Trayce Jackson-Davis, Tamar Bates Out For Indiana's Exhibition Game Against Marian

Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis and guard Tamar Bates won't play in Saturday's exhibition game against Marian University.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana basketball will be without Trayce Jackson-Davis and Tamar Bates for Saturday's exhibition game. The Hoosiers take the court at 3 p.m. ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall against Marian University, an NAIA school in Indianapolis, Ind. According to IU athletics, both players are inactive for precautionary reasons.

Jackson-Davis was wearing a brace around his wrist and hand during pregame warmups. It is unclear what is keeping Bates out, but Indiana coach Mike Woodson said on Friday that Bates has been on the sidelines during recent practices. 

Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis and Tamar Bates wearing a suit and tie during pregame warmups on Saturday before an exhibition game against Marian University at 3 p.m. ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. 

"Right now we're a little banged up," Woodson said when he met with the media on Friday morning. "Trayce [Jackson-Davis] is a little banged up. Tamar Bates has been sidelined for the last couple practices. We've kind of been going at each other, and it's been a long run from this summer in terms of competing against one another."

Leading up to Jackson-Davis' fourth season at Indiana, the 6-foot-9 forward was named preseason Big Ten Player of the Year, as well as a preseason AP All-American. Jackson-Davis averaged 18.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game last season, and he's a three-time All-Big Ten player.

Bates enters his sophomore year at Indiana as a candidate for a breakout season. When asked if any players have been a pleasant surprise in their offseason development, Woodson pointed to Bates on Friday. As a top-35 prospect out of IMG Academy, Bates came off the bench in 32 games as a freshman, averaging 3.9 points with a 33.8 field-goal percentage. Woodson said Bates has developed his body this offseason, and Indiana is benefitting from his improved play.

[Bates] is starting to figure it out," Woodson said. "And that's kind of nice to see because he just had a lot of things going against him last season. I wouldn't call it going against him, he had a baby and that's a major, major responsibility for an 18-19 year old kid. I think he's figured that part of it out. He's comfortable in his own skin and where he is with that, and he's come back this year with a whole different attitude, which is kind of nice."

After playing 14.5 minutes per game last season, Bates should see an increased role this year with starting shooting guard Parker Stewart and backup point guard Rob Phinisee gone. Bates shot 29.8 percent from 3-point range last season, but an improvement in this area would be a major boost for Indiana, who finished 11th in the Big Ten in 3-point field goals at 33.3 percent.

Indiana enters 2022-23 as the Big Ten favorite according to media preseason polls, but Woodson said the Hoosiers still have a lot of work to do. With two exhibition games before Indiana's season opener on Nov. 7 against Morehead State, Woodson said he'll try out different rotation combinations to see where his team stands.

The second exhibition game is against St. Francis on Thursday at 7 p.m. Et.

"From a coaching standpoint, you'd like to see if they've picked up some stuff that we've put in from this summer and all the work that we've put up until this point," Woodson said. "We want to see, from a defensive standpoint, if they've picked things up and can carry into a ballgame, as well as the offense."

"We want to see if they're able to execute. There are a lot of things that we're looking for come [Saturday] at 3 o'clock to see if these guys have obtained a lot of the stuff that we've taught."

Related stories on Indiana basketball:

• JACKSON-DAVIS, BATES 'BANGED UP': Indiana coach Mike Woodson said Trayce Jackson-Davis is "a little banged up" and Tamar Bates has been on the sidelines in recent practices. Indiana plays Marian in an exhibition game on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. CLICK HERE
• MARIAN COACH SCOTT HEADY PREVIEWS INDIANA MATCHUP Coach Scott Heady, his son Luke, and the Marian Knights travel to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday for an exhibition game against Indiana at 3 p.m. ET. Scott won two state championships at Carmel High School and coached against Indiana's Archie Miller in 2017. CLICK HERE
• HOW TO WATCH INDIANA vs. MARIAN: Indiana basketball hosts Marian in an exhibition game at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Here's how to watch, with game time and TV information, the coaching matchup and three things to see from Indiana. CLICK HERE
• CONCERNS AROUND INDIANA WINNING BIG TEN: Indiana is picked to win the Big Ten this season by most preseason college basketball media polls, but there are still plenty of questions to be answered. CLICK HERE