Lucas: A Rough Road

By Adam Lucas

BLOOMINGTON—From the moment the schedule was released, this was never going to be an easy assignment.

Coming off three games in four days in Portland, the Tar Heels had a long travel day Monday with an unexpected diversion to Indianapolis. Granted, this is the very definition of first world problems: your charter flight lands roughly an hour away from the airport where you meant to land, giving you a longer bus ride to Bloomington.

Exams are approaching later this week, and Carolina made this weeklong trip with two members of the academic staff, since players will be in the heart of exams when they next play—yet another road assignment at Virginia Tech.

Combine all the external factors with the fact that essentially every bit of Indiana's early season schedule led up to this primetime nationally televised white-out matchup for which students waited outside almost all day in the blustery cold, and you had all the ingredients for a very challenging game.

The Tar Heels did not meet the challenge.

Carolina's starters went 17-for-50 from the field and Indiana dominated the paint 50-24, with untimely turnovers eventually proving the final undoing.

"At this time, Indiana has something we don't have," Hubert Davis said on the Tar Heel Sports Network after the game. "They have something offensively they can automatically go to to generate the shot they want."

That something on Wednesday was usually Trayce Jackson-Davis, who added four assists to his 9-for-16, 21-point performance. Those four assists were only one fewer than the entire Carolina team, which managed just five assists on 20 field goals. Through eight games, the Tar Heels now collectively have more turnovers than assists.

It was an ignominious way to end Carolina's ACC/Big Ten Challenge competition. The environment and atmosphere was exactly what the Challenge was supposed to create. Assembly Hall has perfected making Hoosier games the embodiment of a college basketball environment. They're not trying to emulate any professional arenas, and don't even pretend to do so. In the minutes before tipoff, the band took the court when the lights went down, with the band director standing directly above Jones Angell, waving his arms to conduct the fight song on the court.

Eight minutes into the game, the student section broke into a derogatory chant directed at Hubert Davis. The PA announcer immediately admonished them that continuation of the chant could result in a technical foul against the home team. The cheer ceased immediately and was not heard again.

Afterwards, ushers surrounded the crimson and cream IU logo at center court. Fans cooperatively lined up to take photos at midcourt, with one usher tasked with taking each photo. When the time allotted on the scoreboard clock for photos expired, everyone dutifully left the arena.

It was, quite simply, the kind of place where you want to watch college basketball. There aren't many arenas—or maybe arena is overselling it, maybe it's a gym—like this anymore.

Unfortunately, the game was not equally outstanding.

When Carolina left for the West Coast last Tuesday, it's unlikely anyone expected that when they finally returned home in the wee hours of Thursday morning, the primary bright spots would be D'Marco Dunn and Puff Johnson. That duo was consistently solid on Wednesday and has reliably provided the energy Hubert Davis is seeking from his team.

But what he's also seeking right now is any kind of consistency putting the ball in the basket. Carolina again struggled from the perimeter against Indiana, hitting just 27.8 percent from the three-point line and a scary 1-10 in the second half, which made it almost impossible to make any sort of comeback.

Again, a road trip to a jacked-up Indiana was never going to be simple. And the experience will likely benefit the Tar Heels in the weeks to come; they won't play in any ACC arenas more hostile than what they saw at Assembly Hall.

But the Tar Heels have now played their way into a situation where Sunday's visit to Blacksburg feels very important, even when it's just the first ACC game out of 20.

"At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what game it is," Davis said. "Your better players have to play well. It doesn't matter if you're at Indiana, in Portland or at home. That's what needs to happen. Our better players not only have to play well, but they have to be consistent."

Players Mentioned

D'Marco Dunn

Puff Johnson

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