ALBANY, N.Y. — Indiana defeated Kent State on Friday evening by a final score of 71-60 in a NCAA Tournament round of 64 contest at the MVP Arena.
Indiana led at halftime 35-27. The Hoosiers were led in the game by Trayce Jackson-Davis with 24 points. He became the first player in NCAA Tournament history to record at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 5 assists in a game, with 24, 11, 5 and 5, respectively.
No. 4 seed Indiana (23-11) will next play No. 5 Miami (Florida) at 8:40 p.m. ET on Sunday evening in Albany. The Hoosiers advanced to the round of 32 for the first time since 2016.
See also: Woodson, Jackson-Davis, Kopp and Thompson discuss win over Kent State
THREE KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Race and Trayce dominate. Indiana’s veteran front court led the way for IU. Race Thompson tied a season high with 20 points and added 9 rebounds, while Trayce Jackson-Davis led the way with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Kent State did win the rebounding battle 42-39 fueled by 19 offensive boards, but IU outscored the Golden Flashes 46-26 in the paint.
2. Hoosiers limit turnovers. Kent State came into the game top-20 in the country in forcing turnovers, but IU had just seven turnovers for the game, and just three until well beyond the 10 minute mark of the second half. Jackson-Davis had 3 of the 7 turnovers, so IU’s guards were particularly effective against the aggressive defense.
3. Slowing down Carry, and everyone else. Indiana’s strategy against Kent State leading scorer Sincere Carry looked a lot like their strategy against Maryland’s Jahmir Young at the Big Ten Tournament last week — and it delivered similar results. Carry got 15 points, but he made just 5-of-18 shots as the Hoosiers kept him from getting to the rim. As a team Kent State shot just 31.9 percent.
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FINAL STATS
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