Hoosiers to battle Wake Forest in Big Ten/ACC Challenge

The IU men's basketball team has been busy at practice preparing for its tough road games early in the season. Now it has to do it without starting center senior George Leach.\nThe Hoosiers travel to No. 18 Wake Forest tonight as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge without their big man.\nLeach is out indefinitely with a left knee injury he suffered with nine minutes left in regulation of IU's 80-77 win over Xavier Saturday evening. \nIU coach Mike Davis said he thinks they will start freshman Patrick Ewing Jr. or maybe even junior Mike Roberts in his spot. Davis tried a starting lineup change last game, with freshman guard Roderick Wilmont starting for senior guard A.J. Moye. Davis said he liked the energy Moye brought off the bench.\nIU is 24-9 overall against ACC teams, but this will mark the first time IU and Wake Forest play each other. \n"Playing a good team on the road, that's a challenge in itself," Davis said. \nIU currently has a 2-0 record in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Last season it defeated Maryland, the defending national champion.\nWake Forest will face IU with a 3-0 record, with four players averaging in double figures. IU enters the challenge at 2-1, its only loss coming at Vanderbilt. \nMoye said he is satisfied with the team's defense, but the offense is behind.\n"Because we're inexperienced, sometimes we break down on offense and it hurts us," Moye said. "We fought hard but we didn't fight smart in the Vandy game."\nSophomore forward Sean Kline has been a key player for IU this season. He is second on the team in scoring, averaging 9.7 points per game, and tied for second in rebounding at 6.3 per game.\n"I'm expected to do my job and I know my teammates will do their job," Kline said. "Everyone has a common goal of winning."\nEven without Leach, Davis said the team is prepared for its challenge on the road against an athletic Wake Forest team that is coming off of an 86-61 win at Yale.\n"It's a short turnaround from Saturday, but it's the same turnaround for them," Davis said. "It's whoever has the will to win the game."\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.