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ALBANY - It wasn't quite like Las Vegas, but Hoosier Nation made their presence felt Thursday night.

During Miami and Drake's shootout, MVP Arena's jumbotron gave a live look into Purdue's close game with Fairleigh Dickinson. Fans decked out in cream and crimson rose to their feet during halftime to see if the Knights could replicate what UMBC did to Virginia just a couple of years earlier.

The 16-seed did just that, beating 1 seed Purdue in arguably the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history. The loudest in the arena were the Hoosier fans celebrating their biggest rivals misery while awaiting a 10:30 tip.

The Knights became the 5th double-digit seed to win in the round of 64. Mike Woodson and his team had all day to watch the madness, and they knew they had to do everything in their power to prevent it from transpiring in Upstate New York.

Trey Galloway went as far to say that he didn't really have a reaction to Purdue losing. He was just too locked in on the challenge ahead.

"We're all seeing it," Galloway clarified. "We're all seeing the higher seeds get beat, and we didn't want to be one of those teams tonight."

After a back-and-forth first half, Indiana not only avoided chaos but prevented Kent State from threatening whatsoever in a 70-61 victory to advance to the round of 32.

"Our preparation stays the same," Miller Kopp told reporters from the podium as Friday turned into Saturday. "In every game -- like I said before, we've learned from our losses in the season and conference play. So those are enough to wake us up and keep us locked in."

Kopp couldn't deny at least monitoring the games throughout the day. Who could blame him? All day in a hotel during March Madness, it's tough to expect a 20-something-year-old to do anything different.

"Of course, we watch all the games. We're hoop junkies. So we see all the games and upsets and stuff. But really it's just about our preparation and doing the same stuff."

As much as the pomp and circumstance could have had an impact, the resounding attitude from this Indiana team was that Friday was just another game. It being a tournament game made no difference, and the craziness happening across the country was irrelevant.

"They watch," Woodson clarified. "I watch games, but my focus is on who we're playing and my team, our team. That's where my focus is.

"I mean, you can't worry about other teams. You've got to worry about what's in front of you, what you're facing. Kent State was the team that we were facing tonight, and that's where my focus was, how we were going to come out and perform."

The Hoosiers performed just about as well as a 4-seed can possibly play. The extra break paid dividends as it was clear Race Thompson had a little extra in the tank tonight, and Trayce Jackson-Davis the same.

The 20 points from Thompson coupled with a sudden 7-0 run from Jackson-Davis in the second half helped put the nail in the coffin of a potential late night upset.

"Things just started to open up a little bit more once we opened the floor up and got out and got some easy buckets," Woodson explained. "And then he brought it home for us . . . I thought he made about three or four plays down the stretch to put the game out of reach."

Indiana's three seniors combined for 57 of Indiana's 71 points on Friday.

"These three seniors up here were pretty damn good tonight," Woodson added.

Indiana will go into Sunday night's game with Miami in just about as good of a spot as they could have asked for. The Hoosiers didn't have to over-exert themselves to advance to the next round, there were no injuries, and no drama, just as a postseason push should go for a team that wants to make a deep run.

There's no doubt Woodson will make sure his guys have the same approach against the Hurricanes. The lure of a Sweet 16 can't distract from the very talented Miami team that stands in the way. After an emotional win over Drake, the Hoosiers' may have the upper hand going into Sunday.

It is March, however. You have to expect the unexpected.

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