BLOOMINGTON, Ind.–The #14 Indiana Hoosier men’s basketball team got a bounce back win and Hoosier forward Trayce Jackson-Davis passed his coach Mike Woodson on Indiana’s all-time scoring list Saturday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
After a last-second defeat to Northwestern Wednesday night, the Hoosiers won a hard-fought battle over the Illinois Fighting Illini 71-68. The Hoosiers trailed by as many as 9 points in a contest that had four lead changes and 10 ties.
Early in the first half, Jackson-Davis passed Woodson on the scoring list and an announcement was made on the public address system. Davis now has 2,081 points scored in his career.
“It’s an accomplishment,” Jackson-Davis said. “I’ll look at it more at the end of the year.”
Only A.J. Guyton (2,100), Don Schlundt (2,192), Steve Alford (2,438) and Calbert Cheaney (2,613) are ahead of Jackson-Davis.
“As a player, I was never about accolades, but scoring was something I was blessed to be able to do. The beauty of it is we both didn’t do it with three-pointers. Trayce doesn’t shoot them and I didn’t have it,” said Woodson.
Late in the second half, Indiana freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino hit two-free throws to put IU ahead 69-67, but then he fouled Illinois guard Jayden Epps. Epps went to the free throw line where he made one free throw and missed another.
Jackson-Davis sealed the win with a dunk to make it 71-68. A three-point shot by RJ Melendez from Illinois was off target as time expired.
For Indiana, they are now 19-8 overall and 10-6 in the Big Ten. They are in third place in the Big Ten standings. With their 10th conference win, this means that this is Indiana’s first season at .500 or better in the Big Ten since 2018.
Up next, they face Michigan State Tuesday night at 9 pm. Pregame coverage begins at 8 pm on 93.1 WIBC.
