IU basketball: Indiana 77 North Carolina 65 — Three keys | Highlights

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana defeated North Carolina by a final score of 77-65 on Wednesday evening at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

The Hoosiers led 35-29 at halftime, and were led in the game by Trayce Jackson-Davis with 21 points and nine rebounds. Xavier Johnson added 20 points and eight rebounds. Both had four assists.

The Hoosiers (7-0) will travel to Rutgers on Saturday for their Big Ten opener.

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME

1. Paint domination continues. Indiana had feasted on mid-majors in the paint, but it was reasonable to wonder if that would hold against UNC’s length. The Hoosiers outscored UNC 50-24 in the paint and outrebounded the Tar Heels. Trayce Jackson-Davis got the better of his matchup with Armando Bacot, and while the offense ran through him, he had no turnovers on the night. Indiana shot 28-of-49 (57.1 percent) from two in the game.

2. Stifling Indiana defense. North Carolina could never get going on the offensive end. Indiana held the Tar Heels to just 33.9 percent from the field overall and just from 15-of-41 (36.5 percent) from 2-point range. UNC had just five assists for the game, as IU was able to keep the ball in front of them and force challenged twos and threes off the bounce.

Indiana’s head coach thought his team’s defense was the difference.

“On the defensive end we were truly, truly, solid,” Woodson said.

3. Hood-Schifino ready early, Galloway late. Freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino had struggled from the field, making just 33 percent of his shots coming in. Meanwhile Trey Galloway had missed the last three games with injury. Both had massive games at different junctures to help deliver the win. Hood-Schifino scored IU’s first seven points of the game and 12 of their first 19 and had a career high 14. Galloway got the critical minutes at the three in the second half and scored 11 points. Both players provided the physicality and athleticism on the defensive end to slow UNC’s potent backcourt.

HIGHLIGHTS