Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis: 'Don't Even Worry, I'll Be Back Thursday'

Jackson-Davis had a big game before he got hurt, scoring 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in 30 minutes of action. He played a big role in the 13-4 Hoosiers getting their first road win in five tries this season. 

He even had a couple of nice baskets with his right hand, and he's so hard to guard in the middle of the lane against single coverage, because he can go both ways.

Here are the highlights of his big 23-point, 12-rebound game, with all 11 baskets in the montage.

Jackson-Davis went down hard, and landed right on his tailbone. Race Thompson, his teammate and fellow co-captain, isn't worried about his running mate. He knows how much Thursday's game against Indiana's arch-rival means to him, and he knows that Jackson-Davis will be ready to answer the bell. 

"It scared me for a second, but he's going to be fine,'' Thompson said. "He was in the locker room smiling and laughing. He's going to be ready to go.''

Indiana was able to close out the game without its star, with Thompson sliding to center and scoring a big bucket late. Sophomore forward Jordan Geronimo came in at the four, and had a perfect night, scoring 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting.

"Our ace in the hole goes down with seven minutes to go in the game, and our mentality is next man out and they came through and closed it out, which was nice to see,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "We'll assess (Jackson-Davis) once we get back and assess where he is, and then we'll go from there. It was his tailbone, and the way he landed, he didn't really have a chance to break his fall. But he's young; he'll be all right.''

The dunks never get old either.

It's not a massive overstatement to say that Indiana needs Jackson-Davis at his best on Thursday night against Purdue. The back half of this nine-game losing streak is on his watch, too, and he'd dearly love to end it.

Here's what has gone on in Jackson-Davis' four games against Purdue in his career.

• Feb. 8, 2020 in Bloomington: Purdue won 74-62 on the day that Bob Knight returned to Assembly Hall for the first time in 20 years. Jackson-Davis scored 16 points, and did a good job of getting to the free throw line, where he made 8-of-10.
• Feb. 27, 2020 in West Lafayette: Purdue won 57-49, and Jackson-Davis struggled against constant double teams. He scored only six points on 2-of-7 shooting, Indiana's offense was brutal that day, making just 15-of-59 shot, a 25.4 shooting percentage.
• Jan. 14, 2021 in Bloomington: Purdue won 81-69, and Jackson-Davis had his best game in the series, scoring 25 points. The only low spot, outside of the final score, was that he made just 7-of-14 free throw attempts. His teammates once again let him down, shooting just 3-for-18 from three-point range (16.7 percent).
• March 6, 2021 in West Lafayette: Purdue won 67-58, and Jackson-Davis scored 12 points in what was the fifth of six straight losses that ended Indiana's season and the Hoosier coaching career of Archie Miller. Indiana again was brutal from deep, making just 5-of-23 three-point shots, a 21.7 percentage.

Indiana would dearly love to end this losing streak that dates all the way back to 2016 and the Tom Crean era. It's been a long, long time.

"Don't remind me of that, (that Indiana has lost nine in a row to Purdue),'' Woodson said. "They're next on our schedule, and we can't lose at home. That's just my message, and I can't say it loud enough. 

"They are a great team. I watched them today, beat Illinois in double overtime. They're huge, they've got talent out front, but we're just going to have match them and see what happens.''

Thompson knows the challenge ahead, too, but the Hoosiers — who are a perfect 11-0 at home this season — are excited for the challenge.

"We can beat anybody when we play well,'' Thompson said. "It's all about protecting our home court, and trying to get a W on Thursday.''