He'll never be the General, probably never be that big, that kind of an icon. Although you never know, not anymore. Mike Davis' Hoosiers beat Duke on Thursday night in Lexington, and if that isn't winning the big one (that's still officially three games away), it's as big as they get otherwise.

Indiana coach Mike Davis reaches his first Elite Eight.(AP)

Indiana 74, Duke 73 and there goes Davis, the emotions-on-his-sleeve coach, making like Jimmy V, hugging Jared Jeffries and changing it all. It can't be about Bob Knight and Mike Davis, it's about Indiana now. Indiana past, Indiana present and Indiana future.

With one of the most thrilling victories of this or any recent March, IU took down the defending national champions, knocked out mighty Duke and its roster full of lottery picks and sent them packing. If every last Hoosier in Indiana doesn't love Mike Davis for that, know the rest of the country is ready to make him President.

If you couldn't love IU tonight, if you couldn't share the utter joy felt by this passionate yet shy, God-praising yet intense Alabama native then you must have been a Duke man or too hung up on the past.

Indiana 74, Duke 73 and it's a bright new day in Bloomington, another step closer to Indiana's first Final Four since 1992, its first national title since 1987, and if all that still doesn't seem likely, well did this?

Could there be a sweeter hug than the one shared by Davis and Jeffries, can anyone else know that emotion? Jeffries had 24 points and 15 rebounds Thursday and was the driving force among a throng of forceful Hoosiers who led the 17-point comeback.

But it has been Jeffries who has meant even more to Davis. They are coach and player first but they are clearly friends. Have been since Davis recruited J.J. for Knight but it became so much more when Miles Brand ended the Knight era.

There has been no more unwavering supporter of Davis than Jeffries. No more outspoken fan, confidant and witness. No one has defended the coach everyone has expected to fail more often in the press and the power circles of IU basketball than Jeffries.

Jeffries is a Bloomington kid, an Indiana Mr. Basketball, a player who backed Knight 100 percent when the zero intolerance was the rage. He has credibility in every circle, which is why when he says Davis will win, when he says Davis knows what he is doing, when he says Davis is the right man for this job, you have to listen. Not even the biggest Knight supporter can dislike Jeffries, the kid with the kind of game and heart that IU hoops has been built on for decades.

It turns out Jeffries was right all along, that Davis might not be Knight, might be too emotional (in a different way) on the bench, might be prone to silly mistakes and press conference meltdowns, but this man can coach.

He just outcoached Mike Krzyzewski, just beat a loaded Duke program with Jeffries, yes, but also Jarrad Odle and Tom Coverdale and a lot of guys who have developed into pretty good players but aren't exactly Jason Williams and Mike Dunleavy.

Was there any other way for IU to win its biggest game of the Davis era than falling behind, fighting slowly and steadily back, finally taking the lead and then almost blowing it (a foul on a made Williams 3) and then blowing it again (Carlos Boozer's offensive rebound and just-miss game-winner)?

This is why you can never underestimate tradition. It never scores a basket, never collects a rebound, but the only way to beat Duke is to never panic, regardless of Dunleavy's versatility, Boozer's bulk, Williams' brilliance. The Hoosiers were down but across the front of their jersey was I-N-D-I-A-N-A and that means five titles and an attitude that knows no backseat.

Duke is good, Duke is great. It has won three national titles since the Hoosiers won their last. But Indiana doesn't back down from anyone, whether there is a sweater, or a jacket and tie on the bench.

Indiana 74, Duke 73 and it's the Hoosiers who dance on Rupp Arena's floor, the crimson and cream being honored and cheered in the epicenter of Kentucky basketball.

You never thought you'd see it. Any of it.

Indiana 74, Duke 73. It's a whole new deal.

Now for the rest of Thursday's ...

Winners

Kent State

It seems inevitable that a mid-major is going to make it, breaking through to the Final Four. So here's this year's shot as Kent follows the recent path of Gonzaga and Tulsa. The Golden Flashes will play Indiana, the team they upset a year ago in the NCAA first round.

It is not easy for the mind to truly comprehend Kent State in the Final Four, especially with a rookie head coach in Stan Heath. But strip away the uniform and the Golden Flashes have proven they are every bit the championship contender of anyone else left in the field. On Friday they took down the Big East champs, Pitt, surviving a puzzling call, overtime and an 18-point, six-assist effort by Brandin Knight to claim the 78-73 victory.

Kent isn't big, but 6-5 converted football player Antonio Gates (22 points and nine rebounds) plays like he is 7-feet tall. Their guards aren't the first guys you'd choose in pickup, but Trevor Huffman is a big-time player. Really, what does it matter? The Flashes have won 30 games this season and 21 straight. And they can take Indiana and finally make that mid-major breakthrough.

Oklahoma

This is why the Sooners (30-4) are so tough, so dangerous in this tournament. When Arizona cracked down on Aaron McGhee early, Hollis Price burnt them from the perimeter with 26 points. When that loosened it back up in the paint, McGhee scored 19 of his 21 in the final 6:49 and hit eight consecutive free throws down the stretch to blow the game open and give OU a runaway 88-67 victory.

It's that's offensive balance -- not just inside one play, outside on another, but bursts of points from all five positions -- that powers the Sooners. That, and they never stop playing defense.

Arizona surprised everyone all season, exceeded expectations at every turn, turned a rebuilding season into a Pac-10 championship, Sweet 16 run that any program would be proud of. But Oklahoma is deeper, more explosive, more mature. In the second half that was the story, no matter how good Lute Olson, Jason Gardner, Luke Walton and the kids are.

OU is capable of humbling the best of them. Kelvin Sampson says his team has been flying under the national radar. Maybe, maybe not. But they are going to be hard to miss the rest of the way.

Missouri

This was the Kareem Rush who entered the season as a first-team All-American. Twenty points, 10 boards from the Mizzou junior small forward as the Tigers used a second-half run to break out from UCLA and win 82-73 in a somewhat improbable No. 8 vs. No. 12 Sweet 16 matchup.

Now the Tigers, with their low seed but high talent level, get a matchup with Oklahoma in the regional final. OU won the regular-season meeting 84-71 in Norman, but this is a Tigers club playing at an entirely different level. Missouri (24-11) has stormed through the NCAAs, winning by an average of 12.7 points, truly rolling into the Elite Eight without having a significant challenge. If it weren't for some regular-season stumbles and slumps -- this is a club that since mid-December went just 13-11 heading into the tourney -- you'd think they were the No. 1 or 2 seed they were predicted to be. Saturday is the day Missouri can fulfill most of its dreams. If it keeps playing like this, it's very possible.

Losers

Jason Williams

National players of the year have to hit game-tying free throws. A bitter way to likely end a brilliant career.

Matt Christensen

It gets emotional, but the Duke reserve had to be physically restrained from hitting referee Bruce Benedict following the Hoosiers-Blue Devils game. Although we aren't sure Christensen was actually going to punch Benedict, he did sort of throw his fist in rage. Not good. Making it even worse is we are not sure what he was mad about. There was no significant foul on Boozer's shot. If a foul had been whistled on that one the Duke referee conspiracy theory would have to be believed.

Kent-Pitt first-half offenses

It turned into a good game but what was that first-half brick-fest? It seemed like the Indiana-Duke game was so emotional that even two teams not in the game came out drained and flat.