Kanaan Carlyle jokingly said he meant to do it — but he, and everyone else, knew he didn’t.
The pass from Indiana men’s basketball’s sophomore guard was intended for sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako. Instead, it sailed through the net — an emblematic moment for the Hoosiers in their 87-71 victory over the University of South Carolina on Nov. 16 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
Now, No. 16 Indiana turns its attention toward the University of North Carolina Greensboro for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff Thursday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
The Spartans enter Bloomington with a 2–1 record, holding victories over Florida Gulf Coast University and North Carolina Wesleyan University, while falling 81-68 on the road to Southern Methodist University on Nov. 11.
Indiana, meanwhile, is unblemished through three games. In addition to their 16-point triumph over South Carolina, the Hoosiers beat Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 80-61 on Nov. 6 and Eastern Illinois University 90-55 on Nov. 10.
Thursday’s game is sandwiched between the Hoosiers’ two marquee nonconference events — hosting South Carolina and heading to the Bahamas for the three-game Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
But UNC Greensboro, which was picked to finish sixth in the 10-team Southern Conference, will hope to play spoiler inside Assembly Hall.
Meet the Spartans
Led by fourth-year head coach Mike Jones, UNC Greensboro arrives in Bloomington searching for its first win over the Hoosiers. Indiana has won each of the previous two matchups, the last coming Nov. 28, 2014, when the Hoosiers won 87-79.
The Spartans have been a consistently strong program, amassing at least 20 wins in seven of the past eight years — all but Jones’ first season at the helm in 2021-22. UNC Greensboro went 21-11 last season and did not play in the postseason.
Jones’ squad is led by junior guard Kenyon Giles, who averages 16.3 points and 2.3 assists per game. Junior forward Donovan Atwell, an all-conference preseason honoree and the team’s third-leading scorer last season, is averaging 12.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest.
Joining Giles and Atwell in double figures is senior guard Ronald Polite, who’s scoring 10.3 points per game while averaging 2.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds. Junior forward Jalen Breath averages 9.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Breath is the Spartans’ second-leading rebounder, trailing senior guard Miles Jones, who pulls down 8.7 boards per game. Size is certainly in the Hoosiers’ favor, as Breath stands 6-foot-8 while Jones is 6-foot-6. UNC Greensboro’s tallest player is Lithuanian sophomore forward Domas Kauzonas, who has played only 7.3 minutes per game.
The Spartans shoot the 3-ball at a high clip, connecting on 39.7% of their attempts while making nearly 10 each game. Their struggles come inside the arc, as they’re making only 49.1% of their 2-point attempts, which ranks 277th in Division I.
Despite its size limitations, UNC Greensboro is a strong rebounding team. The Spartans average 43.3 rebounds per game, good for 34th in the country and eight more than their opponents.
The Hoosiers, however, present Greensboro with its biggest challenge to date — 7-foot sixth-year senior center Oumar Ballo and 6-foot-9 junior forward Malik Reneau were each named to multiple preseason watch lists and average 13 and 15 points per game, respectively.
With size a considerable factor, Indiana enters Thursday night as 16.5-point favorites, according to Action Network. ESPN Analytics gives the Hoosiers an 89.7% chance of victory.
The game will be broadcast on FS1 with Connor Onion and Robbie Hummel on the call. The IU radio network, which features Don Fischer, Errek Suhr and John Herrick, will also carry on the game.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa) and columnist Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
