BLOOMINGTON, Ind.— In its first true-road game this season, the No. 18 North Carolina Tar Heels (5-3) fell to the No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers (7-0), 77-65, on Wednesday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
What happened?
Indiana earned the first possession and quickly went to work on offense. Jalen Hood-Schifino knocked down his first pull-up jumpshot — a bucket that would foreshadow a hot start for the first-year guard who canned his first three field goal attempts.
After opening up the contest shooting under 13 percent from the field, North Carolina found its groove on offense midway through the first half. Graduate transfer forward Pete Nance displayed his full arsenal — swishing a corner three, banking in a hook shot and connecting on a turnaround jumper steps outside the restricted area.
But as Nance got it going, Trayce Jackson-Davis came alive inside for the Hoosiers. The preseason All-American’s dunk off an offensive rebound helped Indiana regain the lead after briefly falling behind.
Armando Bacot picked up his second foul of the game shortly after the third media timeout, prompting head coach Hubert Davis to sit the senior forward. With UNC’s lead interior presence out of the game, Davis quickly took advantage and delivered a highlight-worthy putback slam.
As Indiana’s inside game opened up, its ball pressure soon intensified. Steals on back-to-back UNC possessions resulted in a pair of transition buckets for junior guard Trey Galloway, giving the Hoosiers a 32-24 lead.
Sophomore guard D’Marco Dunn’s 3-point basket with under a minute remaining in the half momentarily weathered the Hoosier storm, but Indiana still entered the half up by six points.
Out of the break, Indiana continued the same recipe it had success with in the first period. Jackson-Davis continued to bully his way down low and a layup by senior forward Miller Kopp opened up a 44-31 lead for the Hoosiers.
