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Indiana upsets No. 1 Kentucky at buzzer

Dec 11, 2011 - 3:14 AM Bloomington, IN (Sports Network) - Christian Watford nailed a three-pointer as time expired to give Indiana a stunning 73-72 victory over No. 1 Kentucky on Saturday.

Watford went 4-of-6 from three-point range en route to 20 points for the Hoosiers (9-0), who recorded their first win over a top-ranked team since beating Duke in the 2002 NCAA Tournament.

"It's a great feeling. I haven't felt anything like that," Watford said. "It's probably the most memorable moment of my life, definitely of my career. I give God all the thanks, if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be able to do this at all."

Victor Oladipo ended with 13 points and seven rebounds for Indiana, which is off to its best start since 1989-90. Jordan Hulls and Cody Zeller each added 11 points.

The Hoosiers went 7-of-9 from beyond the arc in the second half and finished 9-of-15 from three-point range for the game.

Doron Lamb finished with 19 points on just 5-of-14 shooting to pace the Wildcats (8-1), who played their first true road game of the season on Saturday.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 18 points and nine boards for Kentucky, which lost despite shooting 55.6 percent from the field. Marquis Teague tallied 15 points and five assists.

Will Sheehey gave Indiana a 63-53 lead with 9:04 to play, but the Wildcats did not go down without a fight.

Darius Miller made a layup to spark a 12-3 Kentucky run. Lamb and Teague each had four points during the burst, which Kidd-Gilchrist capped with a layup to cut the gap to 66-65 with 4:05 remaining.

The margin was the same after Watford and Teague exchanged layups. Watford missed a jumper and Verdell Jones III came down with the offensive rebound, but turned the ball over.

Miller's slam at the other end gave the Wildcats a 69-68 edge with two minutes to play. Kidd-Gilchrist blocked Oladipo's layup and gathered the ball on the floor, but he was called for traveling.

Watford made a nice spin move before putting in a layup to give Indiana a 70-69 lead with 1:03 to go. Teague kept the back-and-forth battle going with a layup at the other end.

After Watford missed a jumper from the foul line, Anthony Davis missed a free throw with 19.4 seconds remaining. It seemed like Kentucky had control after Lamb stole the ball from Oladipo.

But Lamb only made 1-of-2 from the foul line to make it a 72-70 contest with 5.6 ticks left on the clock. The missed free throw proved to be the game.

Jones worked the ball to an open Watford, who drained the game-winning shot from the left wing. The crowd exploded in excitement and rushed the court to celebrate the victory.

"I wished he [Lamb] would have made one more extra pass to Michael [Kidd- Gilchrist] and I was more surprised that Doron missed," Kentucky head coach John Calipari said. "I mean, if you want to have somebody on the line, he's the man you want on the line. Stuff happens. They made a tough shot, even though we didn't foul, but it was a tough shot to win the game."

Down 22-21 late in the first half, Indiana went on a 9-0 run to take the lead. Watford and Hulls bookended the spurt with a pair of three-pointers for a 30-22 margin with 2 1/2 minutes left.

The Wildcats managed to score the final seven points of the half to cut the gap to 30-29 at the break.

Kentucky took a 35-34 lead on Terrence Jones layup early in the second half, but Indiana went on a 11-0 run. Watford and Sheehey each made three-pointers during the flurry to make it 45-35 just four minutes into the final frame.

The Hoosiers stayed hot from beyond the arc, making six straight three- pointers at one point to maintain the lead.

Game Notes

Kentucky's three-game winning streak in the series came to an end. The Wildcats still lead the all-time series 31-24...Sheehey had 10 points...Davis had six points, nine rebounds and three steals.