After eight years, Hoosiers back to Sweet Sixteen

SACRAMENTO - Sophomore A.J. Moye was shouting. Senior Dane Fife was joking about how close his college career almost ended. And junior Kyle Hornsby was talking about how good it feels to be going where no IU team has been since 1994.\nThe Hoosiers are going to play in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, and an excited locker room after a 76-67 win Saturday night against UNC-Wilmington couldn\'t contain its excitement.\n\"When the game was over me and (junior Tom Coverdale) went over to (IU coach Mike Davis) and had a great hug. It feels good,\" Moye said. \"Tears almost came to our eyes, but the win said it all. We\'re just happy to win. \"It\'s beautiful to be in the Sweet Sixteen.\"\nIU was a fifth seed in 1994 and after beating Ohio and Temple in the first two rounds, the Hoosiers lost to ninth-seeded Boston College in the Sweet Sixteen in Miami. Hornsby can\'t believe it has been that long.\n\"This is nice. I think this is the type of program Indiana is,\" Hornsby said. \"This is where we should have been. We made mistakes for nine years. It\'s about time.\"\nDavis knew pressure was on him to win, saying that expectations come with being the head coach at IU. The Hoosiers came through several times this year when most thought they wouldn\'t.\nDavis said he hasn\'t or will not forget that. \n\"The whole season our guys have really fought hard,\" Davis said. \"To be able to go to the Sweet Sixteen is a great achievement for this basketball team. Only the team thought that we would be at this point. \n\"From preseason conditioning to our 7-5 pre-conference record to our share of the Big Ten Title, we knew that if we continue to play defense that we would give ourselves an opportunity to go to the Sweet Sixteen.\"\nSophomore Jared Jeffries sensed that same doubt from the skeptics.\n\"We didn\'t do as well in the pre-conference schedule,\" Jeffries said. \"People still kind of doubted us. Then we come out and win a share of the Big Ten title and then we lose in the Big Ten Tournament and everybody picks us as underdogs the last two games.\n\"But if you play defense you always give yourself a chance to be in the game.\"\nCONTRIBUTIONS\nDavis has had the luxury of getting great support from his bench, including 28 points combined from Moye, freshman Donald Perry and junior Jeff Newton. Moye had great defense on Brett Blizzard down the stretch, Perry spelled Coverdale on his sore left ankle and Newton had 11 points, creating problems for UNC-W.\n\"Good teams make you pick your poison,\" Seahawks\' coach Jerry Wainwright said. \"Jeff Newton\'s 11 and A.J. Moye\'s 12 points killed us. Perry\'s five points killed us.\"\nThe Hoosiers\' bench came in averaging 17.6 points per game. After Saturday\'s performance, IU is now 13-3 when its bench scores 20 or more points.\nINJURIES\nCoverdale played 22 minutes Saturday night, scoring seven points and handing out five assists to his three turnovers. In the middle of the second half he left the bench for a minute to keep his ankle loose, but he does not see the ankle slowing him this weekend.\n\"It\'s sore, but hopefully it will be a lot better Thursday,\" he said. Jeffries said he had more mobility Saturday than he has had since injuring his right ankle Feb. 9 against Louisville. He said he will be ready to go against Duke.\n\"I really feel like some of my explosiveness is coming back. I look forward to having a good game Thursday,\" Jeffries said. \"We have time to heal and get better. I think (Coverdale) is getting there. I think I felt better today than I have in a while.\"\nA CLASS ACT\nAll weekend Jerry Wainwright gave the national media a chance to a laugh with his jokes and stories. Saturday night, he thanked the media for their coverage and for respecting his players. Wainwright also spoke of how proud he was of his team.\n\"We did the best we could,\" he said. \nA junior, Brett Blizzard said the Seahawks will be back next year. \"They got a taste of what it\'s like now, so we want to keep climbing the ladder,\" he said.\nRANDOM NUMBERS\nUNC-W associate head coach Brad Brownell coached under former IU player and assistant coach Jim Crews at Evansville University. Also, assistant coach Mike Winiecki was a member of the 13th-seeded Richmond team that beat IU, 72-69, in the 1988 NCAA Tournament\'s first roundIU is now 7-2 in second round games since the Tournament switched to its current format in 1985UNC-W entered the game with the nation\'s 13th best scoring defense, only giving up 61.1 points per gameYes, that is the same Kent State that beat IU last year in the first round that will be in the South Regionals at Rupp Arena Thursday nightThe Hoosiers are the only fifth-seed left. In fact, the other three (Florida, Miami and Marquette) lost in the first round, the first time that has happened since the 64-team format was adopted.