My Two Cents: Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis, Purdue's Zach Edey Renew Rivalry in NBA Friday Night

After battling each other for three years in the high-profile Indiana-Purdue college rivalry, centers Trayce Jackson-Davis and Zach Edey square off for the first time as professionals on Friday night when the Golden State Warriors take on the Memphis Grizzlies. Here's how to watch on national TV, with great details on their individual rivaly and how they're doing in the pros.

Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis (left) defends Purdue center Zach Edey during a game on Feb. 25, 2023. They meet as pros for the first time Friday night wen the Golden State Warriors take on the Memphis Grizzlies in a nationally televised game on ESPN. / Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK

Centers Trayce Jackson-Davis and Zach Edey had a lot of high-profile matchups during their Indiana-Purdue showdowns from 2021 to 2023. They played against each other six times, with both stars winning three times — thanks to a lot of help from their friends.

They meet again on Friday night, this time as professionals when Jackson-Davis' Golden State Warriors host Edey's Memphis Grizzlies in San Francisco. It's a national TV game too (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET), and it should be a lot of fun to watch their first NBA meeting.

Jackson-Davis, who's in his second year with Golden State after being drafted No. 57 overall in 2023, was a top rookie a year ago. This year, the 6-foot-9 center has started all 11 games for the 9-2 Warriors — who, somewhat surprisingly — has the third-best record in the league.

He averages 7.9 points and 4.7 rebounds a game in just 16 minutes per outing. He got off to a great start, making 24 of his first 30 shots, an amazing 80 percent. He's now 39-for-57, a 68.4 average.

Edey, the two-time national player of the year at Purdue, was the No. 9 overall pick of the Grizzlies. He and Jackson-Davis were both first-team All-Americans together. Many questioned his ability to adapt to the pro game, but he's improving by the minute. He's averaging 11.3 points and 6.8 rebounds a game in 20.2 minutes per outing.

Edey had his best game as a pro last week when he had 25 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks against Brooklyn. He made 11 of 12 shots from the field.

His biggest issue has been staying out of foul trouble, which has been an issue. He fouled out of his first game in just 15 minutes — and you get six fouls in the NBA. He also fouled out in Wednesday's 128-123 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. He's had four or more fouls in five games, and has picked up two early first quarter fouls in five games he started. It's forced the Grizzlies to bring him off the bench now the past three games.

Learning how to play defense in the NBA isn't easy, especially for someone 7-foot-4 who doesn't have a lot of quickness. What makes it tougher is that coaching and scouting can make it rough, too. The Lakers kept drawing up plays to attack him during the fourth quarter, and he got beat often before finally fouling out.

On one play, Edey was guarding Lakers center Anthony Davis, who went out on the perimeter and then set a pick for LeBron James. Edey switched up on James, but then didn't see a backscreen drew up a play out of the timeout designed to get Edey in the action. Davis ran the perimeter from Lakers guard Austin Reaves. James blew right by him and dunked easily.

Learning as you go is a real thing.

“It’s just actions I haven’t really guarded too much before," Edey told reporters after the game. "I never guarded a 6-10 dude coming off a ball screen with a back screen on top of it, so it’s just making adjustments game by game. I’ve seen it once, so I should be good next time.''

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket as Memphis Grizzlies center Zach Edey (14) defends. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

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Edey's Memphis teammates are doing all they can to accelerate the learning curve.

“It’s different, but he's getting used to it," veteran Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart said. "Give him some more time and he’ll catch on. Those kinds of things as a rookie, we kind of knew. That’s what teams are going to do — try to pick on him just because they know the game a little better.”

Golden State is the smallest team in the league with the 6-9 Jackson-Davis starting at center. But they like to run, and Jackson-Davis loves rolling to the rim in screen-roll actions. He's playing fast and fitting right in a projected .500 team that's off to a sizzling 9-2 start.

“The biggest thing (Warriors coach Steve Kerr) said to me was to play with force,” Jackson-Davis said after being named a starter at the beginning of the season. “And in preseason, another thing that was huge was running. Running the floor, sprinting getting guys open shots just by putting pressure on the rim. I’ve done a lot better job trying to sprint and out and rim run.”

Golden State Warriors forward Trayce Jackson-Davis (32) waits for action to resume against the New Orleans Pelicans. / David Gonzales-Imagn Images

Jackson-Davis and Edey should see plenty of time on the floor together on Friday night. They're both looking forward to it, because they've both been complimentary of each other's games during their Big Ten days. The Indiana-Purdue rivalry is huge — and they were the faces of it for three years running.

Indiana won three of the last four games in the rivalry. The first win came on Jan. 20,, 2022 in Bloomington, with the Hoosiers taking a 68-65 victory thanks to Rob Phinisee's 20 points and late three-pointer that smapped a nine-game losing streak to Purdue. Edey had 12 points, and Jackson-Davis only four. He was in foul trouble from the beginning, and played only 11 minutes.

But his senior year, the Hoosiers beat Purdue twice, and they were a No. 1 team in the nation at some points in the season. Indiana won 79-74 in Bloomington on Feb. 4 when the Boilermakers were ranked No. 1, and Jackson-Davis scored 25 points. Edey had 33 in a losing effort, making 15 of 19 shots.

Indiana swept the series three weeks later, winning 79-71 on Feb. 25. Jackson-Davis got a lot of attention from the Purdue defense, with constant double teams. But he had 10 points, eight rebounds in seven assists in the win, and freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino had 35 points in a rare IU victory at Mackey Arena.

Jackson-Davis was off to the NBA last year and Edey and Purdue crushed Indiana twice, winning 87-66 in Bloomington and 79-59 in West Lafayette. Edey had 33 points and 14 rebounds in the first game, and 26 and 13 at Mackey.

These two guys have provided both Indiana and Purdue fan bases with a lot of great memories, and it's nice to see them doing well in the NBA. They are beloved already in their new hometowns, too. It's going to be nice to see them on the floor together again.