It was Senior Night for the Hoosiers in Assembly Hall, but this game had larger implications for every player on Indiana. Win and you almost guarantee yourself a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Lose and your season likely ends in the NIT. How did the Cream and Crimson handle the pressure?
It was the usual starting five for head coach Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers as Xavier Johnson, Miller Kopp, Parker Stewart, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Race Thompson got things started for IU against Rutgers
Everything ran through Jackson-Davis down low to start the game. The 6-foot-9 forward got it going early as he had nine points, three rebounds, an assist, and a block through the first five minutes of the ball game.
At the under-16 media timeout, the Hoosiers led the Scarlet Knights 12-6 with 14:36 remaining in the first half.
The frontcourt of Rutgers struggled to defend Jackson-Davis and Thompson throughout the entire first half. Indiana’s two most reliable players combined for 22 of Indiana’s 32 first half points. But it was not just on offense where the Rutgers frontcourt struggled as they were unable to get anything going on the offensive side of the floor.
The Scarlet Knights had to rely on a Ron Harper Jr. 35-foot three-point basket and Geo Baker step back threes to keep them in the game early.
Indiana’s offense, ,on the other hand could not buy a three-pointer at the start. The Hoosiers started the game 6-of-8 from inside the arc and 0-of-4 from long distance. The bigger problem? Indiana’s inability to feed the paint after they found success and force three-point attempts allowed Steve Pikiell’s team to rally.
When TJD went to the bench, Indiana struggled to find any scoring going 0-for-4 from the floor and have a scoring drought lasted over three minutes. With just under six minutes remaining in the first half the Hoosiers led 21-18.
