Indiana coach Mike Davis sat on the bench, his head buried in his hands. This was a poignant snapshot, a moment for him to reflect as his team prepared to close out its 73-64 victory over Oklahoma in an NCAA tournament semifinal Saturday.
But here came Dane Fife, his feisty guard, and like some voice from above he looked down on Davis and said: “Coach, get your head up. We’re going to the national championship.”
“I don’t know what he was thinking,” Fife said later. “But he looked up, smiling.”
“I was thanking God for this opportunity,” Davis said. “But these guys deserve the credit. Sometimes I don’t even say a word. They just go out, play their butts off, dive for loose balls and fight.”
The Hoosiers did all of that and more at the Georgia Dome, where the moment called for the spectacular and for the stars to take their turn. But there was little of that in a game as ragged as those played in early December, and it was the unheralded and anonymous Hoosiers who took center stage.
There was Jeff Newton, the 6-foot-9-inch junior center playing in his hometown.
He scored a team-high 19 points in 23 minutes, blocked four shots and helped foul out Sooners star Aaron McGhee with 4 minutes 40 seconds remaining.
“All I’ve been dreaming about is winning both games in front of the home crowd,” Newton said. “I didn’t have any personal goals.”
There was Donald Perry, the freshman point guard who replaced Tom Coverdale after the junior committed a turnover and then yapped at officials when he was hit with a questionable foul with three minutes left.
Perry scored a career-best 10 points in only 11 minutes and hit a layup and 5-of-6 free throws in the last 2:09.
“I think [Coverdale] lost his composure,” Davis said of his decision to bench his experienced starter, who turned in 29 minutes on a bad ankle. “The turnover was crucial, but talking to the officials, it really wasn’t time for that. It was time for calmness. I went with Donald hoping he could give us a minute, then put Coverdale back in. But Don was playing well.”
“Donald did an unbelievable job,” said Hoosiers star Jared Jeffries, who managed eight points in 27 foul-plagued minutes. “That’s what he worked for all week. Everybody told him all week to be ready to play.”
There was guard A.J. Moye, who along with Fife shut down Sooners leading scorer Hollis Price (six points, 1-for-11 from the field).
And there was even little-used sophomore center George Leach, who scored three points and blocked two shots in an electric six minutes.
“He gave us a presence in the paint that we didn’t have at the beginning of the game,” Davis said.
“We’ve been on George,” said Fife, “because we know how much talent and potential he has. He just came in and gave us great minutes. He was awesome. I think he prevented their guys from wanting to drive because he was sending (blocking) them. He really frustrated them.”
That’s an appropriate way to describe what the Hoosiers (25-11) did to the Sooners (31-5), who got 22 points and eight rebounds from McGhee.
But he was the only one of them who chose to show up on this night, and never did they resemble the poised and willful group that swept through the West Regional.
Never did Price, their leader, attack Fife one on one, which he could have done with his superior speed. Never did their defense pressure Coverdale, who was slowed by his tender ankle. Never, most egregiously, did they take advantage of the Hoosiers’ foul trouble, which threw open a wide window of opportunity for them with 11:12 remaining in the first half.
That’s when Jeffries went to the bench with two fouls, and he wouldn’t return until after halftime. This is when the Sooners, already up six, should have expanded their lead, and this is what a great team would have done. But they failed to attack the basket, stymied by Indiana subs, and went to the locker room up only four.
That is how effective the Hoosiers’ bench was this night, particularly after the game was tied 60-60 with 3:27 left.
“We’ve been there before,” Sooners coach Kelvin Sampson said. “I thought we’d win the game from there. But give Indiana credit. They made the big plays down the stretch.”
Newton made them, hitting the basket that broke the tie, and Perry made them, going coast to coast for a layup to put the Hoosiers up four with 2:07 left. Then they made the foul shots that sealed the victory, and finally there was Davis with his head in his hands.
“It’s just unbelievable for us to be playing for the national championship,” he said. “We are just fortunate to be here.”
