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As announced on Tuesday, Indiana senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis was named a semifinalist for the Naismith Men’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
The senior forward out of Greenwood, Indiana has been stellar on the defensive end for the Hoosiers all season long. This season, he is averaging 2.5 blocks per game along with 7.5 defensive rebounds as well.
Below is the full release:
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis has been named a semifinalist for the Naismith Men’s Defensive Player of the Year award, the publication announced on Tuesday.
His 2.9 blocks per contest rank fifth in the NCAA and third among high-major players. The Greenwood native is ninth nationally with 72 total blocked shots this season, despite missing three games.
Jackson-Davis is averaging 11.0 rebounds (5th in the NCAA) per contest, with 7.9 (4th) coming on the defensive end of the floor. His career-high 24 rebounds against Northwestern (Jan. 8) tied Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky) for the most rebounds in a game this year. He has produced three of the 15 20-rebound games across the country this season.
TJD is one of two players (Aziz Bandaogo, Utah Valley) nationally that average at least 7.5 defensive rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game.
In two seasons with Jackson-Davis anchoring head coach Mike Woodson’s defense, the Hoosiers have allowed opponents to shoot just 40.1% from the floor, the lowest figure in the Big Ten Conference. IU has held league foes to 41.4% shooting, the lowest tally in the conference.
In the month of January, the National Player of the Year candidate averaged 23.0 points, 14.6 rebounds, and 3.4 blocks per game. He joined Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal as the only three players in the last 25 seasons to average at least 23.0 points, 14.0 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game in a calendar month (min. 5 games) in Division I basketball or the NBA.
On Dec. 17, Jackson-Davis blocked a career-best nine shots at Kansas, the most ever by a Jayhawk opponent and the highest single-game block total by any player in college basketball this season. He has blocked at least four shots in nine games this season.
The four-time Big Ten Player of the Week has secured 15 double-doubles this season, tied for eighth in the country. Jackson-Davis has produced seven 20-10 games and six 15-15 games this season.
Naismith Men's Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalists
Chase Audige, Northwestern
Moussa Cisse, Oklahoma State
Jaylen Clark, UCLA
Zach Edey, Purdue
Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Caleb McConnell, Rutgers
Kevin McCullar Jr., Kansas
Marcus Sasser, Houston
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
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