College Basketball

Trayce Jackson-Davis' historic run puts Indiana back in NCAA Tourney picture

Published Jan. 26, 2023 8:31 p.m. ET

Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis is playing like someone who knows there are only a few games remaining before his college basketball chapter comes to an end.

The Hoosiers’ senior big man has been on a historic tear of late. On Wednesday night, his 21-point, 25-rebound, six-block outing — including the go-ahead basket with 43 seconds remaining — led the Hoosiers to a 61-57 victory over Minnesota.

In doing so, Jackson-Davis became the first high-major player since UConn’s Hasheem Thabeet in 2009 to record a 25-point, 20-rebound, five-block game.

Jackson-Davis also now has 228 career blocks, surpassing former Hoosier Jeff Newton as the program’s all-time leader in that category.

With Indiana head coach Mike Woodson sidelined with COVID-19, Hoosiers associate coach Yasir Rosemand filled in and didn’t shy away from expressing his feelings on Jackson-Davis in a postgame interview on Big Ten Network.

"If you can find 25 to 30 people better than him in the NBA Draft, hey, I’ll kiss your ass," Rosemond said.

Yasir Rosemond praises Trayce Jackson-Davis

Indiana's associate coach had great things to say about Trayce Jackson-Davis following Wednesday's road victory over Minnesota.

Jackson-Davis made the decision to return to Bloomington for his senior season in hopes of not only improving his draft stock but leaving a lasting legacy with one of the most accomplished programs in the sport.

After the Hoosiers began the new year with three straight conference losses to fall to 10-6 (1-4 in Big Ten play), the team has now won four straight and is steadily climbing up the conference standings. Jackson-Davis has been the main catalyst in the Hoosiers’ recent run, averaging 27.3 points, 14.3 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game during the four-game streak.

[Next up Saturday: Indiana vs. Ohio State at 8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app]

He recorded 25-plus points, 15-plus rebounds and five-plus blocks in back-to-back wins over Michigan State and Minnesota, respectively. Only one other player — Jake Stephens of Chattanooga — has recorded such a stat line in any game this season.

Trayce Jackson-Davis seals Indiana's victory over Minnesota

Trayce Jackson-Davis' bucket with 43 seconds remaining helped seal a 61-57 victory for the Indiana Hoosiers.

As Jackson-Davis’ record-setting pace continues to gain national recognition and his highlight-reel dunks grace the Twitter feeds of fans across the nation, the Hoosiers’ do-it-all big man keeps a calm demeanor and makes it a point to credit others involved in his success.

"Oh, honestly, I’m just playing basketball," Jackson-Davis said Wednesday. "Really, it’s nothing. I’m just trying to help my teammates, and at the end of the day, they’re putting me in great position."

At this time last week, FOX Sports bracket forecaster Mike DeCourcy had Indiana squarely on the bubble in his NCAA Tournament projections. Now, following four straight wins behind their dominant big man's historic streak, DeCourcy has IU forecasted as a No. 8 seed and a lock to make the field of 68.

Among Division I schools, Indiana ranks in the top 10 all-time in victories, but it’s been 21 years since the Hoosiers have made a run past the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. While it looked like it was going to be another down year for the program early on in the campaign, things look to be turning around now.

Having a senior leader playing the best basketball of his career as the calendar gets set to flip to February certainly helps.