University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels, Hoosiers Battle In Jimmy V Classic
December 20, 1999 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 20, 1999
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - Two of college basketball's traditional powerhouses meet in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Tuesday night as North Carolina and Indiana play in the first game of the Jimmy V Classic.
This is the first time the schools are meeting since North Carolina rolled to a 106-92 victory in the 1988 Preseason NIT. The Tar Heels lead the all-time series, 5-4, but the Hoosiers are 2-0 against them in the NCAA tournament.
The sixth-ranked Tar Heels (8-2) have won consecutive contests, including a 78-68 win over Miami on Saturday. Jason Capel had 20 points and 11 rebounds for North Carolina. It marked the first time in his career that he had consecutive 20-point games.
The schedule does not get any easier for Bill Guthridge's team as it goes to Louisville for a date with the Cardinals on Thursday. The Tar Heels return home to play Howard on Jan. 2 before kicking off their ACC schedule at home against Clemson four days later.
Capel is averaging 13.4 points and 7.2 rebounds and is third on the team in scoring behind freshman Joseph Forte (16.5 ppg) and Max Owens (13.8 ppg). But the offense still starts with senior point guard Ed Cota, who is averaging 11.3 points and 8.4 assists while keeping a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Cota will have an interesting challenge with Hoosiers counterpart A.J. Guyton, the go-to player for Indiana. He is averaging 20.3 points per contest, hitting 46.9 percent of his shots from the field and 41 percent (23-for-56) from 3-point range.
No. 20 Indiana (7-1) raced past Wyoming on Saturday, 99-80. Guyton, who shot 4-for-21 from the field in a stunning loss to Indiana State, finished with 29 points on 12-for-20 shooting from the floor.
"He played better today. This is how I expect him to play, and he's actually better than this," Hoosiers coach Bobby Knight said of Guyton.
Kirk Haston added 22 for the Hoosiers as Knight recorded his 750th career victory. Lynn Washington had 11 points and 13 rebounds.
