By R.L. Bynum
When North Carolina faces Indiana in an exhibition, you’ll see more Hoosiers who played against UNC last season than for the Tar Heels as scholarship players, and you’ll see plenty of size and girth inside.
Four of the likely Indiana starters for the 5 p.m. game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis played in the ACC last season, and two starters are 7-footers.
Indiana’s frontcourt begins with 7–2 center Samet Yigitoglu (top photo), an SMU transfer who has started all 66 games of his college career. He has averaged 10.4 points and 7.1 rebounds, with 10 double-doubles. Yigitoglu is Indiana’s tallest player since 7–2 Uwe Blab, who played for the Hoosiers from 1981 to 1985.
Beside him is 7–0 Alabama transfer Aiden Sherrell, a 2024 McDonald’s All-American and former teammate of Carolina’s Jarin Stevenson. Sherrell averaged 11.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks last season. He also made 27 3-pointers, giving Indiana a forward who can protect the rim and stretch the floor. Indiana lists Sherrell at 255 pounds.
Second-year Indiana coach Darian DeVries said Sherrell’s ability to stretch the floor and “pick and roll, catch and finish up above the rim” makes him “a hard matchup for people” and “puts people in tough spots.”
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Cameron Fens’ ineligibility for UNC’s exhibition against Southern Cal left the Tar Heels without one of their centers for that game. With Fens likely still unavailable, Carolina’s young bigs will face a physical test against the 270-pound and 250-pound Sherrell.
DeVries said Indiana’s frontcourt pairing is designed to preserve its spacing: “I love those two together. I think they complement each other well.”
Stevenson, 6–10, 220 pounds, played at the five for stretches in UNC’s exhibition win over Southern Cal and could be called on to do that against Indiana. The matchup could also test 7–1, 205-pound Sayon Keita and 6–11, 225-pound Alex Samodurov.
Indiana’s bench includes 7–0, 265-pound freshman Clemens Sokolov and 6–10, 220-pound sophomore Ben Winker.
The Hoosiers showed how their size and shooting can work together in a 96–68 exhibition win at Butler on Oct. 11. They outrebounded the Bulldogs 53–33 and attempted more than two dozen 3-pointers. Markus Burton, Darren Harris and Yigitoglu scored 13 points apiece; Sherrell added 10.
“Our rebounding is a priority for us. We built the roster around it. We prioritized it,” Devries said.
Burton is the headliner among Indiana’s perimeter players. The former Notre Dame guard and two-time All-ACC performer averaged 19.1 points with the Irish, scoring in double figures in 63 of 69 career games. He topped 20 points 33 times and scored 23 against UNC in a 74–73 Tar Heels win on Jan. 4, 2025.
DeVries said the Hoosiers want Burton to stay aggressive as a scorer: “We don’t ever want to take that away from him,” while also calling him “a very willing distributor.”
Duke transfer Darren Harris and Georgia Tech transfer Jaeden Mustaf round out the likely starting perimeter. Mustaf lost both meetings with Carolina at Georgia Tech, scoring six points in each. Villanova transfer Bryce Lindsay adds another shooting threat off the bench. He has made 38.2% of his 3-point attempts the past two seasons.
Indiana is coming off an 18–14 season, including a 9–11 Big Ten record, and missed the postseason in DeVries’ first year.
Carolina also has a new coach and a largely remade roster. No returning Tar Heel averaged double figures last season, the first time that has happened since 2019–20. UNC showed some potential under first-year coach Michael Malone in an 88–70 exhibition win over Southern Cal on Oct. 9. Stevenson scored 25 points, surpassing his career high.
Malone pointed to Carolina’s defensive improvement after halftime: USC went from shooting 47% in the first half to 27% in the second. The stops “got our defense into the game that got us out running,” he said.
Sunday will offer a different test. Indiana’s size and perimeter shooting will challenge a Tar Heels team still finding its identity under Malone.
| Date | Time/ scores | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 9 | W, 88–70 | Friday | vs. USC in Greensboro | |
| 18 | 5 p.m. | Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis | B1G+ * |
| 27 | 7:30 | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte | ACCN Extra |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. Western Carolina | ACCN |
| 6 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Wofford | ACCN |
| 10 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming | ACCN |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Georgia | ESPN2 |
| 20 | 9 p.m. | Friday | vs. Marshall | ACCN |
| 23 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. Monmouth | ACCN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Friday | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte | ESPN |
| December | ||||
| 1 | 7:30 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas | ESPN |
| 6 | 3 p.m. | Sunday | vs. Butler | ESPN2 |
| 12 | Noon | Saturday | at Georgetown | Peacock |
| 15 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro | ESPN2 |
| 19 | 2:30 | Saturday | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York | CBS |
| 21 | 8 p.m. | Monday | vs. The Citadel | The CW |
| 30 | 4 p.m. | Wednesday | vs. California | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 2 | 4 p.m. | Saturday | at Boston College | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 5 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at Louisville | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 9 | Noon | Saturday | vs. N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Wednesday | at Florida State | ESPN2 or ESPNU |
| 16 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Stanford | The CW |
| 19 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. No. 17 Virginia | ESPN |
| 23 | Noon | Saturday | at Syracuse | ESPN or 2 or U |
| 26 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. SMU | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 30 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | at Notre Dame | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech | The CW |
| 8 | 6 p.m. | Monday | vs. Louisville | ESPN |
| 13 | 5:30 | Saturday | at No. 4 Duke | ABC |
| 20 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 22 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 24 Miami | ESPN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Virginia Tech | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 2 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | vs. No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
| No. | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Freshman | Maxi Adams | F | 6–7 | 220 |
| 30 | Freshman | Malloy Smith | G | 6–5 | 180 |
| 21 | Freshman | Sayon Keita (SIGH-on KAY-tuh) | C | 7–0 | 205 |
| 5 | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–6 | 205 |
| 35 | Sophomore | Cade Bennerman — U | C | 7–0 | 205 |
| 17 | Sophomore | Neo Avdalas — W (NEE-oh ahv-DOLL-lus) | G | 6–9 | 220 |
| 2 | Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 185 |
| 3 | Sophomore | Matt Able — X | G | 6–5 | 200 |
| 22 | Junior | Alex Samodurov (SAH-muh-DUHR-off) | C | 6–11 | 225 |
| 1 | Senior | Terrence Brown — Y | G | 6–3 | 180 |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young (JAY-din) | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson (JARE-in) | F | 6–10 | 220 |
| 14 | Graduate | Angelo Brizzi — Z (BRIZZ-ee) | G | 6–3 | 200 |
| 54 | Graduate | Cameron Fens — V (Fenz) | C | 7–0 | 255 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 99 | Junior | John Holbrook — SA | F | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | G | 6–1 | 200 |
V — South Dakota transfer; U — Northwestern transfer; W — Virginia Tech transfer; X — N.C. State transfer; Y — Utah transfer; Z — Buffalo transfer; SA — Holbrook is a designated student-athlete, so he doesn’t count against UNC’s 15-player limit.
Coach Michael Malone’s coaching staff — Associate head coach Chuck Martin; assistant coaches Bryan Tibaldi (tih-BALL-dee), Sean May, Jorge Sanz (HOR-hey sahnth), Pat Sullivan and Brandon Robinson; Director of player development Deon Thompson.
Former players at other schools
| Player | Class | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | Howard |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | Minnesota |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | South Florida |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
| Ivan Matlekovic | Junior | C | 7–0 | 255 | Pacific |
Photo via iuhoosiers.com
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