Today was already a big day in college basketball with the #2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes fall to #14 Kansas by a score of 78-67. Later today, number one ranked Kentucky came to Bloomington, Indiana to battle the 8-0 Hoosiers. Indiana and Kentucky are two of the most successful college basketball programs with a combined twenty-two Final Four appearances, a 167-77 NCAA Tournament record, twelve NCAA Championships, and eighty-seven tournament appearances. Indiana forward Cody Zeller has been in the spotlight recently for having an excellent freshman season up to this point, but the Wildcats had no idea what else would be in store for them at Assembly Hall.
Coming out of the official television timeout, there was 2:15 left on the clock with Indiana up 6-67. John Calipari was quesntionably sitting Terrence Jones on the bench for the rest of the game. Kentucky guard Darius Miller might have been very lucky with a no-call on a potential charging foul against him as he spun and then dunked to give his team a one-pont lead. Indiana took the ball down the court and point guard Jordan Hulls drew a foul on Miller, but it was only Kentucky's fourth team foul, so they weren't yet in the bonus. Victor Oladipo drove to the basket only to get blocked by Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, but he traveled at the end of the playing, turning the ball over to Indiana. IU coach Tom Crean called a time out and drew up a great play for the Hoosiers. Junior forward Christian Watford received a pass at the elbow, drove to the inside of the lane, made a spin move with his right hand, and laid the ball in acrobatically to put Indiana up by one. On the other end of the court, Marquis Teague blew past Jordan Hulls and made an easy layup to make it 71-70. While there was still forty-five seconds left in the game, it did not look good for Indiana. Kentucky was driving to the basket way too easily and Indiana would have to start fouling soon, putting the Wildcats at the free throw line. Christian Watford missed a jump shot and Anthony Davis rebounded the ball. Davis was heavily pressured and made it across the half court line before he was fouled by Cody Zeller. Luckily for the Hoosiers, Davis is just slightly above a 50% free throw shooter and he missed his one-and-one free throw. Victor Oladipo rebounded the ball, dribbled to the other side of the court, and Crean called a timeout. On the play that Crean drew up, Hulls dribbled to his right, passed it to Zeller on the wing, who handed it off to Oladipo. Oladipo then drove to the basket and made a spin move, but lost control of the ball and Doron Lamb stole the ball. Oladipo had no choice but to foul Lamb and send him to the line to shoot two. Indiana's bench was visibly frustrated and upset because their chance to knock off the number one team in the country seemed to slip through their hands, literally. There were eight seconds left, they were down by one, and Kentucky was shooting two free throws because they were now in the double bonus. Lamb missed his first shot, giving Indiana hope because even if he made the second shot, a three-pointer would win the game. Crean used his final timeout to draw up a play for their final shot. Doron Lamb made his second free throw, giving Kentucky a 72-70 lead. Verdell Jones III received the inbounds pass and dribbled down the court and appeared to drive to the basket, but he picked up his dribble, turned around, and found Christian Watford unguarded beyond the three point arc. Watford shot the ball with two defenders in his face as time expired. The shot was absolutely beautiful as it soared through the air. Swish. Assembly Hall started screaming and all of the Indiana fans threw up their hands. Watford held up his shooting arm as he remained motionless. The IU players celebrated by running to Watford and piling up on the court. ESPN commentator Dan Schulman described Tom Crean's reaction perfectly, "It looks like Tom Crean aged ten years today." Crean was filled with disbelief, joy, and was on the verge of an anxiety attack all at the same time, it appeared. The fans stormed the court and Indiana's players stood up on the scorer's table cheering with the fans.
Having the top two teams in the nation happened for the second time in the past two years and it will make the rankings very interesting when they are next released. The Syracuse Orange sit at 8-0 at the number three spot and will likely take over the title of the #1 team in the country. However, Ohio State and Kentucky are almost guaranteed to stay within the top ten since the Buckeyes were without their best player Sullinger and lost on the road to an excellent Kansas team. In terms of Kentucky, they lost on a buzzer-beater to a very talented Indiana team who will probably break into the top 25 in the next polls. College basketball fans can't ask for anything more. Great teams have emerged and the top ranked teams have already lost, showing that there is no clear favorite. And the best part? It is only early December, just wait until March and the drama that happens then.
No comments:
Post a Comment