Zach Edey Looks Ahead to Matchup With Indiana, Trayce Jackson-Davis
All eyes will be on two of college basketball's best players on Saturday, when Purdue's Zach Edey battles Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis.
The Hoosiers defeated Purdue 79-74 in the first matchup behind 25 points, seven rebounds and five blocks from Jackson-Davis. Despite the loss, Edey scored 33 points and grabbed 18 rebounds.
Here's what Edey, the frontrunner for national player of the year, said in anticipation of Saturday's game against Indiana.
On Purdue's loss at Indiana...
Edey: They're a great team. Obviously Trayce is a great player. They have a lot of guys around him. I think the main thing with the first and second halves of last game, we kind of turned the ball too much in the first half. We had too many plays like that, just mental lapses I feel like, so we just need to clean up on those.
On if it's as simple as cleaning up the turnovers...
Edey: Hopefully. But still got to do everything, obviously still got to play basketball. I think the big thing was last game we didn't come out with the energy and like the mental locked in as we should have and that hurt us bad in the first half.
On chance to win Big Ten on home court...
Edey: Yeah, it's cool. Obviously you want to win. That's the only thing we're really focused on right now, but it's a cool opportunity, it's a unique opportunity. We've just got to go out there and close it.
On having a long break between games...
Edey: For sure, just have a little week off. We've played a lot of games to this point. Before this week we were like one game ahead of every team in the Big Ten almost, so it was nice to kind of relax for a week and let our bodies rest, let our bodies recover, then get right back out there.
On Trayce Jackson-Davis' ability to handle the ball...
Edey: He's obviously super talented. He's obviously improved greatly in that aspect being able to rebound and push the ball. That's something we have to be ready for. We have to be ready for his ability to break us down off the dribble, even out of double-teams. His ability to pass has really improved, so there's a lot of things we have to be worried about with him. We have to try to limit him as much as possible.
On giving Jackson-Davis different defensive looks...
Edey: Yeah, I think everyone that's kind of important against anyone. Any good players, you have to give them different defensive looks. They can't be comfortable at all throughout the game. They can't get into that rhythm where they kind of expect things. That's how you get burned by good players. You have to keep them on their toes a little bit.
On looking forward to matchup against Jackson-Davis...
Edey: Yeah, these are the games you really, really look forward to all year. These are the games you have circled on your calendar. Obviously you look toward every game and you want to play your hardest every game, but when you kind of test yourself against the elite big men, not only in the conference but in the country, you kind of test yourself with that, it's a great opportunity.
On ball-screen defense against Jalen Hood-Schifino...
Edey: He's a great player. He's a talented player. Obviously with guys like that you have to try to limit their looks, but he's so talented it's really hard to do that. Obviously we have a lot of guys that can really defend, and we're going to put them on him and trust them to do their job.
Related stories on Indiana basketball
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- TJD VS. EDEY: Purdue's Zach Edey and Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis, arguably the best players in all of college basketball, match up for a second time this season when the Hoosiers travel to Mackey Arena on Saturday. CLICK HERE
- XAVIER JOHNSON PODCAST: Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson is close to returning to the floor for the Hoosiers. He broke down the timeline with HoosiersNow.com publisher Tom Brew in this edition of the ''Hoosier Roundtable.'' Trey Galloway and Trayce Jackson-Davis interviews, too. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA'S ROAD STRUGGLES: Indiana's numbers at home versus on the road are staggering, said Mike Woodson on Thursday, and its next game is a trip to Mackey Arena against Purdue, which could be the Hoosiers' toughest challenge yet. CLICK HERE
- JACKSON-DAVIS' FINAL SEASON: Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis is having an All-American-caliber senior season, and he confirmed Thursday that it will be his last year of college basketball. CLICK HERE
