Indiana must adjust to role of favorite

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- Indiana was a double-digit underdog when it shocked Duke to advance into the NCAA tournament's round of eight.

The fifth-seeded Hoosiers won't have that label to use as motivation in their South Regional final Saturday night against tenth-seeded Kent State.

"Really, there's not much of a change as far as the approach to the game," Indiana's Kyle Hornsby said of playing as a favorite. "We were the underdog in the last game and we came out with nothing to lose. We came out with intensity and we fought them.

"We've got to come out the same time the next game. It may be a little bit bigger game, but you can't come out any differently."

Indiana (23-11) rallied from a 17-point halftime deficit to stun the defending champion Blue Devils 74-73.

The victory was the most emotional in the two-year tenure of coach Mike Davis, who took over at Indiana when Bob Knight was dismissed. Knight now coaches at Texas Tech.

Davis believes the Hoosiers must duplicate the intensity they showed in their victory over Duke to move past Mid-American Conference champion Kent State (30-5), which has eliminated Oklahoma State, Alabama and Pittsburgh.

Davis was impressed Kent State's poise in beating third-seeded Pittsburgh 78-73 in overtime Thursday night. The Golden Flashes also beat the Hoosiers in the first round of last year's tournament.

"They almost cost me my job last year," Davis said. "Watching the selection deal, there were two teams I didn't want to play -- that was Texas Tech and Kent State. Now, we've got Kent State.

"I know Oklahoma State, Alabama and Pittsburgh didn't know what they were getting into, but we do. It's going to be a tough basketball game. These guys know that."

Last season's victory over Indiana was still fresh in the minds of Kent State's players.

"It's going to be weird, just because that was our defining moment last year," said Trevor Huffman, one of four Kent State seniors. "That was the game that put us on the map."