Indiana Hoosiers started their NCAA tournament campaign with a commanding 71-60 victory over the Kent State Golden Flashes at the MVP Arena in Albany, New York. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson led the Hoosiers with outstanding performances. Trayce Jackson-Davis was the star of the game, scoring 24 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, dishing out five assists, blocking five shots, and stealing one ball. Indiana’s offense was impressive, scoring 1.1 points per possession against Kent State’s defense, which had been giving up 0.96 points per possession. The Hoosiers took care of the ball, turning it over only seven times for a turnover percentage of 11. Indiana will face ACC regular-season champion Miami (FL) on Sunday in Albany, aiming to build on this impressive performance and secure their place in the NCAA tournament Sweet 16.
Indiana Hoosiers defeat Kent State Golden Flashes, 71-60
Indiana Hoosiers started their NCAA tournament campaign with a commanding 71-60 victory over the Kent State Golden Flashes at the MVP Arena in Albany, New York. Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson led the Hoosiers with outstanding performances.
Game Highlights
First Half
The Hoosiers began the game in a commanding fashion with a 7-2 lead, powered by Race Thompson’s early five points. Although Kent State took a brief lead on a Chris Payton bucket, Indiana regained control and dominated the remainder of the half. The Hoosiers closed the first half with a strong 11-4 run, led by Thompson’s 13 points and Jackson-Davis’s 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots, and a steal. Indiana took a comfortable 35-27 lead at halftime.
Second Half
Indiana continued their momentum in the second half, extending their lead to 11 points at 40-29 with a Thompson fast-break dunk. Jackson-Davis added another bucket to push the lead to 45-31. Indiana maintained their lead, and Malik Reneau’s second-chance putback gave them a 15-point advantage at 54-39. Although the Golden Flashes managed to reduce the lead to 10 points with a 3-pointer from VonCameron Davis, the Hoosiers responded with two consecutive alley-oop dunks by Jackson-Davis to increase their lead to 14 points. Indiana comfortably cruised from there to secure their first NCAA tournament round of 32 appearance since 2016.
Individual Performances
Trayce Jackson-Davis was the star of the game, scoring 24 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, dishing out five assists, blocking five shots, and stealing one ball. His five blocked shots set an Indiana University NCAA tournament record. Race Thompson was also outstanding, contributing 20 points and nine rebounds. Miller Kopp had 13 points and five rebounds for the Hoosiers.
Statistics
Indiana’s offense was impressive, scoring 1.1 points per possession against Kent State’s defense, which had been giving up 0.96 points per possession. The Hoosiers took care of the ball, turning it over only seven times for a turnover percentage of 11.
Upcoming Game
Indiana will face ACC regular-season champion Miami (FL) on Sunday in Albany, aiming to build on this impressive performance and secure their place in the NCAA tournament Sweet 16.
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