ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Trayce Jackson-Davis made staying up late worthwhile for Indiana fans.
The All-American did it all with 24 points, 11 rebounds, five blocked shots and five assists as Indiana defeated 13th-seed Kent State 71-60 Friday night to reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016.
The fourth-seeded Hoosiers (23-11) advanced to play fifth-seeded Miami on Sunday for a trip to Kansas City for the Midwest Region semifinals.
Jackson-Davis became the first player since blocks became an official NCAA statistic in 1985-86 to have at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and five assists in an NCAA Tournament game, according to OptaSTATS.
“We’re not trying to hide how we play. He’s been the focal point of our offense, and he’s got to anchor our defense, rebounding and blocking shots for us,” second-year Indiana coach Mike Woodson said.
The last of 32 first-round games to tip off was played in front of mostly Indiana fans and their team delivered a no-drama victory to cap what was already a pretty good day. Earlier, the Hoosiers’ in-state, Big Ten rival Purdue became the second No. 1 seed in the history of the tournament to lose to a 16 seed when Fairleigh Dickinson pulled the stunner in Columbus, Ohio.
The Mid-American Conference champs from Kent State couldn’t muster any such magic, shooting 32% from the field. Sincere Carry scored 15 points to lead the Golden Flashes (28-7), who had won six straight heading into tournament under former Indiana assistant coach Rob Senderoff.
“It wasn’t for lack of effort at all,” Senderoff said. “It just, you know, shots didn’t fall.”
Well past midnight, Jackson-Davis gave MVP Arena a jolt with six straight spectacular points in the second half. The run started with a one-handed dunk, soaring down the lane.
“I finally got a little bit of a groove and had a big play, an energy play,” Jackson-Davis said. “Whenever that happens, my teammates try to get me the ball and they put me in great positions.”
A smooth baseline drive was next, followed by a spinning layup to make it 62-50 with 7:39 left.
“I thought he made about three or four plays down the stretch to put the game out of reach,” Woodson said.
Race Thompson matched a season high with 20 points for the Hoosiers on 8-of-11 shooting.
The Hoosiers had a 35-27 at halftime as Thompson took advantage of a Kent State defense that was working hard to limit Jackson-Davis. Thompson scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Meanwhile, Jackson-Davis more than made his presence felt with 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks, including a chase down swat of Jalen Sullinger’s layup in the final seconds of the half.
“The big, Davis, he dominated tonight. So props to him,” Sullinger said.
BIG PICTURE
Kent State: Its last NCAA victory was in 2002, when the Golden Flashes made a surprising run to the Elite Eight before being eliminated by Indiana.
Indiana: The Hoosiers played around a quiet night from star freshman Jalen Hood Schifino, who scored eight points while dealing with foul trouble.
UP NEXT
Indiana: The Hoosiers have played the Hurricanes once, losing 58-53 in Miami in December 2001.
Fans both big and small have their own strategy in picking their NCAA Tournament March Madness teams.
Amber Hankins of “Life.Style.Live!” went scouting to find out the process to people’s picks.
Watch to see what she learned.
Today’s Trivia Tuesday theme is inspired by March Madness and Tuesday’s start of the NCAA Tournament.
The trivia questions the hosts answered are listed below. Watch along and see if you guess correctly.
What are the odds of filling out a perfect March Madness bracket?
Which state was the first to host an entire March Madness?
Which Indiana coach won a national championship as a player and a coach?
When was the first women’s March Madness tournament?
Indiana Sports Corp is impacting our community through sports, and now they’re taking the time to thank everyone who helps make it happen after the March Madness Tournament. Ryan Vaughn, president of Indiana Sports Corp. joined us today to tell us more about their current initiative. Here’s more from him:
Indiana Sports Corp would like to thank the NCAA® for the opportunity to show our community’s ability to deliver a world-class event.
And to our community – our venues, our host institutions, our civic partners, our volunteers, and our residents – we are deeply grateful for your hard work and support as we showed the world we were made for this moment.
Their next big event is the Indy Ultimate, which is also being sponsored by WISH-TV.
To continue your support of Indiana Sports Corp in impacting our community through sports, join our team and become a member.
For more information visit, IndianaSportsCorp.org.
Katrina Murray, artist & graphic designer, joined us on Indy Style today to tell us all about her current projects, including the work she’s doing in honor of March Madness being in Indianapolis this year. Here’s more from her:
I am an artist located on the 2nd floor of the Circle City Industrial complex. I have been running my art and design business there for 9 years. We are having a virtual First Friday on our Facebook and Instagram pages. Additionally the artists take visits by appointment and there will be a show in the Schwitzer gallery (open to the public all month).
I am currently working on a commission through the Arts Council of Indianapolis for March madness. It will be a new, temporary, site-specific art intervention in vacant downtown windows. Essentially, I will use vinyl adhesive to create an outdoor collage for two sets of double doors at the Former Ike and Jonesy’s at 17 West Jackson Place).
I won the creative renewal grant for 2021 that I had planned to use for travel to Greece and study ceramic making there. But The shut down due to the coronavirus made it impossible to travel abroad as I had planned in April last year. Those plans changed to: purchase a kiln, take a class at the Indianapolis Art Center and a drive-to museum visit. These things are In place of the original grant plans.
