Indiana gets another preseason test Sunday, and this one brings North Carolina to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for a 5 p.m. exhibition matchup in Indianapolis.
The Hoosiers are coming off their first tune-up of the season, a 96-68 win over Butler on Oct. 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. That game gave Indiana exactly the kind of early challenge it wanted: a road setting, a loud crowd and a first half that stayed competitive before the Cream and Crimson took control.
“We wanted to be in that atmosphere,” Indiana head coach Darian DeVries said postgame. “We wanted to have a true road game. It was a chance for us to see how we would react to adversity.”
Now Indiana gets a second chance to sort out its preseason form, this time against a Tar Heels team with plenty of new faces and a proven returner at the center of it.
North Carolina is being guided by first-year head coach Michael Malone, who spent 24 years in the NBA, including 12 seasons as a head coach. He built a 16-player roster that features five returners and 11 newcomers. Among those newcomers are four freshmen, six collegiate transfers and one international player.
The Tar Heels also opened preseason play last week, beating USC 88-70 on Oct. 9. That game, like Indiana’s against Butler, was close in the first half before North Carolina separated later.
Jarin Stevenson was the headliner in that win, finishing with 25 points and 10 rebounds. The 6-foot-10 senior forward enters his second season with North Carolina as the team’s top returning scorer, rebounder and three-point shooter. Last season, Stevenson started 25 of his 33 games and averaged 8.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
North Carolina went 24-9 last season and 12-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tar Heels earned a six-seed in the NCAA Tournament before falling in the first round to 11-seed Virginia Commonwealth University.
Media who attended the ACC’s Oct. 6 and 7 media days picked North Carolina fifth in the conference preseason poll.
Indiana leads the all-time series 10-6. The teams last met in Bloomington in November 2022, when the Hoosiers beat the Tar Heels 77-65.
In Other News...
Indiana's Offensive Usage Just Created A Bigger Debate After Ohio State
Even in a 19-15 loss to Ohio State that left Indiana at 6-1, the bigger conversation is not just what the offense did, but how the snaps were distributed. The Hoosiers leaned on a mix of personnel that produced a few clear bright spots, from quarterback Josh Hoovers efficient touchdown-to-interception profile to the way wide receiver Charlie Becker emerged as the most productive and best-graded weapon in the passing game.
The usage chart also sharpened the debate in the backfield and along the line. Turbo Richard saw a heavier snap share than Lee Beebe Jr., while the offensive line held up better in pass protection than in run blocking, leaving the ground game with less room to breathe than the passing game had. For Indiana, that split matters now, because the numbers suggest the offense has pieces that can travel, but not yet a fully settled formula for how to use them. [Read more 🡒]
Indianas First Loss Just Put More Pressure On Michigan Trip
The 22-game run is over, and Indiana suddenly finds itself heading into a bigger test with a little less margin for error. The Hoosiers fell 19-15 to Ohio State in a Top-5 matchup, a loss that snapped the longest streak in the country and served as a reminder that the room for disappointment is small at this point in the season.
Even with several other highly ranked teams losing around them, Indiana still slipped a spot to No. 6 in the AP Poll, a sign that the Hoosiers did not get much help from the weekend results. Now the focus turns to a Week 8 trip to Michigan, where Indiana will have to show the Ohio State loss was a stumble rather than the start of a slide. [Read more 🡒]
Curt Cignetti Calls Out What Indiana Must Fix Before Michigan
Curt Cignetti did not sugarcoat what went wrong after Indianas narrow loss, and the list started with the kinds of mistakes that can swing a tight game before it ever settles in. Missed field goals and turnovers were front and center in his postgame message, along with the broader issue of execution that kept the Hoosiers from making the most of their opportunities. With Michigan next on the schedule, the margin for those lapses gets even thinner.
Cignetti also pointed to the offensive balance Indiana needs to find, along with sharper quarterback accuracy, as the staff turns quickly to correction mode. The bigger concern now is not just fixing the details, but doing it while keeping the group mentally tough enough to carry those lessons through the rest of the season. Saturdays setback left little doubt about what has to improve first, and the Wolverines offer an immediate test of whether those adjustments can take hold. [Read more 🡒]