BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WDRB) — Shooting is no longer the primary issue that flashes around Mike Woodson’s Indiana University men’s basketball team.
Grit tops the list of questions this season.
The Hoosiers backed down during their first loss at Rutgers. Soft around the basket. Tentative taking the ball to the rim. Happened again and again during their 3-game Big Ten losing streak -- against lightweights like Iowa, Northwestern and Penn State.
When scoring got tough, Indiana failed to score. When defense became critical, Indiana allowed 40 or more points in 9 of the 10 halves in their first five losses.
Michigan State is the program that has ruled the Big Ten for two decades because of grit. Nobody breaks out the shoulder pads with more gusto than Tom Izzo’s program.
How would an Indiana team many considered soft respond when Izzo and Team Toughness came to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Sunday afternoon in a game the Hoosiers needed to create more breathing room for their NCAA Tournament outlook?
IU brought its shoulder pads, lunch buckets, sharp elbows and went to work.
On a day when the Spartans flexed first, double-teaming Jackson-Davis while racing to a 17-8 lead, Indiana out-toughed the toughest team in the league for an 82-69 win at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Sunday afternoon.
"Make no mistake, it was our defense that held us," IU coach Mike Woodson said.
"This is what we do this for," said IU wing Tamar Bates. "We look forward to every game but especially when you know you have a really good opponents with everybody raising their level of play."
That defense helped. The Hoosiers limited the Spartans to four three-point field goals. But Indiana won this one when the Hoosiers won the recruiting battle with Michigan State for Trayce Jackson-Davis four years ago.
Purdue's Zach Edey is the unofficial front-runner for Big Ten and national player of the year. But nobody had a more overpowering four-day stretch than Jackson-Davis, who dropped 31 points on the Spartans for his second straight 30-point game. The 15 rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 assists with only one personal foul also flash from the box score.
"I feel like there's not a person in the country that can honestly guard me," Jackson-Davis said. "It is what it is when we hit shots and everything's clicking. We're a great team and we're tough to beat."
"Our backs were against the wall early in the Big Ten season and he stayed composed," IU guard Trey Galloway said. "He was hurt (sore back) and battled through that.
"He's finally kind of healthy and it's showing. Him sticking with it and also being a willing passer ... he's able to create so many more options for himself and others. Honestly it's incredible to watch him keep performing like this. I'm glad he's on my team."
Woodson said that his team needed time to adjust to the loss of two starters -- point guard Xavier Johnson, who has missed the last eight games after suffering a foot injury against Kansas and forward Race Thompson, who returned to play four scoreless minutes after missing four games with a knee injury.
"When you lose two starters, it's a shock to everybody," Woodson said. "I'm not using it as an excuse. Mentally we were smacked in the face."
"I just think we finally got acclimated to the new unit that we had in," Jackson-Davis said.
After losing three straight, the Hoosiers have won three straight, improving to 4-4 in the Big Ten and 13-6 overall. After winning consecutive games over Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan State by an average of more than 15 points, the Hoosiers could return to the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday.
This is the first time IU has won three straight Big Ten games since ... March 7, 2019, when Romeo Langford played his only season in Bloomington.
Against Illinois Thursday, Jackson-Davis made 15 of 19 shots and scored a season-best 35 points as Indiana won easily on the road. Illini coach Brad Underwood refused to double team Jackson-Davis.
Izzo has not made a million Final Fours being stupid or stubborn. The Spartans threw multiple double-teams and trick defenses against Jackson-Davis.
The Hoosiers figured them out. Jackson-Davis punished the Spartans with 31 points and 15 rebounds. Jackson-Davis has averaged 28 points and 12 rebounds in the three-game winning streak and returned to first-team all-American discussion.
"We moved the ball around and were hitting shots and that allowed us to space the floor and for me to go one-on-one," Jackson-Davis said.
"I can't think of a lot of players who have averaged 18, 19 or 20 points every year in college," Woodson said. "There's nothing the guy can't do on the basketball floor. He's been a pleasure to watch."
Tamar Bates hit five shots from distance, scoring 17 — the same total as Trey Galloway, who was three-for-three from behind the arc.
"The last three games, everyone has played a major role in us winning," Woodson said. "When you get in a rut, you've got to work harder. Practice became even harder. I became more demanding."
The beat goes on for Woodson’s team. The Hoosiers visit Minnesota Wednesday night before they return home to play Ohio State Saturday night.
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