My Two Cents: One Common Theme to Indiana's Late Collapses That Might Surprise You

A surprisingly common theme throughout Indiana's late failures this year is that standout forward Trayce Jackson-Davis has gone long stretches without scoring — or even shooting — late in tight games. Sure, he attracts a lot of attention, but Indiana needs much more out of the 6-foot-9 star in the final four games.

Tom Brew | Feb 22, 2022

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Here we go again ... and again ... and again.

Another game where Indiana was in position to win late and didn't get it done. Another game where the Hoosiers played well for long stretches against a very good team, and still had nothing to show for it when it was all said and done.

That's five losses in a row now for the Hoosiers, who are 16-10 overall, 7-9 in the Big Ten and in ninth place in the league after losing 80-69 in overtime to No. 22 Ohio State. They had a great chance to win this game, but let it slip away down the stretch, a disturbing and frustrating trend for this team, one that's driving everyone nuts, fans, players and coaches alike.

The same bad stuff, it just keeps happening over and over.

After doing a deep dive in trying to figure out why Indiana just can't finish games, there was a stunning thing that kept coming up.

Stunning, and mind-boggling. Because there's this:

Trayce Jackson-Davis, a preseason All-American and the best player to wear an Indiana jersey in several years, practically disappears in the closing minutes of games on a regular basis. He is, unlike other Big Ten closers like Johnny Davis at Wisconsin, Keegan Murray at Iowa and more, a non-factor with the game on the line on many nights.

And isn't that shocking?

There are many instances this season where Jackson-Davis has had no impact late in games. That is not an indictment solely on him. Not at all, because he garners enormous attention from opposing defenses. It's on his teammates for not getting him to ball in better spots, or simply taking matters into their own hands when that shouldn't be the case.

It's on Indiana head coach Mike Woodson and the coaches, too, for not designing sets to get him better looks. Indiana's offense gets too stagnant late, and it kills them. Where is the movement? Off-ball screens to get him open? Back cuts? We see none of that.

And it's costing Indiana wins.

But part of it is on Jackson-Davis, too. When teams double him right at the basket, it is tough to score. That's a given, because his defenders are on scholarship too, and many have NBA futures. But he has refused to make mid-range jumpers a part of his arsenal, and that really hurts. If he could just roll off screens and bury jumpers from the elbow on occasion like Karl Malone and Tim Duncan did, his game would be so much better.

I went back through Indiana's 10 losses — and even a few Big Ten wins — and it's amazing how small Jackson-Davis' impact has been late in games.

Here are some unsightly reminders from some select games:

Lost 64-59 at Wisconsin (Dec. 8): His last basket in the second half came at the 15:21 mark. He made 1-of-2 free throws with 6:21 to go, but that would be his only point in this last 15-plus minutes. Meanwhile, Wisconsin's go-to star Johnny Davis had 12 second-half points, including a three-pointer with 1:18 left to give the Badgers the lead.
Lost 59-51 at Northwestern (Feb. 8): Had one second-half field goal, a dunk at the 11:58 mark. From there, he missed two shots, made two free throws but missed the front end of a one-and-one. His last shot came at the 6:53 mark. And this was in a game where five of his teammates were suspended for violating curfew. You'd think he would have seen the ball every possession, but it didn't happen.
Last 83-74 at Iowa (Jan. 13): Jackson-Davis scored on a layup with 7:09 to go, cutting Iowa's lead to 66-63. He missed a short jumper with 4:44 to go. and then never took another shot in the game.
Lost 61-56 at Penn State (Jan. 2): Jackson-Davis opened the second half with consecutive dunks in the first two minutes, but wouldn't score again from the field the rest of the way. He missed a layup at 4:41, another one with 16 seconds to go, and a desperation three at the buzzer. That's 0-for-3 in the final 18-plus minutes.
Lost to Wisconsin in Bloomington (Feb. 15): Jackson-Davis' last basket came at the 9:34 mark. Granted, he was great most of the night, going for 30 and 13, and he did make his free throws (10-for-14). But down the stretch, he was fouled twice and missed one free throw both times. He missed a hook shot at 3:14, and wouldn't take another shot the rest of the game.
Lost 112-110 in overtime at Syracuse (Nov. 30): Despite scoring 31 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in the double-overtime loss, Indiana's first of the year, he didn't score at all in the first overtime, and didn't even get a shot attempt in the final 4:07 of the second overtime.
Lost 80-69 in overtime at Ohio State (Feb. 21): During the second half and overtime, Jackson-Davis didn't make a single field goal, going 0-for-3. He missed a shot at 3:19 in overtime with the score tied at 67-all, then never got another shot.
Beat Purdue 68-65 in Bloomington (Jan. 20): Granted, foul trouble was a huge issue in this game, but Jackson-Davis played only 11 minutes total and scored only four points. He made one field goal the entire game, a dunk at 16:09 in the first half. In the second half, his only stats were 2-of-4 free throws, a turnover and a rebound. Yes, that's correct. He never took a SINGLE SHOT in the second half of the most important game of the year. Rob Phinisee bailed out the Hoosiers that night.
Won at Nebraska 78-71 on Jan 17: Jackson-Davis had two layups and two dunks in less than three minutes midway in the second half, with the final basket coming with 8:55 to go as the Hoosiers were trying to snap an eight-game road losing streak that dated back nearly a year. He landed hard on his tailbone and didn't play the final 7:36. The Hoosiers sealed the deal without him. No fault here, certainly, but it deserved mention, mostly because his teammates did step up that night They haven't done that very often.

Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis (23) shoots while defended by Ohio State forward Zed Key (23) during the first half at Value City Arena on Monday. (Joseph Maiorana/USA TODAY Sports)

Jackson-Davis is a terrific player, and you'll never hear me say otherwise. He cares, greatly. You'll never hear me question that, either.

No one is more frustrated that this season has gone sideways more than he is. We talked about it a lot after the recent Wisconsin lost last Tuesday, that he trusts his teammates, almost to a fault. He passed out of double teams twice in the closing minute of that game, but Xavier Johnson and Trey Galloway both missed wide open shots that could have won the game.

Indiana has four games left in the regular season, and their NCAA Tournament life is hanging in the balance now. The rest of this week is huge. They must win Thursday at home against Maryland and then win again on Sunday at Minnesota. Those two are mandatory.

A third win still absolutely gets them in the big dance, and that means beating Rutgers at home has pretty much become a must-win game too, because winning at Purdue on March 5, the final game of the regular season, is going to be really hard.

Indiana has lost six straight games at Mackey Arena, and hasn't won there since the great 2013 teams did it. Purdue has one of the best homecourt records in the country the past decade, and Mackey will be mind-numbing loud in what is likely the finally game ever in that building for Trevion Williams, Sasha Stefanovic and Jaden Ivey.

Indiana has its back on the wall now. They need to finish strong, and they need to have Jackson-Davis carry them. It's on Woodson to get him open and get him good looks. It's on his teammates to get him the ball, not throw it away like Race Thompson did with a minute to go in regulation at Ohio State on Monday.

But it's on Trayce, too. He needs to take over games, especially late in the second half. We simply cannot add any more games to the list above.

His coaches and players are responsible, too. Miller Kopp and Parker Stewart need to be volume shooters — and makers — from three. We saw a bit of that Monday night from both of them. Point guard Xavier Johnson needs to make better decisions with the ball when he's flying down the lane.

But Trayce, he has to get this done. This is his team, and he is their star. He has had several marvelous games this year, He's scored 30 or more three times, including that 43-point magical night against Marshall, one of the best performances ever in the 50-year-old Assembly Hall.

But in Indiana's last nine games, he's scored more than 17 points only once. Even in the Big Ten, Illinois' Kofi Cockburn and Purdue's Zach Edey have been better this year. Heck, maybe Michigan's Hunter Dickinson has been even better at center. All-American? What about all-Big Ten? That's not even a lock right now.

It's getting concerning, especially with this NCAA Tournament bid hanging in the balance.

It's time to carry the load. And he's got four games left to carry them to the finish line.

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