Heel Tough Blog: Indiana Exhibition Takeaways
It wasn’t the result, let alone the effort, that Carolina was looking to put together last night, as the Tar Heels fell in exhibition play, 76-58 to the Indiana Hoosiers, in a game that at times wasn’t even that close. A week after scoring 88 points in a win over USC, Carolina scored 58 points and shot just 36% from the field, 32% from behind the arc, 54% from the free-throw line, and committed 15 turnovers, leading to 19 points for Indiana. But that wasn’t the most concerning part of the loss, as concerns about the frontcourt were brought to light: IU dominated the glass, outrebounding UNC 53-31, including 33-21 on the defensive glass and 20-10 on the offensive glass. That led to Carolina being outscored 17-7 in second-chance points, another area where the Heels were outclassed.
Carolina was without Isaiah Denis, who was officially listed day-to-day by the program, but they were also missing Cameron Fens, who remains ineligible, as he’s seeking a 5th year of eligibility from the NCAA. The absence of Denis mainly felt on the offensive end, as Carolina struggled to create easy scoring chances in the halfcourt, with Brown and Avdalas struggling to generate anything off the bounce. As for Fens, his height and his size would’ve been nice against a big physical front line from Indiana.
We saw these types of games under Roy Williams, under Hubert Davis, and now under Michael Malone. The question is, how does the former NBA champion adjust to help his team play more to their respective strengths and minimize their weaknesses? Here’s what to take away from the exhibition loss to Indiana on Sunday evening:
Terrence Brown Continues to Struggle: We knew there was going to be an adjustment for Brown, after transferring in from Utah, but I don’t think anyone was expecting the adjustment to be this drastic. Brown, who scored just 5 points against USC, only scored 7 points last night, on 3-for-9 shooting, with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, but 3 turnovers in 23 minutes. Of his six missed shots, many of them came at the rim, where Brown was able to beat his defender but was simply unable to finish, a trademark of what made him so coveted when coming out of the transfer portal. Now we don’t know how much of his offense Michael Malone is having the team run in these exhibitions, but Brown’s early struggles are worth noting, and this team needs to find ways to get him the ball in the open floor to generate easier scoring opportunities for him.
Avdalas Doesn’t Build Off USC Effort: What made Neo Avdalas so frustrating at Virginia Tech was the inconsistent nature of his play. If his first two games in Carolina Blue are any indication, the same could be said for his brief time in Chapel Hill. After an all-around great floor game against USC, Avdalas never found his rhythm yesterday, scoring 6 points on 3-for-11 shooting, with 2 rebounds, 3 assists, but more importantly, 4 turnovers. When you consider how good Indiana’s backcourt played, it was hard to envision a path to a UNC victory, with Brown and Avdalas combining for more turnovers than they did points.
Big Man Woes Were On Display: The biggest question around the Carolina Basketball program isn’t whether or not Michael Malone can make the adjustment to the college game; it’s what they can get from a rebuilt frontcourt, which features international arrivals, Sayon Keita and Alexandros Samodurov. Keita held his own, scoring 12 points, grabbing 9 boards, and blocking 5 shots, while altering many more. His counterparts struggled with Aiden Sherril and Samet Ygitioulu, as Jarin Stevenson produced just 3 points and 3 rebounds in 27 minutes. Samodurov struggled as well, totaling just 2 points and 2 rebounds in his 14 minutes of action. Indiana’s size and strength proved to be too much for Carolina, outrebounding UNC 53-31, including 33-21 on the defensive glass and 20-10 on the offensive glass. While you feel good about what you saw from Keita, it’s hard to feel good about where Samodurov is currently at, and Stevenson reminded you why you can’t buy in too much after games like USC, where he produced a 25-point, 10-rebound, double-double.
Bryce Lindsay Goes Off: Lindsay was the best player on the floor, coming off the bench for the Hoosiers yesterday, scoring 26 points on 8-for-14 shooting, including going 4-for-9 from behind the arc. Lindsay’s big game fueled Indiana’s bench production, which outpaced Carolina, 37-19. It took until Malone’s second game on the UNC bench to see an opposing player going off from the opening tip and leading them to a victory over the Tar Heels.
Special Teams Struggles: To make matters worse, Carolina struggled at the foul line, going just 7-of-13 (54%); they committed 15 turnovers, leading to 19 points for Indiana, and they were -10 in paint points. Hard to win when you struggle in those categories, along with the other areas that Carolina struggled in.
Michael Malone Will Use His Timeouts: UNC coaches are famous for not taking their timeouts, but Michael Malone has proven to be the opposite, as he burned through 3 timeouts in the first half. Malone has used his timeouts, typically after turnovers, which have led to transition layups or threes, which has drawn the ire of the first-year UNC head coach.
Up Next: Carolina will return to exhibition action on October 27th, when they will host the Charlotte 49ers.
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