My Two Cents: Call Me Crazy — And You Did — But This Indiana Team Is Really Good

Just three weeks ago, Indiana fans were wondering if the Hoosiers would ever win another game. I still kept the faith, though, and boldly said publicly that they would start winning. Now it's five wins in a row, and the Hoosiers are the scariest team in the Big Ten right now.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — I teed it up for you, and you smashed me. Three weeks ago, I tweeted ''Call me crazy, but I think Indiana wins twice this week.''

This was right after Indiana had lost three straight games, and looked awful doing it. Many folks in the Hoosier fan base were tripping over each other in jumping off the bandwagon. The angst level was off the charts.

Some fans — and you know who you are — had given up on this team, and this coach. They were throwing their Indiana gear in the garbage, they were so upset. And when I thought they'd start to win, they really did think I was crazy.

But I wasn't.

Indiana has now won five games in a row, its longest Big Ten winning streak since the end of the 2016 season, after beating Ohio State 86-70 on Saturday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. That last five-game streak was seven long, agonizing seasons ago. They are 15-6 overall and 6-4 in the Big Ten, tied for fourth after being 13th in the standings just three weeks ago.

I won't break my arm patting myself on the back, but three weeks ago I wasn't about to give up on this team. Mike Woodson knows how to coach, and I'm not just saying that because we've known each other for 45 years. He knows what he was doing, and that three-game losing streak in early January bothered him, too. But he coaches hard — and these players listen. It's a hard-working team, from top to bottom on the roster.

Woodson knew what was wrong, but he also knew how to fix it. Indiana had to get better defensively, for one, and second off, they had to get healthy. Those two things have happened, and it's exactly why they are the scariest team in the Big Ten right now, winning four of those five games by 13 points or more.

The ''getting healthy'' part is huge. Trayce Jackson-Davis is a true All-American and he's been proving that ever since he was able to get beyond a back injury that slowed him down for a month. He feels good, and he's been dominating. 

I saw that coming, because I knew how much that back was slowing him down. He could barely get in and out of his car, let along bang through double teams for 40 minutes. I knew he'd be better once he felt better. Now, he feels good.

I'll be honest, though, that I wasn't expecting all of this. Every game during this streak, he's done something record-breaking. We're digging up comparable games from 15, 20 even 45 years ago to match what he's been doing this month. He's scoring at a record clip, and rebounding like a demon, too. He's finding open shooters and blocking shots, become the best shot-blocker at Indiana all-time in the process.

We could even laugh on Saturday when he scored 18 points, and had 10 rebounds and six assists. It was a sub-par night, relatively speaking, and he missed 10 shots.

That's how high we've set the bar, that 18/10/6 makes us wonder why he was off his game.

How silly is that?

"I think Trayce slowed himself down. He's the one that missed a lot of chippies around the rim, but when you look at the stats, he had 18 and 10 rebounds. That's a man's game, I think,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "He's not going to make every shot that he gets around the bucket, but it put pressure on the defense to have to guard him, and tonight he missed a lot of shots that he's been making. 

"Had he made them, he probably had a 30-plus point night tonight. I'm very pleased looking at the stat sheet and seeing where he finished, and at the end of the day, we ended up winning the game, and that's what counts.''

During this winning streak, Jackson-Davis is averaging 25.4 points, 13.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 4.2 blocks per game. There isn't a SINGLE PLAYER in the country that's posted that line. Not a one.

But Jackson-Davis will tell you the stat that matters the most. The 5-0 stat is really all that matters.

"Honestly, I'm just playing basketball, really. It's nothing, and I'm just trying to help my teammates,'' Jackson-Davis said earlier this week. (He wasn't available after Saturday night's win over Ohio State). "At the end of the day, they're putting me in great position. I'm catching the ball and I'm just attacking on offense.''

The best thing we learned on Saturday, too, is that Jalen Hood-Schifino can be brilliant at times. I mentioned it in my pregame column that the freshman had hit the wall a bit, scoring only eight points TOTAL in his previous two games and shooting just 3-for-17 from the field. He was 1-for-12 from three in his past five games.

And then Saturday came. He hit six three-pointers in the first half, and scored 17 of Indiana's first 21 points. He finished the day with 24 points and reminded everyone of the talent he can be. It was his second-best scoring night as a Hoosier, topped only by that 33-point day against Northwestern.

Freshmen will have a bad game or two, and sometimes they do come back to back. That happened to Hood-Schifino. I was curious after the game about what his mind-set had been during this quiet week, and Woodson and Malik Reneau — his high school teammate, too. — told me we never had to worry about him.

"I haven't had a whole lot of conversation with Jalen when it comes to the bad performances,'' Woodson said. "I don't call them bad performances because you're still winning, and he's doing other things besides scoring. He just hasn't put the ball in the hole the last couple games.

"You just try to pat him on the butt and tell him, hey, you're doing other good things for us, you're getting the ball up the floor, you're getting the ball where it needs to go from an offensive standpoint, and defensively you're battling. He's gotten some rebounds based on his position that helps us. I can't complain anything he's done. When he messes up on the court, I let him know.''

Five wins in a row sure is nice. They're finishing January strong, but there's one more stern test on Tuesday night, which is Jan. 31. The Hoosiers play at Maryland at 9 p.m. ET, and the Terrapins have been very good at home. They fly under the radar in the Big Ten at 5-5, but at home they are a perfect 5-0. So that's really going to be a test.

And then, of course, the next time we all gather at Assembly Hall will be next Saturday when Indiana takes on No. 1-ranked Purdue for the first time in three weeks. That's going to be so much fun.

The Hoosiers are relevant again. And they are really good. Call me crazy, but there's still a lot to look forward to in these last 10 games.

Crazy? You bet.

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• GAME STORY, INDIANA BEATS OHIO STATE: Jalen Hood-Schifino hit six first-half three-pointers and scored 24 points, leading Indiana to an 86-70 victory over Ohio State, the Hoosiers' fifth-straight victory. He did it all despite dealing with stomach issues all night. CLICK HERE
• WHAT BANKS AND RENEAU SAID Here's what Indiana basketball freshmen forwards Malik Reneau and Kaleb Banks had to say after the Hoosiers' 86-70 win over Ohio State on Saturday. Read their full transcript, or just watch the attached video of the entire press conference. CLICK HERE
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• OHIO STATE'S POOR DEFENSE: the Hoosiers' 15-0 run in the final 3:31 of the first half, coupled with what coach Chris Holtmann called the 'poorest defensive output' of the season, was too much to overcome in an 86-70 loss at Indiana. CLICK HERE
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• WATCH HOOD-SCHIFINO'S 3: Jalen Hood-Schifino started Saturday's game against Ohio State a perfect 4-for-4 shooting with 11 points in the first six-plus minutes of action. CLICK HERE
• LIVE BLOG: Relive all the action from the game in real time in Tom Brew's live blog. CLICK HERE
• GERONIMO, DUNCOMB OUT: Indiana's Jordan Geronimo (calf) and Logan Duncomb (non-COVID illness) are inactive for Saturday's game against Ohio State at 8 p.m. ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. CLICK HERE