A very select few predicted that fans watching the Saturday evening nationally televised game between two of college basketball’s most storied programs, Kentucky and Indiana, that we would bear witness to a storm the court moment in Bloomington. It almost didn’t happen until junior forward Christian Watford stoically sank a game winning trey as time expired to give Indiana a hard fought victory over top ranked Kentucky.
The victory is undoubtedly the most significant win in coach Tom Crean’s short stint as head man at Indiana and may signify the Hoosier’s return to greatness, or at least competitiveness, among the nation’s elite teams, a spot which they made home for nearly 3 decades, under legendary coach Bob Knight. But that was before a nasty recruiting scandal under then coach Kelvin Sampson that helped to derail the program until coach Crean began his rebuilding project nearly 4 seasons ago.
Kentucky, led by fabulous freshmen Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Marquis Teague, along with returning veterans Terrence Jones, Darius Miller, and Doron Lamb, looked like obvious favorites on paper but appeared sluggish throughout the contest and were down by as many as 10 points just after halftime, until the Wildcats finally got the lead 69-68 with 2 minutes remaining. After exchanging buckets and Kentucky missed 2 of 3 free throws down the stretch, Watford calmly drilled the game-winner as time expired.
Watford led Indiana with 20 points and 5 rebounds, including 4-6 from long range, as sophomore guard Victor Oladipo chipped in 13 points, including a monsterous facial jam , while super 6th man Will Sheehey added 10 points, and PG Jordan Hulls added 11 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals for the Hoosiers.
Kentucky was led in scoring by Lamb’s 19 points but the Cats best player on the floor was once again Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who tallied 18pts, 9 reb, 2 st, and 2 blks. Pre-season All American Terrence Jones seemed disinterested in having his worst game of the season(4 pts, 1 reb, 6 TO) and was in coach Calipari’s doghouse most of the game. Freshman PG Teague rebounded from a poor first half that resulted in a benching, to tally 15 points and 5 assists.
The much hyped center battle between two of the nation’s most prized freshmen ,Davis and Indiana’s Cody Zeller, played out to a draw as Davis played limited minuted due to foul trouble. But the battle between future pros did feature an exchange of highlight reel dunks and an amazing block by Davis, after it appeared that Zeller had him beat with an outstanding up-and-under spin move, early in the first half.
It’s a great win for a legendary program, especially for Crean who suffered through 3 losing seasons before this season’s Hoosier resurgence. The win will rightfully so earn Indiana a spot among the nation’s Top 25 teams when the new polls come out on Monday.
Check out Watford’s Game Winning Shot:
