Kent State basketball knows it must deal with Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis, Jalen Hood Schifino

The big test comes Friday for the Kent State men’s basketball team in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

It comes in the form of a terrific twosome in Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino and it’s a tall task to say the least.

The 6-foot-9 Jackson-Davis and 6-6 Hood-Schiffino leave shadows everywhere they go.

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They’ve also left an indelible mark on scouting reports.

“Trayce Jackson-Davis is an All-American,” Kent State coach Rob Senderoff said. “Jalen Hood-Schifino is a potential lottery pick. These guys are well aware of that. We understand who they are. It’s the preparation, execution and trying to stay within yourself. Our motto has been do what we do.”

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So far that’s been pretty good for the 13th-seeded Golden Flashes (28-6), who come in against the fourth-seeded Hoosiers (22-11) with high marks.

They have held opponents to 40.3% shooting (19th in the country). Included in that is 31% on 3-pointers (38th).

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Kent State also averages 8.9 steals per game (17th) and limits opponents to 65.7 points per game (56th).

Over the course of the last 34 games, Flashes have had to figure out the likes of Akron star Xavier Castaneda (21.8, tied for ninth in the nation) and Gonzaga's all-time leading scorer Drew Timme (20.9, 15th).

They’ve also hung with national title contenders Gonzaga and Houston in five-point losses this season, which should do nothing but help.

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“It's really twofold,” Senderoff said. “It helps us with our level of confidence. We know we can play with anyone if we play well. What it also does is it helps Indiana's coaching staff convince their players, ‘Hey, you better be ready for these guys. Because when you play in the Big Ten and you play the gauntlet of Big Ten games that they play, it's very easy to overlook a Mid-American Conference team.”

A deeper look inside Trayce Jackson-Davis, Hood-Schifino shows how good they really are for the Indiana Hoosiers

What Indiana brings in Jackson-Davis is a 245-pound first-team consensus All-American forward who averages 20.8 points, 10.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists per game and shoots 57.8% from the floor. His scoring average ranks 17th in the nation.

His 8.0 defensive rebounds and 2.73 blocks per game each rank fifth.

Hood-Schifino is the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He comes in averaging 13.5 points, 3.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game.

“I think just like anybody else, we study their strengths,” Kent State guard Jalen Sullinger said. “We study their weaknesses, and then go off that. It's going to be about team stops. It's going to be a team effort all night. If the team is locked in – all our guys on the court locked in –  I think we have a good chance.

“Our identity is our defense and I think it's all because we trust each other and we all have a passion for it. We just want to win and I think that's what drives us the most. Our coaching staff always gives us a good game plan, always put us in the right position.”

Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kent State basketball has challenge ahead vs. Indiana duo