INDIANA UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 30, 2022

Trayce Jackson-Davis

Jalen Hood-Schifino

Postgame Media Conference

Indiana-77

North Carolina-65

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Trayce, 50 to 24 in paint points tonight. How good is this team at basically whether it's big men attacking the rim or guards getting downhill, making the paint, the rim, work for you guys offensively?

TRAYCE 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.

Q. Jalen, two pre-season All-Americans going head-to-head in Trayce and Mando. What do you think Trayce was able to outplay him tonight?

JALEN HOOD-SCHIFINO: Because he's a big-time player and that's what big-time players do.

Q. Trayce, you know all about IU program being from here, how much these fans love the program. Going up against another storied program, how big was it for your team but also for the fan base to get this win?

TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: It was huge for us, really. You got to beat the best to be the best is 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...

Q. Trayce, what do you think the biggest factor was in the excellent defense you played tonight? How important was it to get started well defensively?

TRAYCE 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 rode it out till the end of the game.

Q. Trayce, how were you feeling physically? How important was it for Jalen in a game like this as a freshman to have such a great start to the game?

TRAYCE 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.

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.

Q. What is the big picture? You have the road win at Xavier, this win. What is this team capable of?

TRAYCE 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 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.

Q. Trayce, when you started playing with Trey Galloway, how long did it take you to realize how much energy he plays with?

TRAYCE 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.

Q. You limited them to less than 34% shooting. How does Coach Woodson get you guys to defend at that level?

TRAYCE 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.

Q. Jalen, just playing in this environment, seems like you came out with a chip on your shoulder, what motivated you to come out and do what you did? What was the chat back and forth?

JALEN 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.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

JALEN HOOD-SCHIFINO: I forgot. Jellyfish (laughter).