It was a cold December night and one word rang out over everything else, “UNBELIVEABLE…!!!!”
That was ESPN announcer Dick Vitale reacting to Christian Watford’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer that lifted the Indiana Hoosiers to an upset over the then #1 ranked Kentucky Wildcats.
Since that moment the Big Blue Nation, along with the rest of the country, has not been given a chance to forget that shot. Between commercials and the never-ending highlight reel that seems to occur after every UK game, the images, sounds and emotions from that night have been running hot in our blood for almost four months.
On March 11, when the NCAA Selection Committee released the Men’s Championship Bracket, UK fans were salivating at the road ahead. A possible meeting with UCONN, IU and Duke dubbed our Road to The Final Four, “Redemption Road.”
Like many UK fans, my eyes were not immediately drawn to the Hoosiers, but toward Duke and a chance to avenge another guy named Christian and his last second shot. Now the road seems to have cleared for the Wildcats with Indiana standing in the way of Kentucky’s 33rd trip to the Elite 8 and a chance to advance to the programs 15th Final Four.
Indiana and Kentucky are two of the “blue-bloods” of the college basketball world. With legendary coaches such as Bob Knight and Adolph Rupp, the two programs have very proud traditions. Kentucky ranks #1 on the overall wins list with Indiana at #4, and Kentucky is just above Indiana in National Titles with seven to Indiana’s five. Indiana is best known for the 1976 team, which was their last team to go undefeated and win the national title. Kentucky is widely regarded as the winningest program in college basketball history, and has a very storied tradition.
In looking toward the matchup of these two top 25 teams, the second time around looks to be a lot different.
The first thing that looks to turn the tide for this game is the location. The game is being held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga. (a predominantly pro-UK site). The first game this season was held in Bloomington, Ind. where the young Wildcats, many of them only nine games into their young careers, faced the most hostile crowd they had seen all year.
Another factor that helped the Hoosiers upset the Cats was their 3-point shooting. The Hoosiers shot 60% from behind the arch in the first meeting, including shooting 8-9 in the second half. You rarely see a team hit 60% of its shots from behind the arch, but in watching Indiana through the season, I realized that when they faced a tough road test they hardly ever rose to the occasion like they did against Kentucky.
One of the major headlines following the game in December was the absence of Terrence Jones. With Anthony Davis in foul trouble the Wildcats really needed Jones to step up, but something just wasn’t right and the lack of an inside presence really hurt the Cats.
Finally, I think the maturity level of the Cats will also help push them over the Hoosiers. People always say freshmen can’t win championships, but this team is out to prove them wrong. They have grown both as players and as teammates since that cold December night, and are now looking to march straight through Atlanta on their way to the Final Four in New Orleans.