LEXINGTON, Ky. - For nearly 40 minutes, Duke had faced the wrath of a hostile crowd and the burden of expectations as it watched its national championship defense begin to slip away with a growing sense of desperation. Then, suddenly and strangely, it was over, in an inelegant, decidedly un-Duke-like scene of frustration and anger.
With Indiana leading Thursday night's NCAA South Regional semifinal at Rupp Arena by one point with three seconds left, Carlos Boozer rebounded a missed Jason Williams free throw, went up for a follow shot against Indiana's Jared Jeffries and missed.
Boozer expected a foul call. Jeffries later admitted he "grabbed" Boozer before getting the rebound. But there was no call, leading an angry Coach Mike Krzyzewski to confront the nearest official, before he was distracted by having to stop reserve center Matt Christensen from physically attacking an official.
Boozer, stunned, sat on the bench and held his head. Williams cried.
Indiana celebrated. Its 74-73 stunner thrilled the vast majority of onlookers, who included red-clad Indiana fans, supporters of Pitt and Kent State who wanted a potentially easier match-up and Kentucky fans who boo Duke as a reflex.
"We messed up a lot of brackets," said Coach Mike Davis, who in his second season has led the Hoosiers to their first regional final since 1993. "Throw them away. It's over."
Asked if he were stunned, Krzyzewski laughed and tried to put it in perspective. "No, I'm not stunned. I'm 55 and I need a hip replacement," he said. "And I know we can lose every time we go on the court. The people who watch the game don't understand that."
The Hoosiers will face Kent State Saturday night in the quarterfinal round.
