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Cats Fall at Indiana
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - Indiana finally has the horses to beat top-ranked Kentucky.
Christian
Watford's buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the left wing stood up to a
replay review Saturday night, giving the Hoosiers a stunning 73-72
upset.
The lead changed hands five times in the final 121
seconds before Watford's big shot set off a wild scene, with Indiana
fans storming the court and crowding around players. Hoosiers coach Tom
Crean and the officials stood side-by-side, pressed up against the
scorer's table to look at the replay.
When the officials counted
the basket, Crean pumped his fist and four players wound up standing on
top of the scorer's table as fans partied on the court and the pep band
continued to play its songs.
Watford finished with 20 points in
Indiana's first upset of a top-ranked team since taking down Duke in
the 2002 NCAA tournament. The only other time they had beaten a No. 1
team in Bloomington was Jan. 7, 2001, when Kirk Hasten hit a
buzzer-beater to knock off No. 1 Michigan State 59-58.
Victor Oladipo had 13 points and five Hoosiers wound up in double figures. Indiana is 9-0 for the first time since 1989-90.
Kentucky (8-1) was led by Doron Lamb with 19 points and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with 18.
The
Wildcats rallied twice from their largest deficit of the season (10
points) and appeared to have survived the scare when Darius Miller
backed in for a dunk to give Kentucky a 69-68 lead with 2 minutes to go.
Watford
answered with a layup for the Hoosiers, and then Indianapolis native
Marquis Teague drove in for a layup to give Kentucky a 71-70 lead with
48.8 seconds left.
After Watford missed a 15-footer with 28 seconds left, Anthony Davis couldn't seal it, missing the front end of a one-and-one.
Then,
after an Indiana turnover, Lamb was fouled with 5.6 seconds to go but
missed the first of two shots. After making the second, the Hoosiers
rushed up the floor and Verdell Jones dumped the ball to the trailing
Watford, who hit from the left wing to end it.
It was the biggest win in Crean's four seasons in Bloomington and ended Kentucky's three-game winning streak in the series.
Kentucky committed 17 turnovers and allowed a season-high point total.
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