Sports

Oladipo, Indiana come back to beat game Temple

DAYTON, Ohio — Victor Oladipo jumped into the air in celebration with Cody Zeller, pounded his chest and yelled out, “Let’s go!”

He certainly did. Oladipo put Indiana in the lead against Temple for the first time in the second half when he sank a free throw with 79 seconds left, then sealed the Hoosiers’ escape with a game-clinching 3-pointer with 14 seconds remaining. Indiana, the East Region’s top seed, finally could exhale with a tight 58-52 win, which was in complete doubt until the final minutes.

The Hoosiers were down 52-48 with just under three minutes to go before ripping off a game-ending 10-0 run behind Oladipo, a finalist for multiple national player of the year awards.

The Hoosiers now head to Washington, where they will battle No. 4 seed Syracuse in the Sweet 16. It’s a homecoming for Oladipo, who is from Upper Marlboro, Md.

“I’m just glad that we’re going,” said the junior star, who scored a team-high 16 points and pulled down a team-high-tying eight rebounds. “It’s going to be fun playing in front of family and friends and all that, but it’s a business trip. We’re on a mission.”

Indiana didn’t look so mission-ready, and coach Tom Crean admitted his emotion afterwards was “more relief.”

The Hoosiers’ championship aspirations (they are President Obama’s pick) almost were derailed in the Round of 32 by Temple guard Khalif Wyatt. The Atlantic 10 Player of the Year poured in 31 points for the second consecutive game. Wyatt scored 20 in the first half, when he nearly outscored Indiana singlehandedly as the Owls led 29-26 at intermission.

“He was tremendous, obviously,” Temple coach Fran Dunphy said.

Indiana won with Zeller, the team’s star center, struggling to 4-for-10 shooting with six turnovers (“I thought for sure I was going to set a turnover record with all the mistakes I was making,” he said) and a total of just 58 points, tied for their second-worst output this season.

Wyatt’s two free throws put Temple up 52-48 with 3:09 to play, and the Indiana offense was stalling.

But senior Jordan Hulls’ jumper cut the lead to 52-50, and fellow senior Christian Watford then gave the Hoosiers the game’s biggest defensive play. With 2:18 to go, Watford emerged from behind Temple’s Anthony Lee and blocked a dunk attempt.

“It was a big, big play,” Dunphy said. “No question about it.”

Two free throws from Zeller tied it at 52 with 1:51 left. After Wyatt bricked a 3-point try, Oladipo sank his free throw and hit his straightaway 3 to put the Hoosiers up 56-52.

“I just caught it and shot it. I didn’t think about it,” Oladipo said. “I think that’s when I struggle is when I think about shots.”

Sounds like Oladipo channeled Crash Davis’ advice to Nuke LaLoosh in “Bull Durham”: “Don’t think. It can only hurt the ballclub.”

Oladipo’s clutch shot didn’t hurt one bit as the Hoosiers moved into the tournament’s second week.

mark.hale@nypost.com