SAN DIEGO (AP) – It was business as usual for Indiana and Kent
State in the NCAA tournament. The Hoosiers lost another first-round game and the Golden Flashes said it was no surprise.
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Tue, May
2
The Mid-American Conference is Upset City once again! In 1998, Western Michigan
toppled Clemson, Eastern Michigan beat Duke in 1997, in 1995 Herb Sendek led Miami
(Ohio) over Arizona and in 1991 Eastern Michigan marched to the Sweet 16 with Ben
Braun at the helm.
This year Kent St. shocks Indiana with an unbelievable performance from Trevor
Huffman. Kirk Haston had 29 for Indiana, but it wasn't enough as Kent St. was able to
contain Jared Jeffires.
More ...
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Kent State played spoiler with a 77-73 victory over Indiana on
Thursday, sending the Hoosiers to their second straight first-round
loss and fifth in seven years on the same day Bob Knight went job
hunting in Texas.
Kent State will meet Cincinnati in an all-Ohio matchup in the second round. The Bearcats beat BYU 84-59.
"Extremely disappointing to the point of being sickening,"
said Kirk Haston, who led the Hoosiers with 29 points.
A year ago, Indiana was blown out by 20 points against
Pepperdine in what turned out to be Knight's final sideline
appearance in a red sweater.
Knight was at Texas Tech on Thursday to interview for the head
coaching job, a position he held for 29 years in Bloomington before
being fired in September for violating Indiana's zero-tolerance
behavior policy.
His replacement, Mike Davis, also is seeking job security.
Indiana officials have said they'll decide whether Davis stays
after the season.
"I do want this job in the worst way," Davis said. "They said they were going to wait until the season is over. It's over, so we'll see next week."
The Hoosiers (21-13) clearly want the soft-spoken Davis back,
but they couldn't make a case for him by blowing a 12-point
second-half lead and committing 18 turnovers.
|  | | In turning around a 12-point, second-half deficit, Trevor Huffman and the Flashes found a way into the second round. |
"I thought going into halftime (Indiana led 42-34) we had the game under control," Davis said. "Down the stretch we didn't capitalize on a couple of plays we should have."
Making its second tournament appearance in three years, Kent
State got 24 points from Trevor Huffman, including 11 of its final
15.
"We had a serious mindset coming into this," Huffman said. "I don't think too many guys on our team were surprised that we beat Indiana.
"We hope we can just keep this business-like attitude going into the next game and the next game, as far as we go."
The Golden Flashes (24-9), who set a school record for victories, shot 47 percent against an Indiana defense that held opponents to 39.2 percent during the regular season.
"I told my coach I thought I'd feel better about this after the game, but it just feels like a regular win," said KSU forward Kyrem Massey, who added 15 points for the Mid-American Conference tournament champions.
Despite what his players said, Kent State coach Gary Waters
called the Flashes' win an upset.
"It was a Big Ten team," he said. "You have to understand players. Sometimes they say things and they don't know what they're saying."
The Hoosiers' No. 4 seed was their highest since 1993.
The Flashes tied the game at 62 on a tipin by Rashaun Warren,
who had three of Kent State's five blocked shots. After Jared
Jeffries made two free throws for Indiana, Huffman scored to give
Kent State its first lead of the second half, 64-63, with 5:37
left.
Tom Coverdale fouled Warren and then, reminiscent of Knight, was
called for a technical when he complained. Huffman made 1-of-2 free
throws on the tech as Coverdale left the game with his fifth foul
with 4:34 remaining. Warren missed his first free throw to leave
the Flashes ahead by two.
Davis said Coverdale hurt his hip diving for a ball in the first
half.
"No excuse, but Coverdale is the only point guard we have. Once he went down, I was just trying to buy time," Davis said. "We were panicking a bit (without him). He's a big part of our offense."
Indiana took its last lead, 66-65, on a free throw by Haston
before Huffman took over. He scored five straight points as Kent
State led 70-66 with 2:30 remaining.
Jeffries, the Big Ten freshman of the year, was called for
traveling with Indiana down by four. Andrew Mitchell and Huffman
scored consecutive baskets to give Kent State a 76-70 lead with 19
seconds left.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Kent State Clubhouse
Indiana Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Kyreem Massey says Kent State's defeat of Indiana doesn't feel like an upset to him.
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Mike Davis would love to coach at Indiana next year, but he knows it is not his decision.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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