Jalen Hood-Schifino's Hot Hand Sparks Indiana Win Over North Carolina

Indiana freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino scored the Hoosiers' first seven points of Wednesday's game as the Hoosiers defeated against North Carolina 77-65 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Jalen Hood-Schifino pondered a 3-point attempt, but knew he could get a higher-percentage look.

Hood-Schifino ripped through and took two dribbles to the short corner before elevating over North Carolina's Caleb Love. The midrange jumper opened the scoring, and Hood Schifino had the hot hand early on. He drained a pull-up 3-pointer and finished a left-handed layup for Indiana's first seven points of the game.

"So hard to speed him up," Jay Bilas said on the ESPN broadcast. "He plays with great pace." 

If it wasn't already clear, Hood-Schifino let the Tar Heels' know he came to play, nodding his head with confidence as he backpedaled to the defensive end. It was a promising start, not only for the freshman in his first big game at Assembly Hall, but for an Indiana team that still hasn't revealed its full potential.

"Jalen came out and he was really our spark to start the game," Indiana senior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis said. "It was ridiculous. He was hitting big shot after big shot. I think our team fed off of that. Him being a freshman coming into this environment against that team, doing that, it's really special."

Hood-Schifino entered Wednesday's game shooting 33.3 percent from the field. Though he was just six games into his college career, Hood-Schifino's 18-for-54 overall shooting numbers and 4-for-16 mark from 3 was cause for at least some level of concern, especially since five of the first six games were against far inferior opponents. 

Hood-Schifino responded with the best game of his young Indiana career against the No. 18 North Carolina Tar Heels, scoring a career-high 14 points in the 77-65 win that moved Indiana to 7-0. He made 6-of-10 shots and 2-of-3 3-pointers and also contributing six rebounds, two assists and a steal. While his four turnovers leave some things to clean up, the performance was an intriguing sign for Indiana's future.

"Jalen, as far as I'm concerned, has been solid ever since I got him," Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "I have no complaints with Jalen Schifino. He tries to do all the right things, the winning things, to help you win. He's great off the court, just a good young man. I'm pleased how he's been playing. You guys might not be, but I'm happy as hell how he's been playing."

Indiana's Jalen Hood-Schifino (1) scores over North Carolina's Caleb Love (2) during the Indiana versus North Carolina men's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022.

Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

Hood-Schifino also played a major role in Indiana's defensive effort to hold the Tar Heels to 65 points, which is tied for a season low. North Carolina shot 33.9 percent from the field on Wednesday, and Indiana scored 17 points off 10 Tar Heel turnovers.

Hood-Schifino matched up North Carolina leading scorer Caleb Love from the opening tip, and it was a long night for the 20-point per game scorer. Love shot 5-for-16 from the field and 2-for-7 from 3. Indiana's Trey Galloway also helped shut down Love, who recognized it's still early in the season, but there's plenty to fix.

"It's like we're just standing and waiting for somebody to make a play," Love said. "So we've just got to change our movements, stay active off the ball and we've got to be tough enough and smart enough to get open."

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• CALEB LOVE FRUSTRATED AFTER LOSS: North Carolina shot 33.9 percent during its 77-65 loss at Indiana on Wednesday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. For Caleb Love and coach Hubert Davis, there's plenty of frustrations and plenty to fix, but a lot of time to do so. CLICK HERE
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• WATCH GALLOWAY'S DUNK: Indiana guard Trey Galloway's fast-break dunk gave Indiana an eight-point lead and got the Assembly Hall crowd on its feet on Wednesday against North Carolina. CLICK HERE