When he got back into the locker room after falling to No. 20 Florida State University in overtime, sophomore forward Trayce Jackson-Davis was angry. He was angry because he wanted the win. He was angry because he said he knows this team is different.
Jackson-Davis put up 25 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds against the Seminoles. Despite his double-double, IU still ended up two points behind FSU when the final buzzer sounded, losing 69-67.
“I was really mad because in the past, I don’t think of us as any other IU team that we’ve had in the past 10 years,” Jackson-Davis said. “I’m trying to be different this year. And to be different, we gotta win these games.”
Jackson-Davis got into some of his teammates in the locker room after the game, but said at the end of the day it’s all love.
IU head coach Archie Miller said Jackson-Davis needs to continue to be motivated to take the team to another level, and he needs everyone else to rise up alongside him.
After a slow first half where Jackson-Davis only scored eight points and recorded four rebounds, he did just that — took the team to another level. He went on to score 17 more points, grab 13 more rebounds and prove clutch in important plays.
With eight seconds left in the game, Jackson-Davis went to the free throw line. He needed to make both shots to tie it. And he did just that.
The problem, however, was the rest of the team didn’t rise up with him.
On the other end of the floor as the last seconds ticked off the clock in overtime, sophomore guard Armaan Franklin let freshman guard Scottie Barnes slip by him and bank it off the glass to put the Seminoles up by two.
Although the loss came down to some plays, IU still gave up 14 turnovers and 19 offensive rebounds, while only shooting 38%.
“There were a lot of tough plays in this game, but when you’re on the road, that’s what you gotta expect,” Miller said.
Jackson-Davis was the only player to score for IU in overtime — tallying five crucial points in the extra minutes.
But his efforts weren’t just limited to scoring.
With the length of FSU, he knew he had to make his presence known on the glass. Although he said he struggled with rebounding in the first few games, he overcame that against FSU, outrebounding all of the IU guards combined.
“I knew that it wouldn’t be as easy for the guards to come in and get rebounds, so I knew I had to pick it up for this game,” Jackson-Davis.
In a game that saw 10 lead changes and 14 ties, Jackson-Davis was the difference maker for the Hoosiers during the more than 40 minutes he played. He grabbed offensive boards for second-chance opportunities. He blocked shots. He finished at the free throw line.
“He was ready to play,” Miller said. “Games like this, you need your best players obviously excited and motivated. He gives everybody confidence.”
Miller said he did an unbelievable job of pursuing the ball all night long. He rose up and kept IU in the game until the very last seconds.
“He was a warrior for us,” Miller said. “Clearly he’s showing right now that he’s one of the best players in college basketball, he’s just gotta keep growing.”
