Indiana spent a week in Asheville in 2020. This year, a piece of the North Carolina city will make a stop in Bloomington.
According to a report by college basketball reporter Rocco Miller, Indiana will host UNC-Ashville in a nonconference game set for Dec. 29 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
This is the eighth nonconference game to emerge for the 2021-22 season of 11 that will be scheduled.
While Indiana became familiar with Asheville last year, the two schools have never become acquainted on the basketball court. The late December matchup will be the first head-to-head meeting between the programs.
Led by head coach Mike Morrell, UNCA finished the 2020-21 season with a 10-10 overall record including a 9-5 mark in league play. Playing in the Big South, the Bulldogs were ranked No. 244 at the end of the season by KenPom.com with the No. 204 offense and No. 283 defense.
Morrell enters his fourth season at the helm of the UNC Asheville men’s basketball program in 2021-22. He worked under Shaka Smart at Texas prior to taking his current position.
The Bulldogs’ latest campaign ended on a low note. After handing eventual league champion Winthrop its first and only regular season loss, UNCA encountered a COVID cluster that forced them to shut down team activities for a month. Their first game back was the Big South Tournament opener against Longwood. The rust was evident as Asheville limped to a 77-61 loss to end the season.
Bulldogs guard Tajion Jones is the active leading scorer in the Big South Conference (1,058 points).
2021-22 SCHEDULE
- Merrimack: Home game, date TBD.
- Louisiana Lafayette: Home game, date TBD.
- Marshall: Home game, date TBD.
- Northern Kentucky: Dec. 22 (Bloomington)
- UNC Asheville: Dec. 29 (Bloomington)
- St. John’s: Nov. 17 (Gavitt Games, Bloomington)
- Notre Dame: Dec. 18 (Crossroads Classic, at Indianapolis)
- at Syracuse: Nov. 30 (Big Ten / ACC Challenge)
- Big Ten Regular Season:
Home & Away – Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin
Home Only – Illinois, Michigan, Rutgers
Away Only – Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern
- Big Ten Tournament: Indianapolis, Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
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