March 20--After an NCAA tournament opening of surprising unheard-ofs and scrappy underdogs, the real kings of the court came out.
Indiana and Kentucky -- a game that had been anticipated, hoped for and prayed for among basketball fans -- didn't disappoint. When the two storied blue blood rivals took the court, it felt more like the Final Four in Houston than the second round in Iowa.
But the reality is only Indiana is moving on to the Sweet 16. After a 73-67 victory at Wells Fargo Arena, the No. 5-seed Hoosiers advance to play either top-seeded North Carolina or No. 9-seed Providence in Philadelphia.
No. 4-seeded Kentucky, which played in last season's Final Four, is headed home early this season.
The game between the rival teams -- who stopped scheduling each other after 2011 -- lived up to the hype.
After the Hoosiers took a 10-point lead -- its largest lead of the game on a Thomas Bryant flying dunk from the lane -- they seemed intent on making it interesting. Indiana missed 3 of 6 free throws in the final minute to let Kentucky close to 69-67 with 11.3 seconds left after two free throws from Wildcats' forward Alex Poythress.
Bryant, who had missed twice earlier at the line, hit two free throws with 10.4 seconds left for a 71-67 Hoosiers lead. Kentucky's Jamal Murray airballed a 3-point attempt with three seconds left.
The Hoosiers victory didn't come without some adversity.
First, Robert Johnson left the game after re-injuring his ankle, the same one that had caused him to miss three weeks before returning for the first round. Then OG Anunoby hobbled to the bench with a foot/ankle issue. And midway through the second half, Juwan Morgan re-injured a problematic left shoulder after falling hard to the court.
In the battle of point guards, Kentucky sophomore Tyler Ulis scored a game-high 27 points. But true to Yogi Ferrell's long career with the Hoosiers, the senior steadily worked the game, finishing with 18 points.
Bryant led the Hoosiers with 19 points.
sryan@tribpub.com
