IU opened the Mike Woodson era with a 68-62 win over Eastern Michigan at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.
The Hoosiers were led by Trayce Jackson-Davis with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Xavier Johnson added 14 points and three assists. Indiana led at one point 48-29 before EMU pulled to with 59-58 with 2:47 left. The Hoosiers outscored the Eagles 9-4 to close it out.
Indiana (1-0) will host Northern Illinois on Friday evening at 7 p.m. Eastern.
See also: Woodson, Jackson-Davis and Johnson post-game
THREE KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Defense leads the way. Indiana held EMU to 31.3 percent shooting and forced turnovers 13 turnovers on the night. The defense was especially strong in the first half when the Eagles made just 22.6 percent of its shots and turned it over eight times. After starting the game 0-of-13, EMU guard Noah Farrakhan led a late by making 5-of-8 down the stretch.
2. Jackson-Davis doing Jackson-Davis things. Indiana junior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis recorded his 23rd career double-double. He had 15 points and seven rebounds in the second half alone. Jackson-Davis also had three blocks and no turnovers, but he was just 3-of-7 from the foul line. Indiana also played some of its best basketball when Race Thompson was on the floor. He had 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks and was a team high +18 on the night.
3. Offense a work-in-process. The Hoosiers had a miserable night behind the 3-point arc, converting on just 4-of-24 attempts. What saved IU was just eight turnovers and 22-of-38 shooting on 2-pointers. Parker Stewart hit Indiana’s first two 3-point attempts of the game, but IU made just 2-of-22 the rest of the way. IU had five turnovers just over eight minutes into the game and just three the rest of the way.
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