What to Expect: Indiana vs. UNC Greensboro
Indiana returns to action Thursday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall against UNC Greensboro. The Hoosiers lead the all-time series against Greensboro 2-0.
The non-conference matchup will tip at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1:
Indiana is off to a solid start to the 2024-25 season. The Hoosiers have won each of their three games by at least 16 points and, as a result, have moved up in the computer ratings.
Indiana heads to the Bahamas next week for Battle 4 Atlantis, but the Hoosiers must first take care of business in Bloomington against UNC Greensboro. The Spartans are 2-1, having won against Florida Gulf Coast and NC Wesleyan, a Division III program. Greensboro lost its first road game, 81-68, at SMU on Nov. 11.
The two programs last met on Nov. 28, 2014, in Bloomington. Indiana won 87-79.
MEET THE SPARTANS
The Spartans are led by coach Mike Jones, who is in his fourth season in Greensboro. This will be Jones’s first season coaching the program without the Langley twins, who graduated last spring. Greensboro also lost its leading scorer, Mikael Brown-Jones, to Ole Miss via the transfer portal.
Despite the losses, Greensboro will be competitive in the Southern Conference. In the preseason, the Spartans were picked to finish second in the league and they’re currently comfortably inside the top 200 on KenPom. Early in the season, the Spartans are 175th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom and 179th in adjusted defensive efficiency. Last season, Greensboro had the 118th-best offense and the 202nd-ranked defense, according to KenPom.
Through three games, Greensboro has three players averaging in double figures. All three are guards or wings and two are transfer portal additions.
Kenyon Giles, an addition from Radford, is averaging a team-best 16.3 points and is shooting 50 percent from the field. The 5-foot-11 junior guard is 10-for-20 on 3s in 25.7 minutes per game. Giles also has a team-high seven steals in three games. Last season, he averaged 14.3 points, 2.8 assists, two rebounds and a steal at Radford.
George Mason transfer Ronald Polite, a 6-foot-2 senior, is averaging 10.3 points in 23.7 minutes per game. Polite does a solid job of getting to the line and is 10-for-13 from the stripe thus far.
Donovan Atwell, a 6-foot-5 junior, had an excellent sophomore season. Atwell averaged 11.2 points, shot 42 percent from 3 and 94.7 percent from the line last season. He’s the team’s second-leading scorer this season through three games. Atwell averages 12.3 points and is 7-for-18 on 3s (38.9 percent).
Greensboro is starting Miles Jones, the son of coach Mike Jones, and Jalen Breath in the frontcourt.
Although the 6-foot-6 Jones isn’t much of a scoring threat, he has a team-best 26 rebounds through three games. Breath, a 6-foot-8 junior, plays the five and is averaging 9.7 points and seven rebounds in 22.3 minutes. He’ll be undersized against Oumar Ballo but has been an efficient 11-for-17 (64.7 percent) in three games.
The leading scorer off the Greensboro bench through three games is Akrum Ahemed, a 6-foot-3 sixth-year guard. He’s a perfect 5-for-5 on 3s, but three of those came in the win against NC Wesleyan. Ahemed is averaging eight points in 13.3 minutes.
Two other rotation regulars to know are Joryam Saizonou and Demetrius Davis. The 6-foot-3 Saizonou started the season opener but shoots just 28.6 percent through three games. He averages 3.7 points and 2.3 rebounds. Davis, a 6-foot-8 senior transfer from Chattanooga, is just 4-for-17 from the field but is third on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game.
KEYS TO THE GAME
• Dominate inside: While Indiana’s 3-point volume will continue to be scrutinized until the Hoosiers attempt more triples, this is a matchup where the clear advantage is in the paint. The Spartans don’t have a great matchup for Ballo or Malik Reneau. Against two Division I opponents, Greensboro is allowing opponents to shoot 51.5 percent on 2s. Indiana should take its open perimeter looks but shouldn’t settle against an opponent overmatched in the post.
• Keep Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle going: The Hoosiers looked like an exceptional team at times in Saturday’s win against South Carolina. That was partly because Rice and Carlyle were both playing well. Both players can impact the game in various ways, and the Hoosiers need both to continue to become more comfortable in their new surroundings.
• Stay solid defensively deep into possessions: Greensboro plays a deliberate pace, requiring Indiana to defend deep into possessions. Last season, Greensboro played the 320th fastest pace nationally. This season, Greensboro is 289th through two games against Division I competition. Avoiding lapses late in possessions and forcing tough shots should yield favorable results for the Hoosiers.
WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO
The KenPom projection is Indiana by 17 with a 94 percent chance of a Hoosier victory. This is a game IU can’t afford to look past, with next week’s Battle 4 Atlantis to follow.
Greensboro is a step up in competition from early season games against SIU Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois. Still, this is a matchup where the Hoosiers again have a decided talent advantage and should be able to dominate the paint.
Greensboro’s chances to be competitive will hinge heavily on the 3-pointer. The Spartans are getting 36.2 percent of their points on 3s in their games against Florida Gulf Coast and SMU. Greensboro is shooting just 42.6 percent on 2s, so Indiana has to be sharp with its closeouts and attention on the perimeter to win comfortably.
Filed to: UNC Greensboro Spartans