When Indiana needed it most, Bryson Tucker was there.

On a snowy Thursday night, the freshman forward played to his five-star hype, providing badly needed offense with a career-high 14 points, plus his first college assist on a pass for a Myles Rice layup, as the No. 16/18 Hoosiers (4-0) beat UNC-Greensboro 69-58 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Tucker, whose previous career high was 12 against Eastern Illinois, came off the bench to make 5-of-9 shots and grab three rebounds in 25 minutes. That boosted his scoring average two points, to 8.0.

"I had to go somewhere," coach Mike Woodson said. "He came in and shined for a freshman. He's a guy who can help us. I learned on him and he come through and did some positive things."

IU defended Greensboro (1-3) into early offensive futility. After eight minutes, the Spartans were just 2-for-11 from the field with four turnovers and fell into a 16-point hole.

It didn't last against Greensboro's 3-point-happy approach (it finished 9-for-32 beyond the arc). That Hoosier lead became a 40-40 tie with 15:57 left.

Enter Tucker. His seven points, along with a pair of Malik Reneau free throws and a Luke Goode 3-pointer restored a 10-point lead and control the Hoosiers never lost.

Tucker refused to let them. Twelve of his points came in the second half.

"He's still learning," Woodson said. "He has a nice feel for the game. I have no problem playing in critical times.

"But we need more than Tuck."

Rice followed up his 23-point effort against South Carolina with 20 on Thursday night along with six assists and five rebounds. Woodson, who is always hard on his point guards, wasn't impressed.

"That's what he's supposed to do," he said.

Reneau and Oumar Ballo each just missed double doubles. They both scored nine points. Reneau had 10 rebounds. Ballo had 11.

Woodson wanted more.

"It was competitive game," he said. "(Greensboro) came to play. We didn't. That's on me.

"We came out with great intention. Once (Greensboro) got rolling, we gave them hope."

IU's 16 assists and 14 turnovers weren't close to what Woodson expects from a veteran top-20 team.

"We had 16 assists," he said. "That's awful. We should average between 20 and 30. The way we played was selfish as hell. Enough guys can make plays. If they're unselfish and sacrifice, good things will happen."

The Hoosiers never got their transition game going, finishing with just seven fast-break points.

"I wanted to push the pace," Woodson said, "but we made some passes that had no chance of being completed. I have to push to get us better."

IU opened the game with a Rice 3-pointer, a Ballo basket and a Reneau layup off a steal, mixed in with a Hoosier-forced Greensboro shot-clock violation, for a 7-0 start.

A second Rice 3-pointer pushed the lead to 12-3 four minutes into the game. Relentless Hoosier defense held Greensboro to 1-for-6 shooting and two turnovers.

IU pushed ahead 17-3, then 21-5. Greensboro pushed back to 23-17. Rice and Mackenzie Mgbako led a Hoosier charge for a 34-20 lead and reached halftime ahead 36-27. Rice led with 14 points. Mgbako had nine.

IU opened the second half with a turnover and allowed a Greensboro 3-pointer. Reneau restored Hoosier order with a 3-point play seconds later. The Spartans unrestored it with four straight points to close within 39-35.

A Woodson timeout couldn't prevent that 40-40 tie. Tucker's 3-point play and then a turnaround jumper and then another jumper sparked a 12-2 run for a 52-42 IU lead.

The Hoosiers cranked up the defense, mixing full-court pressure with halfcourt tenacity. Rice attacked for layups.

An upset was avoided. Work remained.

"Greensboro played harder than we did," Woodson said. "We didn't play hard. That's unacceptable. That's on me."

The Hoosiers will play in next week's Battle 4 Atlantis, opening Wednesday with Louisville (2-1). Also in the field are No. 3 Gonzaga (5-0), No. 17 Arizona (2-1), West Virginia (3-1), Providence (5-0), Oklahoma (3-0) and Davidson (3-0).

"We have to clean this game up and have a tough practice to get ready for Louisville," Woodson said. "We have to figure out all the things we did wrong.

"We've had some good moments and some bad moments. I've got to keep working with this team to get where I want them. We have a long way to go. I take it one practice and one game at a time."