Indiana basketball veteran Xavier Johnson speaks on his tremendous performance against Ohio State. Johnson scored 18 points, knocking down two triples, while shooting 8-11 from the charity stripe. He's had his ups and downs this season, but Johnson's been able to show up for Indiana basketball when he's needed most.

“I was definitely motivated,” Johnson said, per Daniel Flick at Indiana Daily Student. “I haven't been myself lately. I've been off for a month, so I was trying to find a rhythm in that game. Tonight, I let the game come to myself. I trusted my coaching staff, my teammates to make the right play.”

Often times players let the game get to their head, rather than playing through the flow of each matchup. Either the coaching game plan or atmosphere disrupts them from competing at the level they're used to and Johnson is starting to find his rhythm in finding confidence game by game.

“It's been challenging,” Johnson said. “I tried to stay in it with my teammates, conditioning up. Just tried to be a positive impact on the team even though I'm not playing.”

Despite this being Johnson's sixth season in college basketball, he's held a limited role with the Hoosiers. Indiana basketball has a lot of hype around the program to excel and punch their ticket to March Madness. Johnson is playing for a team that's fighting for postseason contention and every win counts in this scenario. If he can continue to be a bright light for Indiana basketball, he'll certainly find playing time, but if he's restricted in his ability he'll continue to have a streaky role.