Tom Crean asked me in the hallway Saturday night, shortly after IU's 73-72 victory over No. 1 Kentucky, exactly where would this one rank in my 14 years of covering Indiana basketball.
It has to be top three but it's difficult to rank those three. Kirk Haston's 3-pointer to beat No. 1 Michigan State in 2001 will always be right there. Same situation. IU was down by two and he pulled up and hit that shot from the right wing. I can still see Haston with his hands in the air and Tom Coverdale rushing to him. The other one was Duke in the Sweet Sixteen in 2002. That one was huge because it advanced IU in the tournament and the Hoosiers eventually would get to the national championship game.
Three games. Three victories against No. 1 ranked teams in the nation. Three mega-program victories.
One of the reasons this one may be even more memorable is just the way the crowd was in it from the opening tip until Christian Watford's 3-pointer. The energy in the building was crazy. I think I tweeted at halftime that I wondered if the Hoosier crowd could keep it up in the second half because it had been so good in the first half. I was sitting next to Dana O'Neil of ESPN.com and she was quite impressed with the Indiana crowd. That was O'Neil's first time covering a game at Assembly Hall. How would you like to have that be your first time ever in the building? Her next time here will have to be a disappointment.
Another reason is simply from where Indiana has come to where it sits today. Yes, it's early. Indiana is 9-0 and has three games remaining before it opens Big Ten play on the road at Michigan State. But no one that has been around this program for the previous three seasons cannot help but feel like Indiana took a major step with Saturday's win over Kentucky. Three years ago, this program was 6-25 overall and 1-17 in Big Ten play. Two years ago, IU was 10-21 and 4-14 in conference. Last year, the Hoosiers were 12-20 and 3-15.
Stop and let those numbers sink it again and think about this. If IU can get past Notre Dame next Saturday and then beat Howard and UMBC at home, IU will be 12-0 going into Big Ten play. In each of the last three seasons, Indiana has never won more than 12 games for the whole year. That's progress.
Someone mentioned to me today that they thought I was a little crazy before the season started when I had suggested that Indiana could finish ahead of Purdue in the Big Ten standings. I'm not trying to get ahead of myself too far right now, but I would think that's at least a possibility, wouldn't you?
Here's what Saturday's victory over Kentucky does:
1. It should get Indiana ranked in the top 25 this week . And I would think it would give the Hoosiers a solid chance at being near the top 20. Indiana is 9-0. Only nine teams in the nation remain unbeaten (The others are Xavier, Syracuse, Louisville, Marquette, Missouri, Baylor, Illinois and Murray State). But it was on national television, IU had picked up a few votes last week, and this one should get the Hoosiers over the top. The last time Indiana was ranked Week 17 of the 2007-08 season. I think Dan Dakich may have been the coach at the point in the season.
2. It gives the Hoosiers a major RPI boost and a huge win on their postseason resume. The Butler victory is looking more and more like it won't be a big one, especially after the Bulldogs dropped another game Saturday at Ball State. The North Carolina State, especially because it's on the road, will be significant, too. Evansville, also because it's a road game, will count for something. But Kentucky will be a major, major win for IU. Joe Lunardi said this week that not only did he think Kentucky was a lock to be a No. 1 seed but he thought the Wildcats would be the overall No. 1 seed. Can you imagine what a win like this will do if Kentucky does eventually achieve that status.
3. It may keep the IU-Kentucky series alive. My guess is that John Calipari is not going to want to do away with this series after a loss. He's going to want to play that game in Lexington next season and have a chance at a response to what happened today. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. I think a new two-year contract with the Wildcats was solidified today.
4. It has to help recruiting. I told assistant coach Tim Buckley after the game that if there were recruits in Assembly Hall today that a performance like that in front of an atmosphere like that had to have been priceless. He said, "I'm just happy we picked up that recruit from Washington, Indiana last year." Good point.
5. It has to be a major confidence builder for Watford. Think back to the way he played the first two games. He had seven points in the opener on 2-of-7 shooting, and two points in the second game on 1-of-7 shooting. People wondered at the time if Watford was going to struggle this season. Those people aren't wondering right now. And if Christian had any self doubt, a performance like that and a shot like that has to do wonders for his confidence level.
I'll blog some more later on some specifics from inside this game but I felt the most important thing out of the gate was to put it all into perspective.
Oh, and I think my question was answered about whether the students would rush the court.
Follow Terry Hutchens at Twitter.com/indystar.com
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