Jackson-Davis, Indiana Topple North Carolina; 'That's Huge For Us, Honestly'

Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 21 points and guards Jalen Hood-Schifino and Xavier Johnson book-ended an emphatic 77-65 win over preseason No. 1 North Carolina on Wednesday night, leading the Hoosiers to their seventh straight win.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Bright lights? Yes. Big stage? Sure. And emphatically showing up big in a huge game? Check, check, check for Indiana.

The Hoosiers went to 7-0 on Wednesday night with a statement-making 77-65 win over North Carolina at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in the final game of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. It was a convincing victory over the defending national runners-up and preseason No. 1 team, especially coming from an Indiana squad that has had trouble in these kind of situations a year ago.

North Carolina might be on a three-game losing streak right now, but that didn't mean anything to the Hoosiers. They wanted tougher challenges in the preseason, and they got it. They showed a national television audience that they are for real, and a team to be reckoned with going forward.

Mission accomplished. 

"This was a total team effort across the board. From a defensive standpoint, we were truly, truly solid from the beginning till the end,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "I thought our players fell right in line in terms of how we wanted to guard. 

"Make no mistake about it, they've got great players over on that side of the ball. But I thought tonight our defense is what held up for us, and we were able to help us secure the win. A lot of things didn't go our way from a foul standpoint, but that's what it is. Man, we played through the fouls that were called and was able to bring the game home.''

North Carolina, the preseason No. 1 who dropped all the way to No. 18 after losses to Iowa State and Alabama last week, shot just 33.9 percent from the field and made only five three pointers. The defensive effort made a world of difference. It was a huge win, a perfect example of why Jackson-Davis came back for his senior year, so he could win games like this. Indiana outscored North Carolina 50-24 in the paint.

"You've got to beat the best to be the best,'' said Indiana senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis said. "I think it's huge for us honestly. That's coach Woodson, since he got the job, he always said play inside-out. We knew North Carolina was going to ice ball screens. Guys like X and Fino getting them downhill in situations where they can make plays was huge for us. They made big plays all night.''

Trayce Jackson-Davis led the Hoosiers with 21 points.  / © Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Jackson-Davis led the way for Indiana, showing no signs of being bothered by injuries that kept him out of one game last week and limited his playing time in another. He scored 21 points, passing Brian Evans for 12th-place on the Indiana all-time scoring list, and outplaying long-time friend and fellow preseason All-American Armando Bacot. Jackson-Davis also had 10 rebounds and four assists, with no turnovers in 31 minutes of action.

Indiana basically led from wire-to-wire, with North Carolina having just a pair of one-point leads in the first half. The Hoosiers got a huge boost out of the gate from guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, who didn't at all look like a freshman playing his first national-stage game.

He scored Indiana's first seven points and was in double figures just nine minutes into the game. He finished with 14 points and six rebounds. A freshman, stepping up.

"A lot of it is just playing hard, man. You learn to teach young guys how to play hard,'' Woodson said. "That's 90 percent of it, man. You figure the other 10 percent out through X's and O's and doing all the little things that help you win.

He has figured that out. He figured that out a year ago when I took the job. I like everything about him because he plays hard.''

His running mate in the backcourt, senior guard Xavier Johnson, was the closer. He had 20 points on the night, with 13 coming in the second half. He his 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch and also had seven second-half rebounds.

"He's been great for us, man,'' Woodson said of Johnson. "He's just a different dude this year, and that's kind of nice to see. We needed him on the floor. He's playing both sides of the ball. It was kind of night tonight, and we needed every bit of it.'

"He's another guy that we all are benefiting from his hard work that he's put in. His play on the court is an indication of that because he's playing both sides of the ball. We're asking him to pick up defensively, put heat on the ball, then score the ball as well. It was kind of his night tonight. We needed every bit of it.''

Trey Galloway had 11 points off the bench Wednesday in his first game back after missing a week with a knee injury (USA TODAY Sports)

Jackson-Davis, Johnson, Hood-Schifino and Trey Galloway scored 66 of Indiana's 77 points. Galloway, who missed the last three games with a mild knee injury, was spectacular on both ends of the floor. He had 11 points, three rebounds and two assists, and also didn't have any turnovers during his 23 minutes on the floor.

"Trey brings so much energy to our team, especially on the defensive end of the floor,'' Jackson-Davis said. "He just thrives off of it. He always guards their best guard. He's always in their head trying to get them to make mistakes. We call him Crazy Man because that's how he is on the defensive end of the floor.''

Woodson loves Galloway's work ethic and determination, knowing he's always going to play hard. This is a different team when he's available, Woodson said.

Next up for Indiana is a road trip to Rutgers to start the Big Ten season. Their focus is going there quickly, too, because they understand the importance of getting off to a good start in the Big Ten. 

Rutgers has been a pain in Indiana's side for several years now. The Scarlet Knights have won the last five meetings. Jackson-Davis has never beaten them. So the North Carolina win is nice, and it says a lot about Indiana, but now the Big Ten opener is just two days away.

"What we're capable of is playing our next game, which is at Rutgers,'' Jackson-DAvis said. "I haven't beaten Rutgers since I've been here. The RAC has always been a very hostile environment. They've had our number there.

"That's the biggest test. That's what I said to our guys this week, I said, UNC is going to be a great team and a great game. Obviously with this crowd, I liked our chances. But the real test is what we're going to do on Saturday with that game because they're a good team and they're very well-coached.''

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• WATCH KOPP'S LAYUP: North Carolina coach Hubert Davis needed a timeout after this Miller Kopp layup, which gave Indiana a 13-point lead in the second half. CLICK HERE
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• WATCH JOHNSON'S LAYUP: Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson faked out the North Carolina defense for an easy bucket in the first half of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. CLICK HERE
• WATCH GALLOWAY'S DUNK: Indiana guard Trey Galloway's fast-break dunk gave Indiana an eight-point lead and got the Assembly Hall crowd on its feet on Wednesday against North Carolina. CLICK HERE