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The most anticipated game on Indiana's schedule is finally here as the 18th ranked Tar Heels travel to Bloomington to take on the 10th ranked Indiana Hoosiers as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
While the outlook of this game took a little bit of a turn as many thought North Carolina would come into Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall as the No. 1 ranked team, the Tar Heels took two tough losses to both Iowa State and Alabama over the weekend which forced them to drop in the AP Top 25.
However, this is still one of the marquee games on Indiana's non-conference schedule.
The Tar Heels, led by second-year head coach Hubert Davis, enter the game with a 5-2 record. UNC went 1-2 in the Phil Knight Invitational during Feast Week.
Here is a preview the Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchup between Indiana and North Carolina.
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SEE ALSO:
Coach Q&A: Mike Woodson previews North Carolina matchup
Opposing View: North Carolina Head Coach Hubert Davis previews IU-UNC
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Last Time They Played
The last time that Indiana and North Carolina faced off was on Nov. 30th during the 2016-17 season where the Hoosiers won 76-67 inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
In that game, Indiana saw all five starters score in double-figures with former Indiana forward O.G. Anunoby leading the team with 16 points followed by guard James Blackmon Jr. adding 14 points. North Carolina was led by former Tar Heel forward Justin Jackson with 21 points.
This matchup will mark the fifth between Indiana and North Carolina in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. IU holds an advantage of 3-1 in the previous four meetings.
Indiana leads the all-time series 9-6.
Injury Updates
Indiana has been fighting a few nagging injuries since the Xavier game on Nov. 18th but looks to be for the most part back to getting their key players back to 100%.
Indiana senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis has been dealing with a lower back injury and after missing the Little Rock game, he played in more of 'pitch count' in the game vs. Jackson State. Should be no worries of him not being able to give it go but it should be something to monitor during the game tonight.
Indiana junior guard Trey Galloway (precautionary reasons/knee) has missed the last three games but was seen getting shots up a couple hours before Indiana's last game vs. Jackson State. He should be good to go tonight making Indiana's second unit back to full strength.
Woodson confirmed that both Jackson-Davis and Galloway practiced earlier in the week.
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On the North Carolina side, Tar Heel star Armando Bacot suffered an ankle injury in the loss to Alabama on Sunday that happened to go into four overtimes. Said he felt 'sharp pains' in his right ankle.
Bacot said he is going to 'try his hardest' to play against Indiana.
“I never want to sit out a game, and especially a big time game like that," Bacot said after the Alabama game. "I’m gonna try my hardest to get out there.”
If Bacot was not able suit up, this would obviously be a big loss to North Carolina. Bacot is averaging 16.1 points and 13.1 rebounds so far this season.
Hubert Davis said on Tuesday that Bacot and Leaky Black, both dinged up a bit, practice and were expected to play on Wednesday.
Key Storylines to Watch
Big Ten/ACC Challenge: One final time
As it was announced by ESPN earlier this week, this will be the final installment of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge after 23 years.
If this is going to be the final time, at least for the time being, that Indiana is going to play an ACC team in the regular season, what a way to cap it off than with a meeting with North Carolina.
On paper, you can't quite possible get as big as this one to end the challenge. Both teams came into this season as the favorites to win both their conferences and both have a preseason All-American on their roster with Trayce Jackson-Davis and Amando Bacot
Speaking of Jackson-Davis and Bacot, this is arguably the most anticipated player matchup of the season and it should be a battle down low, if Bacot is able to play. These two are very familiar with one another due to their time going at each other on the AAU circuit for all those years.
Tamar Bates trending up?
Finally, sophomore guard Tamar Bates had that breakout game last week vs Jackson State that he, Mike Woodson, and the fans had been waiting for. In that game this past Friday, Bates scored a career high 22 points going 8-of-11 from the field including 4-of-6 from behind the arc.
Bates came into this season as someone that Indiana needed to take that next leap and be a major contributor. While it was a rocky, up-and-down start for Bates in the first five games, this may have finally been the game that clicks for him the rest of the season.
"Well, he finally had a break-out game," said Mike Woodson after the Jackson State win. "I'm not surprised or shocked. You know, I mean, when we started this journey with this team five months ago, he was probably one of our best players playing."
If he can continue this trend upwards, Indiana's bench gets that much more dangerous.
Can Jalen Hood-Schifino find his scoring rhythm?
While no one can deny the elite playmaking ability that freshman guard Hood-Schifino has brought to this Indiana team, his overall scoring and shot selection has been the worrisome part for him through six games this season.
So far this year, Hood-Schifino is averaging 7.8 points on a poor 18-of-54 (33%) on made field goals which includes going just 4-of-16 (25%) from three. While it was never thought of that Hood-Schifino would come in and be one of the scoring leaders for Indiana, it is his questionable shot selection that has been sort of a small problem for Indiana.
"Yeah, it's still early," said Hood-Schifino last week. "I haven't really shot the ball too well, but I'm not too worried. Like you said, it's early, so I'm just going to continue to stay in the gym and just keep working. Like Race (Thompson) said, I'm still young, I'm a freshman so I'm still learning on the fly every day. As the year goes on, I'll get better."
It may take a little while, like it does most college freshman, to find their scoring rhythm, but this could be the game where Jalen-Hood Schifino finally gets that breakout game that he has been looking for this season.
Quick Hitters
Who?: #18 North Carolina (5-2, 0-0 in ACC) at #10 Indiana (6-0, 0-0 in B1G)
When?: Wednesday, November 30th, 9:15 PM ET
Where?: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana
TV: ESPN (Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Brooke Weisbrod)
Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Errek Suhr, John Herrick)
Radio Stream: Learfield Varsity App
Team Rankings: Indiana AP #10, KenPom #11 overall (#14 adj. offense, #12 adj, defense). North Carolina AP #18, KenPom #21 overall (#12 adj. offense, #47 adj, defense)
Spread: Indiana -5
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