Jackson-Davis, Geronimo Lead Indiana Past Wyoming in NCAA First Four Game

Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 29 points and Jordan Geronimo came off the bench to score 15 points as Indiana won its first NCAA tournament game in six years on Tuesday, beating Wyoming 66–58 in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.

DAYTON, Ohio — Basketball is a game played with five players. But sometimes, just two will do.

That was essentially the case for Indiana Tuesday night in the First Four of the NCAA tournament. Junior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 29 points and sophomore Jordan Geronimo came off the bench to score 15 more in the Hoosiers’ 66–58 win over Wyoming in the 12-seed play-in game. 

“That was a great effort on everybody’s part,’’ Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. ‘’They really pushed us, but I thought our guys responded. The big fella [Jackson-Davis] was great, like he’s been all year, but I found somebody off the bench tonight with Geronimo. I thought he was great, thought he was a big difference.’’

Jackson-Davis was 10-for-16 from the field and also made 9-of-11 free throws, continuing his torrid play that started last week in the Big Ten tournament, when he outplayed 7-footers Hunter Dickinson (Michigan) and Kofi Cockburn (Illinois) in upset wins.

The Hoosiers (21–13) never complained about being sent to Dayton for a play-in game because they were just glad to be in the field. And after playing at a high level in Indianapolis for three days, they embraced getting right back on the floor so quickly, especially in front of thousands of Indiana fans who flooded across the state line to fill UD Arena.

“We didn’t want to be in the play-in game, but playing in front of our fans, it was almost like a home game,” said Jackson-Davis, a 6-foot-9 junior from Greenwood, Ind. “Playing here, in a national environment, it was great. The last three or four days before this, we were playing our best basketball of the season. Just getting our feet wet tonight, I really do think it works in our favor. We’ll go out to Portland now and feel real good about ourselves and what we can do out there.”

Indiana will play No. 5 seed Saint Mary's on Thursday night at 7:20 p.m. in Portland, Ore.

A big game from Jackson-Davis was no surprise, but Geronimo’s performance sure was. He went out with an ankle injury on Friday during the win over Illinois and couldn’t play in Saturday’s semifinal loss to eventual Big Ten champ Iowa. But he practiced Monday and hoped for the best on Tuesday.

“I even surprised myself with how good I felt this morning,’' Geronimo said. “I just trusted myself, trusted my body and went out and played. I knew my team needed me.’'

Geronimo was 7-for-11 from the field and had seven rebounds, three of them offensive boards that he turned into dunks. He made the same imprint last Thursday against Michigan, when Indiana erased a 17-point deficit to come back and beat the Wolverines.

“Even throughout the Big Ten tournament, Jordan Geronimo has been the key to our run,” Jackson-Davis said. “I’m happy for him because he’s performing at a really high level for us. All the work he’s put in, he’s reaping what he sows now.”

Indiana went to the locker room with a 30–25 lead despite shooting just 32 percent from the field and making only 1-of-8 three-pointers. The Hoosiers’ defense was exceptional, forcing 13 turnovers to a Wyoming team that only averages 11 turnovers a game on the season. The Cowboys shot 39 percent, but made only nine field goals.

Graham Ike, Wyoming’s leading scorer at 19.6 points per game, was just 1-of-6 from the field in the first half and struggled to get good looks inside. He also picked up his second foul at the 5:39 mark and didn’t return until after halftime. 

The Cowboys struggled to defend Jackson-Davis in the paint after Ike went out. He scored 10 points in the final five minutes to help Indiana get back out in front.

Indiana maintained the lead throughout the half, but Wyoming got to within three a few times. The Hoosiers, who have the Big Ten’s No. 1-ranked defense, forced 19 Wyoming turnovers. They averaged only 11 all season.

Jackson-Davis and Geronimo were a combined 17-for-27 from the field, but the rest of the Hoosiers were just 9-for-35 shooting (25.7%). Indiana was just 2-for-13 from three—but won anyway. 

Now the Hoosiers have to travel across the country to play Saint Mary’s. They had huge home-court advantages in Indianapolis and Dayton, but that won’t be the case out west.

“I need 8,000 people in Portland, Can we do that?” Woodson said with a laugh. “We can travel. But we still have to play the game. Saint Mary’s, they’ve have a hell of a year. We’re looking forward to it.”

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