Indiana Grinds Out 66-60 Win Over Rutgers, Jackson-Davis Sets Program Record

Indiana showed maturity to withstand Rutgers physical and relentless play to secure a 66-60 win on Tuesday night at Assembly Hall. It was Indiana's first win over Rutgers since 2019, and Trayce Jackson-Davis became the first player in program history to score 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Rutgers threw punch after punch, but Indiana never went down. 

A visibly tougher squad from their matchup against Rutgers two months ago, the Hoosiers withstood countless Rutgers runs to secure a 66-60 win on Tuesday night at Assembly Hall.

Indiana sat in the cellar of the Big Ten standings at 1-4 on Jan. 12, but the Hoosiers have rattled off wins in seven of their last eight contests. Less than a month later, Indiana is 17-7 overall and tied for second in the Big Ten with an 8-5 conference record. After the game, Indiana coach Mike Woodson was asked about the emotional maturity his team has developed during that stretch.

"I think it's at its all-time high," Woodson said. "They just believe now, and that's a big part of winning. When we lost those three in a row, we were all searching. Me being the head of the snake as the coach, I'm searching and I know what the hell was going on, you know, what we weren't doing, and now we're back doing those things. That's what makes winning fun."

It was a special night for Trayce Jackson-Davis, who continues to check the box on career firsts and program records. Tuesday marked Jackson-Davis' first win over Rutgers in his illustrious four-year career, and he also became the first player in program history to score 2,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds. 

Jackson-Davis finished the game with 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting with 18 rebounds, six assists and one block. He passed Yogi Ferrell on the all-time scoring list, and now sits sixth in program history, behind Woodson at 2,061. With 1,035 career rebounds, Jackson-Davis passed Kent Benson on Tuesday night and now ranks third in program history behind Walt Bellamy (1,087) and Kent Benson (1,091).

"It's unbelievable," Woodson said. "All I can say, it's unbelievable. This young man has done a lot since he's been here wearing this uniform. I couldn't be more prouder of a player. He's a phenomenal player, beautiful to watch but he does a lot of wonderful things on the floor, man, to be able to score 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, that says a lot."

Jackson-Davis, however dominant, couldn't pull off this win on his own, though. Miller Kopp scored 18 points on 4-for-6 3-point shooting, and Jalen Hood-Schifino defied physics with a behind-the-back reverse layup that somehow dropped over the rim. Four other Hoosiers scored at least four points, and Indiana shot 45.8 percent overall, 41.7 percent from 3 and 70.8 from the free throw line. 

"[Kopp] was getting good looks, and he knocked them in and made them pay for it," Woodson said. "Most teams that we play don't give him very many good looks like that."

Woodson was frustrated with Indiana's rebounding in the first matchup against Rutgers – a 63-48 loss in Piscataway, N.J. on Dec. 3 – but Indiana outrebounded Rutgers 35-31 on Tuesday. 

Eleven of Rutgers' 31 rebounds came on the offensive end, leading to 14 second-chance points. The Scarlet Knights also benefitted from 14 Indiana turnovers, which turned into 13 points going the other way. The early portion of the game had the makings of an easy Indiana win, but a gritty team like Rutgers wouldn't allow that to happen, thanks in large part to offensive rebounding and turnovers. 

Indiana jumped out to a 13-6 lead at the under-16 media timeout, but that turned into a two-point lead just two minutes later. The Hoosiers' offense was clicking in the middle part of the first half, leading by as much as 14 points with 7:54 remaining before halftime. But Rutgers ended the half on a 19-8 run, trimming the Hoosiers lead to just three points after the first 20 minutes of play.

The second half followed a largely similar script, with Indiana extending its lead to as much as 10 points, only for Rutgers to continue to chip away. After two Race Thompson free throws gave Indiana a 59-52 lead with 4:39 to play, it finally felt like Indiana delivered the lasting blow. But a jumper from Cam Spencer and a layup from Derek Simpson put Rutgers within three points just a minute later. 

The Indiana team from a month or two ago might have let this one slip away. Certainly the Hoosiers that played at Rutgers in early December would have done so. But with renewed belief, Indiana responded with five consecutive points to keep Rutgers at arm's length. Indiana got stops when it needed to most, and allowed just four points in the final 2:26 to secure the much-needed victory.

Perhaps the most crucial bucket came from Trey Galloway with 48 seconds remaining. As the shot clock ticked away, Hood-Schifino put up a tightly-contested shot that caromed off the rim to Jackson-Davis. The All-American big man put it right back up, but his shot fell off the rim, too. Galloway darted in from the perimeter to snatch the rebound from Clifford Omoruyi's grasp, and he laid the ball off the glass and through the rim, drawing a Derek Simpson foul in the process.

Finally, Indiana could breathe. 

Omoruyi led Rutgers with 15 points, followed by 14 from Spencer. After a 16-point double-double against Indiana in December, Caleb McConnell finished with two points on 1-for-12 shooting. As a team, Rutgers shot 39.7 percent overall and 32.0 from 3-point range. 

"You start looking over your shoulder a little bit when I think they cut the lead to three or even one, I think," Woodson said. "And we make two free throws to extend it and then we started to make plays. But again, our team, I'm proud of this team, man, because there's no quitting. They grind. They try to do whatever it takes to win and tonight we did that."

For Jackson-Davis, his first win over Rutgers came with reflection on just how tough of an opponent the Scarlet Knights have been throughout his record-setting career.

"It's very important," Jackson-Davis said. "I think that was the last team in the Big Ten that I had not beaten. We got Wisconsin earlier this year, but [Rutgers is] a tough team and credit to them. They will always bring it. The RAC is always the toughest place to play in that I've personally played in, but they have a lot of pieces. Caleb [McConnell] is great. I remember when they used to have Myles Johnson, he was a monster. Big Cliff [Omoruyi] is a really great player. 

"They have a lot of pieces around them and just finally getting over that hump and like Coach Woodson said, getting the monkey off your back, it's big for us. We've just got to keep moving forward and taking it one game at a time."

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• WHAT JACKSON-DAVIS, KOPP SAID: Indiana defeated Rutgers 66-60 on Tuesday night behind 20 points and 18 rebounds from Trayce Jackson-Davis and a 4-for-6 3-point shooting night from Miller Kopp. Here's what the two Hoosiers said after the win with video attached. CLICK HERE
• KOPP'S BIG NIGHT: Indiana basketball's Miller Kopp has balled out versus Rutgers in both meetings this season as the Hoosiers finished the Scarlet Knights off 66-60 on Tuesday. Kopp said late night hoops as a kid with his brothers and roughhousing with boxing gloves from his dad made him into the competitor he is today. CLICK HERE
• PHOTO GALLERY: The Rutgers Scarlet Knights traveled to Bloomington for the second conference matchup with the Indiana Hoosiers on Tuesday. It was a nail-biter, but Indiana's defense held Rutgers at bay, winning 66-60. CLICK HERE
• TJD DUNKS ON THE SCARLET KNIGHTS: Watch this replay of Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis dunking on Rutgers with authority to give the Hoosiers a 12-point lead in the first half. CLICK HERE
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