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Indiana Hoosiers Stun Kansas Jayhawks In Season Opener [Video]

By Nick Younker
Published on: 18:36 PST, Nov 11, 2016

The Indiana Hoosiers entered the season on Friday ranked No. 11 on the AP polls, and they were squaring off in their season opener against the No. 3 ranked Kansas Jayhawks. Most thought that even though it would be a good game, Kansas would prevail in the end. But if time has told us anything, you should never count the Hoosiers out against a giant.

In a stunning twist of events Friday night in Honolulu at the Armed Forces Annual Classic, the Indiana Hoosiers toppled the Kansas Jayhawks after running away with the lead in a thrilling overtime stunner, according to Bleacher Report.

Over the last several years, the Indiana Hoosiers have had a love/hate relationship with winning the gold, but they have come through so many times beating the giant that they are starting to get a reputation as the giant slayer. The last three contests with the Kentucky Wildcats is enough evidence to support that, taking two out of the last three matches including the championship team that put Anthony Davis in the NBA with the New Orleans Pelicans.

But last night’s stellar performance by a young Indiana team proved that even though they have lost their major star, Yogi Ferrell, Tom Crean has recruited and built a championship program at Indiana in the post-Bobby Knight era that has the caliber and signature legacy attached to it.

Even though the Indiana Hoosiers were able to overtake the Kansas Jayhawks, that does not mean that Kansas was not performing with their A-game. Kansas senior Frank Mason clocked a career high 30 points for the game and the teams No. 1 freshman recruit, Josh Jackson, added nine points of his own to top off a solid program that many coaches have seen as a major force to be reckoned with, even against the likes of Duke.

The game really started off with a lot of tension on the Indiana bench. Promising young Hoosier star James Blackmon Jr. only put up two points in the first half, leaving fans of the Indiana Hoosiers wondering if he was going to put up the momentum they needed in the second half to overcome the odds and bring the team back to its stellar giant-slayer glory.

Needless to say, Blackmon did not disappoint. The young Hoosier clocked 26 points for the night, with 24 of those points scored in the second half and in overtime. But not before Hoosier rising star and early clutch performer Thomas Bryant scored 19, subsequently fouling out in the second half. But nevertheless, Blackmon came through and filled the much needed void, pushing the Indiana Hoosiers to their eventual 103-99 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks, winning their first game of the season and toppling their first giant of the year. Something also tells us that Kansas won’t be the first one.

The Indiana Hoosiers will have a pretty easy schedule right up until the last day of the year when they have to face the No. 13 ranked Louisville Cardinals, according to ESPN. Hoosier fans should not let that lower ranking fool you with the Louisville Cardinals either because they still have Rick Pitino in their corner, and he has been known to pull off some major upsets of leading teams, much like the Indiana Hoosiers have done.

If there is any team in the entire NCAA that knows Rick Pitino well, then that would definitely be the Indiana Hoosiers. Pitino also squared off with Indiana when he was head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, and the rivalry between the two teams has always been paramount. Fans should also know that Pitino is the only coach in the NCAA that has won a national championship with two different teams, which are Kentucky and Louisville.

The Indiana Hoosiers will next square off with UMass-Lowell on November 16.

[Featured Image by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images]

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