What Trayce Jackson-Davis, Jalen Hood-Schifino Said After Indiana's Win Over UNC

Trayce Jackson-Davis led Indiana with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino scored the Hoosiers' first seven points of the game. Following Indiana's 77-65 win over North Carolina, here's the full transcript of Jackson-Davis and Hood-Schifino's press conference with video attached.

Jack Ankony | Dec 1, 2022

In this story:

Indiana Hoosiers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana claimed its biggest win of the 2022-23 season on Wednesday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, defeating North Carolina 77-65.

Indiana's preseason All-American forward Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with a game-high 21 points, and freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino scored a career-high 14. Here's what Jackson-Davis and Hood-Schifino said after the game, with video attached.

On Indiana's dominance in the paint...

Jackson-Davis: 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.

On why Trayce Jackson-Davis outplayed Armando Bacot...

Hood-Schifino: Because he's a big-time player and that's what big-time players do.

On how big of a win this was...

Jackson-Davis: It was huge for us, really. You got to beat the best to be the best. That's what Coach Woodson always says. He was not afraid of competition. That's why we put teams like North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona on our schedule because you got to go toe-to-toe with those teams. We're going to fight and battle. That's what we're going to do. We go at each other every day just to put on a show in front of these fans. I thought the crowd was electric. It was a great atmosphere to play in, so.

On Indiana's defense...

Jackson-Davis: Yeah, I thought our defense was very constrictive, like an anaconda. It was very, very constrictive. We just really sucked the life out of UNC early and they couldn't get any big shots, honestly. Obviously they're a really good team, so shots started eventually falling. But by that time we had an 8- to 10-point lead and kind of rode it out till the end of the game.

On how Jackson-Davis is feeling physically after dealing with injuries...

Jackson-Davis: First physically, I'm okay. I got a shot before the game, so I don't really feel anything right now. It is what it is. Probably feel it tomorrow a little bit.

On Jalen Hood-Schifino's strong start...

Jackson-Davis: Secondly, Jalen came out and he was really our spark to start the game. He had like our first 10 to 12 points. It was ridiculous. He was hitting big shot after big shot. I think our team fed off of that. Him being a freshman coming into this environment against that team, doing that, it's really special.

Hood-Schifino: Yeah, it was a big-time game. North Carolina is coming off losing two games. I knew they were going to come in, bring energy, try to knock us off our feet. For me, I just came in confident, just shot my shot. I feel like I was a spark. When I was hitting my shots, everyone else followed along, brought their energy, just built it up from there.

On what this team is capable of...

Jackson-Davis: What we're capable of is playing our next game, which is at Rutgers. I haven't beat Rutgers since I've been here. The RAC has always been a very hostile environment. They've had our number there. That's really where we see as 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.

On Trey Galloway...

Jackson-Davis: Trey brings so much energy to our team, especially on the defensive end of the floor. 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. He really thrives off of that, getting steals, out in transition, running. He's a big play-maker.

On how coach Mike Woodson gets Indiana to defend so well...

Jackson-Davis: We just listen to what he has to say. He always talks about the 'nail, slot, rim'. Those are really big keys for him. He says if we got guys in those positions, everyone is on a body, we can get stops on anybody. That's what we've been preached and taught to do.