Trayce Jackson-Davis Said Rutgers 'Put a Lot More Emphasis in the Second Half'

Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis had a great night against Rutgers putting up 19 points and nine rebounds, but it wasn't enough to stop the Scarlet Knights who won 66-63. Here's what Jackson-Davis had to say in a postgame press conference. Read his transcript, or just watch the attached video.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Trayce Jackson-Davis dropped 19 points and nine rebounds on Wednesday night, but it wouldn't be enough to beat Rutgers who won 66-63.

The Hoosiers led 32-25 at the half, but the Scarlet Knights got going out of the break and worked to slow down Jackson-Davis.

Read Jackson-Davis's full transcript or just watch the attached video of the entire postgame press conference.

Q: On Rutgers coming alive in the second half...

TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: The second half, they started keying more on me and started doubling down a lot more, trying to take me out of the game, so we just kicked it out, didn't make shots but sometimes that happens. 

Yeah, I thought they put a lot more emphasis in the second half on trying to take me away.

Q. On Ron Harper Jr.'s last shot...

TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: Honestly, I thought Race played a really good defense. I almost think he tipped the ball honestly. He was right there. Then Ron hit a tough shot. There's only so much you can do.

Q. On Parker Stewart missing five threes in a row and then stepping into that last one...

TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: That's the first thing I told him when he got into the locker room. He was down on himself already, and I told him you missed three or four before then and you come up and hit a big shot like that — we're going to need that the rest of the year. Play with that confidence all the time.

Q. On seeing Race Thompson emotional after the game...

TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: Race is my guy. To see him maybe playing his last game here, I mean, we were trying to pull for him. We were trying to pull that one out. 

We were sad for him, and my heart hurts for him, but at the same time, Coach Woodson says you've got to enjoy this last moment and soak it all in.

Just playing with him the last few years — that's my brother for life, man, and I can't say enough good things about him.

Q. On what changed for Rutgers with a minute to go...

TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: I just think that they hit free throws, then that flagrant whatever that happened — I saw X get punched, and I didn't know if he retaliated. They hit two free throws, we hit two free throws. Then we come down, we miss one, but we get it back and hit a three. 

Then they come down. I think we should have probably come back and not pressed the ball in that situation, but at the same time, it's a learning experience for next time.

But Ron hit a tough shot and then bobbled the out of bounds, and that's that.

Q. On being on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament...

TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: We have the NCAA Tournament, but that's not until after Purdue, so Purdue's the next game on our schedule, so that's what I'm going to worry about right now. 

Then after Purdue, I'll worry about the Big Ten Tournament, and then after all that's said and done, then we can talk about what's going on with the NCAA Tournament.

Q. On what Rutgers changed in the second half...

TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: I think it was the zone. I think that we should have probably got the ball inside and then kicked it to the other corners like we do. 

We usually don't struggle with the zone very much, but for some reason tonight we were just holding it at the top of the key too long, and I don't think the ball moved quick enough, so that was a big emphasis. I think the ball and the movement wasn't there, so that was that.

Q.  On why Indiana can't close out some of these games...

TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: I think it's — obviously, we're not finishing games, but at the same time, we're in every game. It just comes down to the last, almost the last four minutes of the game. You've got to get that one stop. You've got to get that one possession because one possession can beat you.

Down the stretch, that's what we've got to hone in on, and we've got to focus on that last possession. We've got to get one stop. We've got to get one bucket to finish the game. That's big on my teammates, and I think when we watch film, we're going to see that. 

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