In Dome, It’s Doom for Xavier, 73-70 : Midwest Regional: Thepartisan crowd of 37,411 in Indianapolis plays role in Indiana victory.

Calm and order returned to the Midwest Regional Sunday, but not before No. 1-seeded Indiana, a 73-70 winner over Xavier, had to rely on the kindness of strangers.

Less than 24 hours after defending national champion Duke was eliminated from the regional, the top-ranked Hoosiers (30-3) found themselves facing a similar fate. Xavier, seeded ninth, had cut a double-digit Indiana lead to three points with 13 seconds to play and were poised for the upset.

And then. . . .

Well, the traveling Hoosier tent show, you know about. This time 37,411 fans, most of whom could recite the entire Indiana roster by memory, walk-ons included, turned the Hoosier Dome into Bloomington-North.

If this was supposed to be a neutral site, the NCAA will have a hard time convincing Xavier (24-6), whose players can read a map as well as the next person. From the Hoosier Dome front door to Indiana Coach Bobby Knight’s office, the distance is no more than 50 miles, tops.

“In a way, it’s kind of unfair,” said Xavier guard Steve Gentry. “But they’re the No. 1 seed, they should get some advantages over teams.”

They did. The Hoosier fans first drowned out Xavier’s small contingent of followers and then turned their considerable vocal cords on the game officials--Larry Lembo, Tom Lopes and Charlie Range. Knight chirped away, too, at one point drawing a warning to sit down--or else--from Lembo.

With 8:45 to play, Indiana hadn’t been whistled for a second-half foul. Xavier had eight. This isn’t exactly a newsflash when the Hoosiers play. Knight’s teams historically are called for fewer fouls. This season, Indiana’s opponents had 200 more fouls than the Hoosiers.

But an 8-0 second-half margin against Xavier? With nearly half of the period gone?

“Disappointing,” Xavier Coach Pete Gillen said. “I don’t want to say too much. I’ve got nothing to gain by criticizing (the officials).”

Gillen was also at a loss for words when describing those final 13 seconds.

A quick review:

Xavier guard Michael Hawkins hit a three-pointer to move the Musketeers to within 71-68. Then Gillen, left without any timeouts, could only watch and yell to the officials as Hoosier guard Damon Bailey took seemingly forever to retrieve the ball, step behind the baseline and then toss the ball inbounds.

Lembo could have stopped the clock, forcing Bailey to move behind the line and begin play. Instead, the seconds ticked away, from 13 to less than three. By the time Xavier got the ball back, Calbert Cheaney had been fouled, made a free throw and extended the lead to four points with 1.7 seconds to play.

There would be no repeat of California’s magic of a night earlier.

“That was a long time,” Gillen said of Bailey’s maneuver. “That was disappointing. We were screaming (to the officials). No response.”

And was Bailey aware of the last-second situation?

“He was smiling afterward,” Gillen said. “Truth. I’m just telling the truth.”

Added Brian Grant: “He knew what he was doing. That was a smart play by him. The referees didn’t catch him.”

Bailey admitted nothing, except to say: “I wasn’t going to get in any hurry. You are allowed some time to get the ball before the ref steps in and stops the game. It helped that I had to go out to the free throw line to get the ball.”

So Indiana escaped with a victory and its closest NCAA tournament margin since it beat Syracuse by a point in the 1987 Final Four championship game. The Hoosiers travel to St. Louis for a Thursday game against Louisville.

Cheaney led Indiana with 23 points and added eight rebounds. It was his 21st consecutive 20-point-plus effort, but few of the baskets against Xavier came easy.

“They’re the toughest team I’ve played this year,” said Cheaney of an Indiana schedule that included Michigan, Kentucky, Cincinnati and Kansas, among others.

The compliment meant little to the Musketeers. A disconsolate Grant, who had 16 rebounds, but only 11 points (nearly eight below his season average), blamed himself for the loss.

“I just didn’t play strong enough,” he said. “I was weak.”

Xavier couldn’t complain about a lack of chances, especially with Indiana center Alan Henderson confined to bench for all but seven minutes because of his knee injury.

“We had them,” Grant said. “We thought we had them. They’re the No. 1 team in the nation, though. That’s why they’re ranked that way.”