With a kiss from Davis, Wright expected to play against Illinois

Whatever happened at the 15:31 mark of Wednesday night's game against Penn State wasn't anything a kiss and a miracle pill couldn't handle.\nComing down from hitting a 15-foot jump shot, guard Bracey Wright landed on the feet of Penn State's Aaron Johnson and sprained his left ankle. \nThe junior left the game and did not return. \nAfter the game, IU coach Mike Davis said he took care of Wright in the locker room.\n"Sorry it took me so long to get in here," Davis told the assembled media. "I had to kiss Bracey's ankle. He was in there crying. Made sure I gave him some love before I came in here. To answer your question, he is OK. (IU trainer) Tim (Garl) gave him a miracle pill. He had one left and gave it to Bracey."\nThe slack left by Wright's 18.6 points per game was filled by six Hoosiers, who combined for the 25 points IU scored after Wright left the game.\nWright said the way IU played after he left shows how much the team has grown over the season.\n"They kept their composure, and the young guys are playing well and will only continue to get better," Wright said. "This says a lot about the progress we've made, and how much the young guys have grown.\nWhen Wright went down, White said he knew Wright's night was finished. After the media time-out one second after Wright fell, White huddled with the Hoosiers and told them they needed to keep their heads up. \n"I kind of figured," White said of Wright not returning, "I've had my share of injuries before. When he went down, I knew he wasn't coming back. So after coach talked to us, I just grabbed the team together and told them all, 'Don't get down just because Bracey is out. We still have a chance to win the game.' And I guess we pulled through."\nThis is Wright's second significant injury this season. \nAt Missouri Dec. 19, Wright suffered a broken nose. He also left the game, but returned shortly after.\nBut Wednesday night's injury was a first in front of his teammates.\n"I've never seen him hurt like that," Strickland said. "So that was a first for me."\nWhen Wright went down, Strickland said the game plan didn't change. The only difference was that each player had to do something else on top of their game assignments to pick up for the missing Wright.\n"Roles changed -- the game really didn't change," Strickland said. "Guys had to play different positions. And we just tried to pick up where (Wright) left off." \nBy the Hoosiers holding their own down the stretch against the Nittany Lions, it showed Tapak, that things have changed in Bloomington.\n"I think it shows in the years past maybe it was the 'Bracey Wright Show,'" Tapak said. "He was our main offensive threat. A lot of things went thought him and he was our go-to guy. It's a real shame to lose Bracey." \nWinning without Wright boosted the confidence of the rest of the Hoosiers. \n"I think we stepped up pretty well. We got the win." Vaden said. "So, anytime you can get a win without your leading scorer and your best player than that's good. That's a good win." \nWith the biggest game on the Hoosiers schedule coming up Sunday, Davis weighed in with his opinion on Wright's condition for the Illini game.\n"We expect Bracey to play on Sunday," Davis said.\nIt wasn't a spoon full of sugar or a game-day miracle, but Dr. Davis thinks he found a way for Wright to be ready for Sunday.\n"I kissed it," Davis said. "If you take a miracle pill and you get a kiss from the coach, you should be able to play."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.