The Indiana Hoosiers didn't put together the prettiest effort of their season in Sunday's Round of 32 match-up with Temple, but they did make the big shots when they absolutely needed to. It resulted in a wild, come from behind 58-52 victory, which propelled the Hoosiers to their second straight Sweet 16 appearance.
Indiana vs. Temple: Hoosiers rally for wild win to advance to Sweet 16
The Indiana Hoosiers advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year on Sunday, following a wild come-from-behind win over Temple. A Victor Oladipo three-pointer sealed the win for Indiana.
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For more on the story, visit The Crimson Quarry and Mid-Major Madness
For Indiana the comeback came late, and it came via the heroics of All-Big Ten first-team member Victor Oladipo. The Hoosiers finished the game on a 10-0 run, highlighted by an Oladipo three-pointer with just 15 seconds to go which gave Indiana a four-point lead. Two Christian Watford free throws iced the victory.
And according to Hoosiers SB Nation affiliate The Crimson Quarry the victory showed both the good and bad sides of the 2012-2013 Hoosiers.
Here is The Crimson Quarry had to say in their post-game analysis:
There appear to be two versions of Indiana this season. The first is the fluid, ball-moving, aggressive squad that plays beautiful basketball and is so fun to watch. That team shows up about 95 percent of the time. The other is an out-of-whack, sluggish, tentative group that’s typically reserved for Wisconsin games (and Ohio State at home).
For 37 minutes Sunday, Indiana was the latter team -- stagnant and passive. The good Hoosiers showed up just in time.
The comeback epitomized what’s so great about this bunch in the sense that Indiana got a variety of key contributions from a variety of people.
The website then went on to list a number of key contributors in the win, including seniors Jordan Hulls and Christian Watford, as well as sophomore center Cody Zeller. All three scored crucial points in the final few minutes of play to seal the victory.
Still, in the end, the game came down to Oladipo’s big three-pointer, which proved to be the final nail needed to push the Hoosiers past Temple.
The Crimson Quarry added some context to Oladipo’s shot, season and career in Monday morning’s post-game recap:
It was damn near poetic, wasn’t it? The nation’s most improved player getting to showcase a skill he’s worked so hard to refine: his 3-point shooting. Of course he drained it. No hesitation. Nothing but net. Four-point lead. Fifteen seconds left.
With the victory, Indiana will now advance to the East Regional semifinals, where they’ll play Syracuse in a 9:45 tip-off on Thursday night. Should they win, the Hoosiers will then advance to face the winner of Miami-Marquette on Saturday.
Meanwhile with the loss, Temple finished their 2013 season at 24-10 overall.
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