Indiana University Athletics
UNC Presents Unique Challenges
3/24/2016 5:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com
PHILADELPHIA - Juwan Morgan arrived in Philadelphia with a few stitches just above his nose, a not-so-subtle reminder of how physical getting to the Sweet 16 has been.
And it's unlikely to get any easier.
No. 1-seed North Carolina (30-6) will keep the intensity high in the frontcourt against No. 5 Indiana (27-7) Friday night. The Hoosiers have spoken highly about the Tar Heels' frontline and the challenge it's going to pose when the teams square off at the Wells Fargo Center around 10 p.m.
"Their posts are unlike anything we've ever seen," freshman forward Juwan Morgan said. "I don't think I've ever played a team quite like them."
The Tar Heels' posts are big, skilled, talented—the Hoosiers' forwards rattled off these adjectives and more in describing head coach Roy Williams' frontcourt. Indiana is tasked with slowing them down.
Brice Johnson, an All-American senior center, is at the top of the scouting report. He's joined on the frontline by Justin Jackson while Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks provide depth from the bench.
Together, the quartet make North Carolina the fourth-best offensive rebounding team in the country, all while creating both offensive and defensive matchup nightmares that freshman center Thomas Bryant said he's looking forward to.
"It feels great to finally go against them," Bryant said. "Brice Johnson is a great athlete, gets out there in transition and carves out space in the low block. So does Meeks. This is a great team with great post players. We've just got to stay disciplined and go out there with a mindset of trying to win the game out there."
Bryant will likely see Johnson early and often but won't be alone in guarding the 6-foot-10 center.
Johnson is one of the more efficient rebounders in the country and shoots 61.9 percent from the field on 2-point field goal tries. He also has a knack for getting to the line, carrying a free-throw rate just shy of 41 percent. Once at the charity stripe, he shoots 77.8 percent.
"The thing is he's 6-foot-10 but doesn't move like it," senior forward Ryan Burton said. "He does things guys with that size can't do."
North Carolina's frontcourt isn't easily replicated, but having just played Kentucky doesn't hurt. The Wildcats have a similar group of posts that freshman forward OG Anunoby said are comparable enough that it helped IU preparing to play the Tar Heels.
Both Indiana and North Carolina are among the nation's top-15 teams in terms of offensive rebounding, which Morgan said could be pivotal. The Hoosiers hold an advantage in opponent offensive rebounding percentage, however, ranking No. 124 against the 182 for the Tar Heels.
"Honestly just controlling the glass will be huge," Morgan said. "If we can keep their second opportunities down, give ourselves some more options to get out and play our own game, I think we would be better off."
Easier said than done, but the Hoosiers haven't been pushovers in the post themselves.
They pushed back Chattanooga, matched Kentucky and now get to try again against North Carolina, the most prominent challenge thus far.
"If you want to win, you've got to match it," junior forward Collin Hartman said. "I think we can."
PHILADELPHIA - Juwan Morgan arrived in Philadelphia with a few stitches just above his nose, a not-so-subtle reminder of how physical getting to the Sweet 16 has been.
And it's unlikely to get any easier.
No. 1-seed North Carolina (30-6) will keep the intensity high in the frontcourt against No. 5 Indiana (27-7) Friday night. The Hoosiers have spoken highly about the Tar Heels' frontline and the challenge it's going to pose when the teams square off at the Wells Fargo Center around 10 p.m.
"Their posts are unlike anything we've ever seen," freshman forward Juwan Morgan said. "I don't think I've ever played a team quite like them."
The Tar Heels' posts are big, skilled, talented—the Hoosiers' forwards rattled off these adjectives and more in describing head coach Roy Williams' frontcourt. Indiana is tasked with slowing them down.
Brice Johnson, an All-American senior center, is at the top of the scouting report. He's joined on the frontline by Justin Jackson while Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks provide depth from the bench.
Together, the quartet make North Carolina the fourth-best offensive rebounding team in the country, all while creating both offensive and defensive matchup nightmares that freshman center Thomas Bryant said he's looking forward to.
"It feels great to finally go against them," Bryant said. "Brice Johnson is a great athlete, gets out there in transition and carves out space in the low block. So does Meeks. This is a great team with great post players. We've just got to stay disciplined and go out there with a mindset of trying to win the game out there."
Bryant will likely see Johnson early and often but won't be alone in guarding the 6-foot-10 center.
Johnson is one of the more efficient rebounders in the country and shoots 61.9 percent from the field on 2-point field goal tries. He also has a knack for getting to the line, carrying a free-throw rate just shy of 41 percent. Once at the charity stripe, he shoots 77.8 percent.
"The thing is he's 6-foot-10 but doesn't move like it," senior forward Ryan Burton said. "He does things guys with that size can't do."
North Carolina's frontcourt isn't easily replicated, but having just played Kentucky doesn't hurt. The Wildcats have a similar group of posts that freshman forward OG Anunoby said are comparable enough that it helped IU preparing to play the Tar Heels.
Both Indiana and North Carolina are among the nation's top-15 teams in terms of offensive rebounding, which Morgan said could be pivotal. The Hoosiers hold an advantage in opponent offensive rebounding percentage, however, ranking No. 124 against the 182 for the Tar Heels.
"Honestly just controlling the glass will be huge," Morgan said. "If we can keep their second opportunities down, give ourselves some more options to get out and play our own game, I think we would be better off."
Easier said than done, but the Hoosiers haven't been pushovers in the post themselves.
They pushed back Chattanooga, matched Kentucky and now get to try again against North Carolina, the most prominent challenge thus far.
"If you want to win, you've got to match it," junior forward Collin Hartman said. "I think we can."
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