2011 Indiana vs. Kentucky men's basketball game
The 2011 Indiana vs. Kentucky men's basketball game was a college basketball game between the Hoosiers men's basketball|Hoosiers] of Indiana University Bloomington and Wildcats men's basketball|Wildcats] of the University of Kentucky who was ranked number 1 in the nation. A rivalry game between the two schools, this game was held at Assembly Hall on Indiana's campus. In an upset victory that was considered a turning point for the Hoosiers program, unranked Indiana defeated top-ranked Kentucky 73–72 on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Christian Watford, which was nicknamed the "Watshot".
Background
Indiana
Indiana entered this game with an 8–0 record and had earned 4 points in the most recent AP Poll, enough for 39th place of all schools receiving votes. In the Coaches Poll released the same day, Indiana earned 23 points, sufficient for 31st place in the poll. In his fourth season at Indiana, head coach Tom Crean was hired in April 2008 after previous head coach Kelvin Sampson resigned due to recruiting violations. Crean's first season in 2008–09 [Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team|2008–09] was the worst in school history, ending with a 6–25 record. Indiana improved to 10–21 in the 2009–10 [Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team|2009–10 season], and then to 12–20 in 2010–11.Kentucky
Like Indiana, Kentucky entered this game with an 8–0 record. Kentucky was also ranked #1 in the AP and Coaches Polls. Head coach John Calipari was in his third season at Kentucky, having led Kentucky to the 2010 Elite Eight and 2011 Final Four in the previous two NCAA Tournaments. Kentucky also had a star-studded group of freshmen on its roster, consisting of four former 5-star recruits in Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, and Kyle Wiltjer.Rivalry
Indiana and Kentucky have a basketball rivalry dating back to 1924. The rivalry series had been played annually since the 1969–70 season on a home-and-home basis. Kentucky had won the past three games in this series. For the 2011 game, students lined up as early as 10 hours before tipoff for tickets.Game summary
The game had a total of 13 lead changes, and neither team could extend its lead by much throughout the game. Kentucky's largest lead was 6 with 8:17 to go in the first half; Indiana's largest lead was 10, at 63–53 with 15:56 left in the second half. Neither team could get ahead. However, Kentucky rallied to take a 69–68 lead with 2 minutes to play, and the lead would change three more times. Indiana's Christian Watford made a layup to put Indiana up 70–69 with 1:07 left, and then Kentucky's Marquis Teague followed that up with his own layup to give Kentucky a 71–70 lead.After Watford missed a jumper with 30 seconds left, Indiana's Cody Zeller fouled Kentucky's Anthony Davis with 19 seconds remaining. With Kentucky only in the bonus, Davis missed the front end of the one-and-one free throw, and Indiana's Victor Oladipo rebounded. After an Indiana timeout, Kentucky's Doron Lamb stole the ball from Oladipo and was fouled with 5.6 seconds left. This foul put Kentucky in the double bonus; Lamb missed his first free throw attempt, but made the second to put Kentucky up 72–70. Watford inbounded the ball to Verdell Jones III, who drove the ball by a screen set by Zeller at half-court. Jones then passed the ball to Watford, who made a Darius Miller-contested three-pointer at the buzzer to win the game for Indiana, 73–72. Players, students, and fans immediately stormed the court.
Aftermath
Impact on Indiana basketball
With this win, Indiana beat a #1 ranked team for the first time since beating 2001–02 [Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team|Duke] in the Sweet 16 round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament. It was also Indiana's first win over a #1 team at Assembly Hall since beating 2000–01 [Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team|Michigan State] on January 7, 2001.Watford's game-winning, buzzer-beating shot in this game has been compared to Keith Smart's game-winner that sealed Indiana's 1987 NCAA title. Josh Sanburn wrote for Time.com:
Sanburn also characterized Watford's game-winner and the court-storming that followed as "a collective and spontaneous surge of relief" following the seasons after the firing of Bob Knight.
College Magazine also credited this game as a reason behind a "resurgence" of Indiana Hoosiers basketball.
The Hoosiers returned to the NCAA Tournament in March of 2012, making it to the Sweet Sixteen. They then went to the Sweet Sixteen again in 2013 before failing to make it past the Second Round in the rest of Crean's tenure as head coach before being fired in 2017.