end of the day," Illini coach Brad Underwood said, "you can't do that in postseason play."
Did victories over Michigan and Illinois in consecutive days clinch an NCAA tourney bid?
Underwood is convinced it did.
"It was Indiana's day," he said. "It's the best league in the country. If there was any doubt them getting in, this should solidify that."
IU hasn't made the NCAA tourney since 2016. One of Woodson's goals when taking the head coaching job last spring was to get the Hoosiers back to NCAA tourney relevance.
"That would be great for our players," he said. "This season has been fun. It's been a roller-coaster ride watching these guys develop.
"Even though we lost a lot of close games, we are competitive. It would be great for our program if we're back in the Dance."
Johnson had 13 points, six assists and four rebounds to continue his strong late-season play. Thompson had 10 points and nine rebounds. Galloway had eight points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal.
The Hoosiers flexed their Big Ten-leading defensive muscles early.
Illinois hit its first two shots – both three-pointers – and missed its next 11 over eight minutes.
IU, with an 8-0 advantage in points in the paint, capitalized to take a 15-10 lead.
With Galloway driving for a layup over 7-foot center Kofi Cockburn, the Hoosiers kept the advantage until Cockburn (who finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds) picked up the offensive pace with seven points to forge a 21-21 tie with 7:29 left.
Illinois pushed ahead 26-21. IU pushed back with baskets from Johnson, Jackson-Davis and Rob Phinisee to trail 28-27 with three minutes left.
The Illinoi reached halftime with a 33-31 lead. Galloway, Jackson-Davis and Phinisee each had six points. The Hoosiers had a 20-10 edge in points in the paint.
IU used a 9-0 run to surge ahead 47-42 eight minutes into the second half. Thompson had a three-pointer and two free throws. Jackson-Davis and Johnson added layups.
Thompson made another three-pointer for a six-point Hoosier lead. The Illini continued going inside to Cockburn.
Illinois' Coleman Hawkins hit his fourth three-pointer to give Illinois a 57-54 lead. A Galloway steal and assist to a Jackson-Davis basket left the Hoosiers ahead 58-57 with 3:45 left.
A Galloway layup gave IU a 62-59 lead. Illinois scored four straight points, the last two on a pair of Cockburn free throws with 33 seconds left.
Jackson-Davis' two free throws pushed the Hoosiers ahead 63-62.
Then Illinois cracked.
Guard Trent Frazier threw the ball away. Guard Andre Curbello missed a driving layup.
Jackson-Davis got the rebound and made a free throw with 1.9 seconds left to clinch it, enabling the Hoosiers to leave the tourney amid cheers rather than last season's boos.
"We're now in the semis," Jackson-Davis said. "Our team is playing with a lot of confidence.
"This isn't last year's team. We're finally getting over the hump."
IU snapped a four-game losing streak to Illinois, just as it snapped a nine-game losing streak to Michigan the day before.
"The biggest thing for us is this was finally a chance to prove something," Jackson-Davis said. "Coming into this tournament, we had a chip on our shoulders to prove ourself and I think we've done that so far."
The Hoosiers will face Iowa (24-9) on Saturday. The Hawkeyes also have won two straight Big Ten tourney games, blowing out Northwestern on Thursday and beating fourth-seed Rutgers 84-74 on Friday.
Iowa won the only meeting with IU, 83-74 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
"Now we've got to get ready for the next opponent," Woodson said. "That's what it's all about."
Team Stats
IND
Illini
FG%
.464
.357
3FG%
.300
.364
FT%
.769
.652
RB
35
37
TO
7
8
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
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