Bloomington, IN (Sports Network) - With more wins over No. 1 ranked opponents
than any other program in the NCAA, the 14th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels
will try to spoil the top-ranked Indiana Hoosiers' perfect record when the two
collide at Assembly Hall for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday night.
UNC has knocked off the first-ranked team in the nation 12 times in its
history. The Tar Heels improved to 5-1 in their last Maui Invitational
appearance with a 112-70 win over the hosting Chaminade Silverswords. Roy
Williams and his squad were upset by Butler in the second round of the
tourney, but all of its wins have been by widespread margins. The results so
far have given UNC a +22.2 ppg scoring margin and an 85.3 ppg scoring average,
the latter ranking in the top 10 in the nation.
The Hoosiers are finally thriving once again as Tom Crean has officially
resurrected the troubled program. Indiana has ran out to a 6-0 start with wins
over Georgia and Georgetown highlighting its journey so far. The Hoosiers have
engineered their perfect beginning to the year by leading the nation in free
throws attempts per game (32.0), while ranking second in free throws made per
game (23.7) and fourth nationally in scoring (88.7 ppg).
Indiana leads the all-time series with UNC, 7-5. Seven of the previous 12
meetings were held on neutral floors, including the 1981 National Championship
game when the Hoosiers took down the Tar Heels in Philadelphia to earn the
right to cut down the nets.
While ACC player of the year Tyler Zeller and Harrison Barnes led the Tar
Heels last season, the go-to-guy for their 2012-2013 campaign is James Michael
McAdoo. The sophomore forward showed promise last season, but was relegated to
the bench behind John Henson and Zeller. Now McAdoo is pacing the team with
16.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per contest. UNC also found a new point guard to
make up for Kendall Marshall's departure to the NBA. Freshman guard Marcus
Paige is off to a decent start as the team's new floor general. Paige scored
13 points and dished out five assists versus Butler before suffering a minor
injury to his back. He was limited versus Chaminade, but he will be healthy
for this one. UNC will be without P.J. Hairston, which means Reggie Bullock
(12.7 ppg) and Leslie McDonald (8.8 ppg) will need to produce a little extra
from the wing positions.
Crean's team is coming off a 101-53 win over in-state rival Ball State. The
margin of victory was the largest in the 21-game history of the rivalry which
began in 1934. Indiana had a balanced attack as Will Sheehey scored 19 points
while Jordan Hulls, Cody Zeller, and Christian Watford all reached double
digits as well. Zeller and Watford make up one of the best front lines in
college basketball. The duo is combining to produce 28.4 points and 15.7
rebounds per game. Hulls is third on the squad with 13 ppg and his lights out
shooting from long distance (54.3 percent 3PT) makes it impossible to pressure
the Hoosiers' big guys from the perimeter. Victory Oladipo (11 ppg) and
Sheehey (10.7 ppg) are also chipping in more than 10 ppg each.
The Sports Network
You Might Be Interested In