Indiana got punched in the mouth on Tuesday against Texas and failed to get back up. It could have been easy for IU to fold and look past a third-place game against Stanford on Wednesday.
However, that's not what happened. Indiana responded - and in a big way. The Hoosiers took down the Cardinal 79-63 in a game in which they led for 37 minutes, and most of the second half by double-digits.
There were no seniors for IU as both Joey Brunk and Al Durham missed the game due to injuries, but that didn't stop some of the younger players from stepping up. Armaan Franklin and Race Thompson had big performances, but it was Trayce Jackson-Davis who raised the bar.
The preseason All-American had struggled in Indiana's first two games this week, shooting just 10-of-27 form the field. He ended his week with a career-high 31 points on 10-of-16 from the field and 11-of-14 from the line.
IU head coach Archie Miller called Wednesday 'a big day for him and his leadership' for Jackson-Davis. He answered the call.
"To be quite honest with you, Trayce needed to get lit up. He needed to get going and we're not going to be where we need to be unless he plays at a really extremely high level," Miller said. "He answered the bell today. I was proud of him"
“It wasn't even really lit up. It was just more of a ‘You're the guy. You need to start playing to your potential at a high level,'' Jackson-Davis said. "So I think really my teammates lifted me, especially when I wasn't having a good first two days. They stayed with me. They stayed behind me."