I did get a small PPP loan and some small stop gap grants to help keep my business afloat during the shutdown and subsequent months of lean business.
For more information, visit KatrinaJMurray.com and KatrinaMurrayDesign.com.
Studio open first Fridays and by appointment: 1125 Brookside Avenue, S 03B, Indianapolis, IN 46202.
AUBURN, Ala (WIAT) — Auburn fans sent off the men’s basketball team with a reverse tiger walk on Wednesday as the team headed to the Final Four in Minneapolis.
Hundreds of fans showed up including students, alumni, and kids.
“It’s one of those situations where no one thought we would be here so it’s awesome,” Logan Thrasher, a sophomore at Auburn, said. “First Final Four so its cool making history.”
Auburn fans said they are honored to be going to the Final Four, and say they even welcome Alabama fans to jump on board.
“If they’re willing to cheer for Auburn since this is the first time any school from Alabama has gone to Final Four, it’s ok if they cheer for Auburn. Just don’t get nasty about it,” Faye Whidbee laughed.
Allen Greene, the athletic director, said this moment is much bigger than anything they could have imagined.
“Right now it’s about the state of Alabama and Auburn is thrilled to be carrying the flag for the state,” Greene said.
The team is also reminded of what this game not only means to their fans, but the community like in Lee County.
“I think it’s about culture. It has to do with Coach Pearl getting his guys all to believe in one another and believe in themselves and obviously a big part of what we do as Auburn family is help support our own community,” Greene said.
Those moments like visiting schools in their community have made a lasting impression
”It mean a lot that someone that big would come and talk to just a bunch of 6th graders when they have so much going on during the season,” Margie Grace Wilder, a 6th grader at Drake Middle School in Auburn, said.
That positive attitude is what Auburn fans are rooting for, no matter the outcome.
“No matter what happens it’s so emotional and wonderful to be here and send them off and cheer for them now,” Vicki Moore, an Auburn fan, said.
COLUMBUS (WCMH) — The Big Game Live continues Friday with a look at the last Sweet 16 games as the top NCAA men’s basketball teams battle it out on the hardwood for their slot in the Elite 8.
Thursday night, Gonzaga, Purdue, Texas Tech and Virginia all won.
Jerod Smalley and the Nexstar Nation team report from Kansas City, Washington D.C., Anaheim and Lousiville with updates on Friday nights matchups: North Carolina vs. Auburn, Virginia Tech vs. Duke, LSU vs. Michigan; and a look ahead at Saturday’s Elite 8 matchup of Purdue vs. Virginia.
Want to read more Big Tournament content? Click on “Sports“ then “The Big Tournament“ to read and watch the stories Jerod and the Nexstar Nation team talk about during today’s show.
(NEXSTAR) — “The Big Tournament Live” with host Jerod Smalley continues into week two, taking you right into the madness of the NCAA tournament before the games start each day.
You can stream The Big Tournament Live:
- Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 3 p.m. EST
- Sunday, stream the show at 1 p.m. EST.
If you missed out on week one of The Big Tournament Live, Smalley and the Nexstar Nation team reported live from all eight venues before the biggest games of round one and two, with Smalley explaining the matchups on his touchscreen Big Board and speaking with the reporters on the ground for their insight on the teams they cover every day.
Week two will be even more fun, with reporters from all over the country covering the top 16 NCAA men’s basketball teams, then the elite eight!
You can stream the show right here on this website or in the free app.
Click here for more coverage from the Big Tournament.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Luke Maye and Nassir Little each scored 20 points and top-seeded North Carolina breezed into the Sweet 16, beating Washington 81-59 Sunday.
The Tar Heels (29-6) never trailed and moved on to face fifth-seeded Auburn on Friday in a Midwest Regional semifinal.
Last year, one season removed from its national championship, North Carolina was eliminated in the second round in a rout by Texas A&M. The Tar Heels were not going to let it happen again.
Maye added 14 rebounds for North Carolina, a No. 1 seed for a record 17th time.
The Tar Heels committed 10 turnovers in the first half, and led by eight points at the break. But they bolted out in the second half, put together a 13-0 run over 5 minutes and pulled away.
Pac-12 player of the year Jaylen Nowell paced Washington (28-8) with 12 points.
North Carolina forward Garrison Brooks took an elbow to the mouth in the first half that knocked out one tooth, chipped another and required stitches to close his cut lip. He returned to start the second half.
North Carolina guard Kenny Williams exited early in the second half grasping his left hamstring, but he also returned later in the half and seemed to be OK.
BIG PICTURE
Washington: The Huskies have come a long way after going 9-22 two years ago before longtime Syracuse assistant Mike Hopkins took over. They beat No. 9 seed Utah State in the first round but were never seriously in the game against North Carolina.
North Carolina: The Tar Heels rolled to a 41-33 lead at halftime behind the 3-point shooting of freshman Coby White — he 4 for 5 from beyond the arc in the half — and kept the pressure on.
UP NEXT
North Carolina moves into the Sweet 16 in Kansas City, Missouri.