Column: Breakdown of UNC-IU

Head coach

Roy Williams (10th season) 680-170 career record; Two national championships at North Carolina (2005 and 2009).

This season’s leading scorer and rebounder

James Michael McAdoo leads the Tar Heels with 16.8 points per game and 8.8 rebounds through six games. McAdoo, a 6-foot-9-inch 230-pound sophomore from Norfolk, Va., is as much of a force on the offensive glass as the defensive (21 offensive rebounds and 32 defensive rebounds).

Last win

After losing to Butler in the second round of the Maui Invitational, the Tar Heels bounced back with a convincing 112-70 win against Chaminade to take third place in the tournament. Five players scored in double figures, and McAdoo posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds — his third double-double of the season.

How last year ended

North Carolina ended 2011-12 with an 80-67 loss to Kansas in the Elite Eight. After the loss, four starting Tar Heels were drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft. Harrison Barnes (No. 7), Kendall Marshall (No. 13), John Henson (No. 14) and Tyler Zeller (No. 17) combined to account for 55.2 points per game, 67.9 percent of the team’s PPG.

What they do well

The Tar Heels crash the boards hard, which makes rebounding one of North Carolina’s strongest traits.

This season, North Carolina averages 46.0 rebounds per game, while limiting opponents to only 36.8 boards a game. When McAdoo, Joel James and Brice Johnson are controlling the glass, the Tar Heels are hard to beat, especially if they are getting second chances with multiple offensive rebounds.

If you want an example of how important rebounding is to North Carolina, look at last week’s loss to Butler in the Maui Invitational.

In its only loss of the season, North Carolina allowed the Bulldogs to dominate the glass by being out-rebounded 39-29. McAdoo grabbed only five boards in 31 minutes and was kept in check all night, scoring only 10 points.

If IU can win the rebounding battle behind sophomore forward Cody Zeller (7.7 rebounds a game) and senior forward Christian Watford (8.0 rebounds a game), the Hoosiers will put themselves in a good position to beat the Tar Heels.

My Take

During Thanksgiving break, the Hoosiers passed a tough test against Georgetown by winning an overtime thriller 82-72. Georgetown matched IU’s height and outweighed the Hoosiers down low, but IU Coach Tom Crean’s crew fought through contact and eventually outlasted the Hoyas by getting to the free throw line 36 times.

Coming into North Carolina, the Georgetown game is an example of the Hoosiers’ ability to wear teams down and foul big men out, even if IU is giving up some pounds and inches to its opponent.

When you look at this primetime Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchup, you have to start down low with UNC’s best player, McAdoo, and IU’s, Zeller.

While North Carolina might put 6-foot-10-inch James or 6-foot-9-inch Johnson onto Zeller defensively at times throughout the game, expect McAdoo and Zeller to go at each other for the majority of the night.

Both McAdoo and Zeller possess unique scoring abilities, and both sophomores could be lottery picks if they decide to leave school after two seasons.

After the McAdoo-Zeller matchup, this game is going to come down to who can control the boards and who can get the most easy baskets.

We know both of these teams can light up the scoreboard in a hurry, and a lot of coaches will tell you that starts with good rebounding. For teams to fast break consistently, they must get defensive rebounds before they can find the outlet man streaking down the sideline.

For IU, Watford leads the team in rebounds per game after spending an entire offseason focusing on becoming a rebounding force. His hard work has paid off early this season, as he has posted three double-doubles in six games.

Expect Watford to play a big role in this game, especially going against Johnson and Reggie Bullock. Watford has quietly been the most consistent player for the Hoosiers, and his play will be crucial to IU’s success.

While easy baskets can come from transitional play and good rebounding, the easiest way the Hoosiers have been able to put teams away so far this season has been at the free throw line.

IU has attempted an absurd 192 free throws, making 142 of those attempts, in six games this season. The Hoosiers have outscored their opponents at the line by a remarkable 81 points, an average of 13.5 points a game so far.

On the other side, the Tar Heels are giving up more free throws than they shoot. In six games, the Tar Heels are 58-of-99, or 58.6 percent, at the line compared to their opponents going 70-of-101, or 69.3 percent, from the charity stripe.

As with the Georgetown game, I would not be surprised to see this game decided at the free throw line. Both teams like to drive the lane to draw contact. IU just does it better.

If the Hoosiers can stay out of foul trouble and get to the line early and often, IU can force the Tar Heels into an uphill battle against foul trouble in a hostile road environment.

Prediction

Since the Big Ten/ACC Challenge started in 1999, the Hoosiers haven’t had much success, with only four wins compared to seven losses. They’ve fared even worse at Assembly Hall going 1-3.

Last year’s victory against North Carolina State was the game that spring loaded the Hoosiers into the Kentucky upset, and I expect to see IU perform just as well this year.

The Hoosiers win 78-70 in an electric Assembly Hall atmosphere.

­— mdnorman@indiana.edu