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Off the cuff: Most Caroina players stunk it up at Indiana. That's just a fact. Was it the hostile environment? A fired up Hoosiers team? It was all of that and more. Especially early, Coach Williams hit the nail on the head when he said, "They challenged us and we backed up." While Berry had a bad game, particularly shooting, three others really struggled. Luke Maye, back after missing a few games with an injury, did not look like a Division I basketball player. He missed an open layup, threw up a three that missed everything and generally didn't look as if he could stay up on defense. Isaiah Hicks, who is relied on more than Maye, shot the ball only four times in the game and took no shots in the first half. He also turned the ball over three times. Finally, Nate Britt drew a start and didn't take advantage. He missed badly twice in the first two minutes when Indiana raced out to an 8-2 lead. He only hit three of nine shots for the game including just one of four from beyond the arc. Usually reliable to steady the team off the bench, he didn't do much to help - particularly when Berry was out with foul trouble. There was plenty of blame to go around but this didn't look like the same team that won in Maui. On a positive note, Carolina didn't quit and fought back to within four points with five minutes to go. Berry said the Heels just got too far behind. "We missed a lot of free throws (13 of 22) and easy shots (39 percent from the floor) and didn't get stops defensively." Despite the loss, the Atlantic Coast Conference won the ACC/Big 10 Challenge nine games to five. By the way, that Thomas Bryant of Indiana seems to be an overzealous hot dog who celebrates every little thing to an extreme. I have a feeling the Tar Heels would like to meet Indiana again. Considering that Carolina won the last 34 minutes of the game, I think the Heels would beat that team eight out of 10 times. Unfortunately, they don't get to play more than once unless it's in the NCAA Tournament.
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