Kentucky dumps Indiana, 102-90

ATLANTA - Kentucky got sweet revenge.

Conversation turned to the Wildcats' South Regional semifinal against rival Indiana 15 minutes after they beat Iowa State in the NCAA tournament's third round last Saturday.

"We are going to get them back," Kentucky forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist said then of avenging a last-second loss to the Hoosiers in December.

The Somerdale native was right.

The Wildcats went on to defeat the Hoosiers, 102-90, in front of 24,731 in Friday night's late Sweet 16 game at the Georgia Dome.

The win advanced No. 1 seed Kentucky (35-2) to Sunday's Elite Eight game here against No. 3 Baylor, a 75-70 winner over Xavier. This will be Kentucky's third consecutive appearance in a regional final.

Back in December, Christian Watford's three-pointer at the buzzer gave Indiana a stunning 73-72 victory over then-unbeaten Kentucky in Bloomington, Ind. His game-winning shot has continuously been shown on ESPN to promote the NCAA tournament.

Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds on Friday night. He was 10 for 10 from the foul line.

He converted a layup to give Kentucky an 81-70 advantage with 7 minutes, 27 seconds left. Indiana (27-9) pulled within five points with 5:14 to play. But that was a close as the Hoosiers got.

Packed with early excitement, the game appeared to be a continuation from where the teams left off in Bloomington.

Making seven of their 10 shots, the Wildcats held a 16-11 advantage with 15:18 left in the first half.

And like in the last matchup, Anthony Davis got in foul trouble.

Kentucky's 6-foot-10 freshman picked up his second foul 1:13 later and sat out the rest of the half. Davis had four fouls in the teams' previous meeting. As a result, the Southeastern Conference player of the year wasn't a factor back in December.

For a short while, it appeared that the Wildcats wouldn't need him this time. Kentucky built a 29-20 cushion after Darius Miller's three-point play at the 10:30 mark of the first half.

The Hoosiers, however, kept chipping away over the next five minutes. Then Indiana went on a 13-2 run to take a 43-39 advantage.

But consecutive field goals by Miller and Terrance Jones enabled Kentucky to knot the score. Then Kidd-Gilchrist and Watford took over the game.