Jackson-Davis shines once again in Indiana's 62-61 win vs. Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A wonderfully electric tangle between No. 18 Indiana and a surging Michigan team fighting the NCAA tournament bubble was whittled down to the final possession: eight seconds remaining, the Wolverines trailing by a point in search of their biggest win of the season.
But whichever play head coach Juwan Howard drew up in the sideline huddle went awry, bucked off schedule, and the best shot Michigan managed was an off-balance heave from Jett Howard as the clock expired. The shot veered to the right from the moment it left Jett Howard's hand, and the Indiana bench exploded into a frenzy of hugs and chest bumps when the horn sounded on their 62-61 win.
The Wolverines (14-11, 8-6 Big Ten) failed to score in the final five minutes as the Hoosiers (18-7, 9-5 Big Ten) erased an 11-point first-half deficit to extend a white-hot run through the second half of their conference schedule.
Here are three thoughts from Ann Arbor:
Jackson-Davis outshines Dickinson in low-post battle
Four months ago, at Big Ten Media Days in Minneapolis, there were no bigger stars in attendance than Trayce Jackson-Davis and Hunter Dickinson. Fans and media members alike viewed them as the cream of the crop in a league revered for its high-quality big men. Jackson-Davis was named the league's Preseason Player of the Year, and few players in college basketball have capitalized on Name, Image and Likeness deals than Dickinson has at Michigan. (At the time, few people expected Purdue's Zach Edey to morph into the best player in college basketball.)
The first of two showdowns between Jackson-Davis and Dickinson produced a high-level treat in one of the best games the Big Ten has seen this season. Jackson-Davis poured in 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds on 11-for-23 shooting to entrench himself as the second-best player in the league. He played all 40 minutes against the Wolverines in a two-way effort that paired crafty scoring with pestering low-post defense. His high-flying block on an attempted layup by Dug McDaniel in the final minute preserved Indiana's eighth win in its last nine games.
Dickinson's evening was speckled with foul trouble that compromised his willingness to protect the rim, especially in the early portion of the second half as Indiana clawed back from a narrow deficit. He finished with 16 points and seven rebounds to lead U-M in both categories but faded when Michigan needed him most: a single field goal attempt in the final five minutes; just three points over the final 11.
Bufkin hitting his stride for Michigan
A driving factor behind the Wolverines' three-game uptick against Northwestern, Ohio State and Nebraska is the complementary play of sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin, the heir to a position long occupied by veteran Eli Brooks. Hamstrung by static defense and icy perimeter shooting a year ago, Bufkin made incredible strides during the offseason to evolve into a capable third scorer alongside Dickinson and sharpshooting small forward Jett Howard.
Bufkin entered the weekend having reached double-figure scoring in 16 of Michigan's first 24 games, including six of the last eight. He sits third on the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game with a tidy shooting clip of 46.5%. Those numbers improved to 13.7 points and 53% shooting during the recent three-game winning streak.
His role took on even greater importance following the season-ending knee injury to Princeton transfer Jaelin Llewellyn, a score-first point guard the Wolverines expected to be a primary contributor. Llewellyn's absence thrust true freshman Dug McDaniel into the starting lineup and transformed Bufkin into a combo guard relied upon for auxiliary point guard services as the coaching staff mixed and matched lineups.
The calm, measured approach with which Bufkin is playing feels like the inverse of his nervy demeanor last season. He's swapped timid 3-point attempts for swooping left-handed layups kissed smartly off the glass. He's traded persistent defensive breakdowns for chase-down blocks and aggressive lunges into the passing lanes.
Bufkin finished with 14 points on 50% shooting against the Hoosiers in a fourth consecutive standout effort.
Backcourt depth questionable for Indiana
With 12:51 remaining in the first half on Saturday, freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino stared at the video screen in disbelief. He'd just been whistled for his second personal foul after what appeared to be an innocuous bump against Bufkin on a baseline drive, and watching the replay still wasn't enough to convince Hood-Schifino that he'd done anything wrong.
But the whistle had blown, the foul was called and Hood-Schifino was quickly substituted with the Hoosiers trailing 17-13. The next five minutes underscored one of the only flaws for an Indiana team rounding into form in the back half of its conference schedule. Without Hood-Schifino, the five-star freshman who is second on the team in scoring to Jackson-Davis, the Hoosiers were lacking for backcourt options and fell three points further behind before Woodson re-inserted his blue-chip recruit with 7:28 remaining.
Indiana's pecking order at guard changed dramatically after starting point guard Xavier Johnson suffered a broken foot in mid-December and later underwent surgery. A year ago, Johnson averaged 12.1 points, 5.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals while shooting 38.3% from beyond the arc. Two of his best showings this season came in critical wins over Xavier (23 points, seven rebounds) and North Carolina (20 points, eight rebounds, four assists).
Johnson appeared on a podcast several days before tipoff against Michigan and said he's progressing well in recovery. His goal is to return before the end of the regular season.
Without him, Hood-Schifino assumes the primary ball-handling responsibilities with swingman Trey Galloway shifting into a pseudo backup point guard role. The former shook off his early foul trouble to seize control of the game with a personal 8-0 run late in the first half before scoring eight of IU's final 12 points to secure the win. The latter managed just four points on 1-of-3 shooting but failed to dish out an assist.
And even though Hood-Schifino notched his fourth 20-point game of the season — he scored 21 points on 15 field goal attempts and made all four of his free throws — the Hoosiers' postseason hopes might be tied to Johnson's recovery.
Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.
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