Miller Kopp Bounces Back Against Illinois After Rough Night At Northwestern

Miller Kopp went 1-for-6 and was the target of hateful chants at Northwestern on Wednesday, but he bounced back in a big way on Saturday by knocking down four 3-pointers in Indiana's 71-68 win over Illinois.

Jack Ankony | Feb 19, 2023

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Trey Galloway dashed along the baseline, searching for an open shot as Indiana trailed by three points with five minutes remaining in Saturday's game against Illinois.

Miller Kopp found a soft spot in the Illinois defense and caught a pass in the corner from a leaping Galloway. Fading a bit to his right, Kopp rose above Luke Goode's outstretched hand and drilled a game-tying 3-pointer. As Kopp ran back on defense, the Assembly Hall crowd roared to levels it hadn't yet reached on Saturday.

It was a stark contrast from the "F--- you, Miller" chants he heard on Wednesday at Northwestern. Kopp made just 1-of-6 shots in that game, his worst shooting performance of the season.

"People forget you're human too," Kopp said on Saturday's pregame radio show with Don Fischer. "I lost a lot of respect for the university."

Boo Buie's floater gave the Wildcats a 64-62 win on Wednesday and moved Kopp's record to 0-3 against his former school. But Indiana had no choice but to flush that loss with a hungry Illinois squad coming to Assembly Hall on Saturday, looking to avenge its 80-65 home loss to Indiana in January.

"Well, Miller has been around a long time, and that Northwestern scene is not a good scene for him going back to last season," Woodson said Saturday. "It is what it is, man, but the bottom line, he's played well here at home for us. So I expect him to make shots here. He's got the fan base, and he's got everybody in his corner, so it makes it a lot easier for him."

Kopp drew a difficult matchup in this game, with the responsibility of sticking to Illinois' Matthew Mayer. Leading Illinois to a three-point halftime lead, the 6-foot-9, versatile Mayer scored 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting and four 3-pointers.

"Miller got an earful," Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "And guys that didn't switch up on [Mayer] at halftime. Hell, I thought he was going to go for a career high here the way he was playing. He was playing extremely well, but second half we kind of closed in on him and took away a lot of the gaps where he was able to work on."

Kopp and the Hoosiers held Mayer to eight second half points, six of which came at the free throw line. Mayer shot 1-for-7 in the second half and missed all four 3-point attempts.

On the other side of the floor, Kopp drilled 4-of-5 3-point attempts and finished with 12 points, three rebounds and two assists. While it was another day of gaudy numbers from Trayce Jackson-Davis – 26 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks, three steals and two assists – Indiana's 71-68 win over Illinois was more proof of how dangerous Indiana can be when Kopp is knocking down shots.

It was also a strong sign of resiliency from Kopp.

"Well, you know, that night is over," Kopp said after the Illinois game. "It wasn't fun, but it is what it is, and it's over. I've got an amazing support system around me with teammates, with coaches, with Scott Dolson, just letting me know that they're with me and behind me and have my back no matter what for as long as I'm here and on. For me, it was just about locking into this game, and my teammates needed me and I needed them, and we got it done."

Indiana has worked to create more looks for Kopp in recent games, too. From Jan. 5 to Jan. 22 – a stretch where Indiana went 3-3 – Kopp went 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. That's a great percentage in its own right, but he never made more than one 3-pointer in a game and never attempted more than two.

From Jan. 25 to Feb. 18, Indiana holds a 6-2 record and Kopp has played a greater role in the Hoosiers' offensive production. In these eight games, Kopp is 17-for-35 from 3-point land. He's attempted at least three 3-point shots in every game during that stretch, including five or more attempts in three games.

He made 3-of-7 3-points attempts at Minnesota, 4-of-6 against Rutgers and 4-of-5 against Illinois, contributing to three Indiana wins. From a season-long perspective, Indiana is 7-2 when Kopp scores in double figures, with the two losses coming against Rutgers and Arizona in December. Following Saturday's win, Kopp's 3-point field goal percentage rose to 46.3.

Much of Indiana's offense revolves around the pick-and-roll game between Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino, so Kopp said he focuses on being opportunistic when he gets the ball. He constantly has Jackson-Davis in his ear, telling him to be ready, too.

"I'm so angry if he doesn't shoot it," Jackson-Davis said. "Every time he touches it, I want the ball up. Every single time."

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