#2. Trayce Jackson-Davis plays with more energy & toughness, posting another 20-10 game
In nearly all of Coach Mike Woodson’s post-game interviews and press conferences, the overwhelming consensus on why the Hoosiers lost to Rutgers on Saturday was one word: out-toughed.
"“We just got out-toughed tonight… The main things was they out-toughed us rebounding. To me, that’s unacceptable. That’s guts and effort. We were a step slow in rebounding, and that’s embarrassing.”"
The energy and toughness were lacking from every player in an Indiana uniform on the court, and even despite that, Trayce Jackson-Davis walked away from the game with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks in 35 minutes of action.
Jackson-Davis has a huge chance to rebound from that lackluster performance and establish his dominance and toughness early against a Cornhuskers squad that is not too deep and likely will attempt to double-team him every touch.
Despite the likely double-team attempts, Jackson-Davis gets his teammates involved early, which creates more room for him in the post and he racks up 20+ points and 10+ rebounds in the winning effort.