Indiana 83, North Carolina 59
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Cody Zeller scored 20 points and Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey added 19 each to help No. 1 Indiana defeat No. 14 North Carolina 83-59 Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Jordan Hulls added 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Hoosiers (7-0).
It was the largest margin of victory in the series for Indiana since the Hoosiers beat the Tar Heels 107-81 in Bloomington on Dec. 12, 1964. The Hoosiers took an 8-5 lead in the series between programs that each have won five national titles.
Dexter Strickland scored 14 points and Marcus Paige added 11 for North Carolina. James Michael McAdoo, the Tar Heels' leading scorer, finished with 10 points on 4-for-15 shooting.
North Carolina (5-2) lost to Butler 82-71 at the Maui Invitational last week and was looking to regain its footing against a top opponent. The Tar Heels shot 48.5 percent from the field in the first half, but they made just 10 of 36 (27.8 percent) after the break.
The Hoosiers led 46-37 at halftime, then separated themselves with a strong start after the break.
Oladipo scored, then Zeller made a free throw to extend Indiana's lead to 49-37. A pair of free throws by Zeller made it a 14-point game.
Hulls hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 17, and Oladipo's putback made it 56-37 and forced North Carolina to call timeout. Hulls hit another 3-pointer after the timeout before the Tar Heels finally scored their first basket of the second half five minutes in.
A 3-pointer by Sheehey pushed the margin to 66-40, and the Hoosiers remained in control from there. A right-handed power dunk by Indiana's Christian Watford brought the fans out of their seats and made it 80-49.
Zeller got the Hoosiers off to a good start with a floater in the lane, and a pair of free throws by Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell gave the Hoosiers a 4-0 lead.
After the Tar Heels tied the score, Zeller quickly converted a three-point play to put the Hoosiers ahead again.
Oladipo's layup put Indiana on top 9-4, and a jumper by Jordan Hulls pushed the Hoosiers' lead to 13-7.
McAdoo, active in the first half, scored on a putback to trim Indiana's lead to 13-11.
Remy Abell's 3-pointer gave Indiana an 18-13 lead, but the Hoosiers couldn't pull away in the early going.
Brice Johnson's short baseline jumper gave the Tar Heels their first lead at 19-18, but Hulls quickly gave Indiana the lead back with a 3-pointer from the left corner.
Hulls drained a leaning jumper that put the Hoosiers up 29-27 with just over five minutes left in the first half. Sheehey followed with a floating layup that extended the margin to four, but McAdoo scored four quick points to tie the score again.
Indiana dominated from there to close the half. Zeller had three dunks, then a putback layup at the buzzer to put the Hoosiers up 46-37 at the break. Zeller and Oladipo had 13 points each at halftime.
