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For the second time this weekend, Trayce Jackson-Davis has led the Hoosiers in typical All-American fashion. The Hoosiers went up against the Redhawks of Miami (OH) cruising past them in a 86-56 win at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Jackson-Davis was the leading scorer, finishing with a 17-point and 10-rebound double-double. The Hoosiers now move to 4-0 with the victory as they head back to Bloomington for two non conference games this upcoming week.
Jackson-Davis continued his early season dominance with his first double-double of the season. Most of Jackson-Davis’s production came in the first half after playing a total of 25 minutes. The Indiana forward recorded his double-double in the first 20 minutes of play, scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds in the first half. Jackson-Davis played 14 minutes in the first half but saw just 10 minutes of action in the second half due to Indiana’s increasing lead.
Jackson-Davis was projected to be an All-American type player this season and through four games he's done exactly that. Jackson-Davis leads Indiana in pretty much all offensive categories being Indiana's main offensive weapon. Jackson-Davis has the most points, rebounds, field goals made, blocks, and has recorded the most minutes out of any player this season. This doesn't come as much surprise considering Jackson-Davis’s career but for head coach Mike Woodson, his performance on Friday and Sunday shows how good he's been this season.
“The last two games they came from the big and went big-to-big, and he is starting to figure it out and get the ball into the right areas where we can play offense. I mean, it comes out when he is doubled. Sometimes he is able to beat the double-team with his offensive play. So, I mean, he is playing pretty good right now for us. We've got to keep him playing at a high level,” Woodson said.
On Friday, Jackson-Davis put the same type of performance up against Xavier. The Hoosiers walked out of Cintas Center with an 81-79 win but Jackson-Davis was the clear star in the win. In 37 minutes, Jackson-Davis recorded 30 points, six rebounds, two assists, and three blocks all while shooting 81 percent from the field. This game marks the second game in a row as the leading scorer for the Hoosiers in what has been two wins in three days.
One of Jackson-Davis’s strongest areas this season is how efficiently he's been shooting from the inside. In the game against Miami (OH), Jackson-Davis only missed two shots finishing the day 6-8 from the field. So far this season, Jackson-Davis has attempted 37 field goals, making 28 of them through four games. His 75 percent field goal shooting puts him as the 12th most efficient shooter in the country. Indiana as a team actually ranks third in the country in field goal percentage shooting 57 percent from the field, just behind James Madison and Arizona.
In the games against Xavier and Miami (OH) Trayce Jackson-Davis has been able to record a combined 47 points, 22 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks. The Hoosiers now move to 4-0 on the season but although it's been a handful of games, teammate Tamar Bates knows that what Jackson-Davis is doing is special. Indiana has two more non-conference games before their much anticipated game against North Carolina so Bates looks for his teammate to continue these high level performances.
“He is executing at a high level right now, and that's what we expect out of him. Especially for him being our senior leader. So he is doing a great job of playing out of double teams,” Bates said.
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