BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Confirmation arrived late Friday night.

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Bob Knight choked.

The act had nothing to do with Neil Reed's interpretations of Knight's motivational style. In fact, the gag reflex was played out over two hours in front of a sellout crowd at the HSBC Arena. A dozen or so Hoosiers whose eardrums can finally begin healing joined the Emperor of Indiana. Their season is over.

In the next couple of days their elation will probably set in. No more controversies, no more female hygiene products left in lockers, no more references to extra-marital affairs with sheep. Just good old-fashioned basketball.

Of course, the Hoosiers (20-9) will be watching it, not playing it thanks to 11th-seeded Pepperdine. The Waves shocked the nation and probably raised questions about Knight's future with a 77-57 victory. It was arguably the biggest victory in the program's history and a crowning achievement in Jan van Breda Kolff's first year as coach.

"We just got beat badly," a subdued Knight said. "I don't think there's any other way to go about it. I'm not talking to the greatest assemblage of basketball minds here tonight. You guys have to figure that out, we just got pounded."

Only a late "rally" by Indiana kept it from being the worst tournament loss in school history. The memory should be fresh. St. John's beat the Hoosiers by 25 last season. Pepperdine led by as many as 29 in the second half. It didn't help that junior forward Kirk Haston was lost early in the game with a sprained knee.

If Indiana wasn't distracted by the week's events, it certainly was outplayed. The Hoosiers were knocked out in the first round for the fourth time in the last six years.

"If you're trying to say, does coach take the fun out of the game for us, no he doesn't," Indiana guard Michael Lewis said.

The end had to be a relief for some in Indiana if you've suffered through this season that has had little to do with the actual game of basketball. Iowa coach Steve Alford had the audacity to accept a once-removed Indiana transfer, Luke Recker. An ill-fated hunting trip ended with Knight shooting a friend.

Feel free to crack wise about Knight's shotgun in relation to his team's 38.5 percent shooting Friday.

"I think we really shocked them," Pepperdine's Brandon Armstrong said. "We were out there playing with intensity. We saw their faces going down. We knew that was the time attack them."

The Waves not only attacked, they expressed themselves. The starting lineup features three Afros and five headbands. While Indiana was practicing textbook methods honed by Knight over three decades, the Waves were rolling. At one point in the second half Pepperdine's Tommie Prince held the ball high over his head with one hand, evoking memories of Connie Hawkins and Dr. J.

"I didn't think it would be an athletic mismatch," van Breda Kolff said.

It was that and more. Sort of like Malibu with snow. Pepperdine (25-8) has an NCAA Tournament resume only slightly shorter than one of Knight's epithets. The Waves last tournament berth was six years ago. Their last NCAA victory was in 1982. After winning the West Coast Conference regular-season title, Pepperdine lost the conference tournament title game to Gonzaga. It was lucky to get an at-large berth. Its last such berth was in 1979.

Cedric Suitt is happy about Pepperdine's victory over Indiana in the first round. (AP)

Indiana trailed by 18 at halftime but looked like it was going to screen and shoot its way back into the game. Pepperdine didn't score until almost six minutes into the second half. Indiana cut the lead to 11. Then the Waves bombed away with a 10-0 run.

Kelvin Gibbs and Craig Lewis hit consecutive threes during the run midway through the half.

All-America guard A.J. Guyton ended his Indiana career as a loyal soldier but a less-than-clutch player. Guyton twice defended Knight and disparaged Reed this week at press conferences. His mind apparently was still on staying in the old man's good graces. Guyton's game disintegrated horribly in his last game.

The Waves held him to only three points. More glaring was Guyton taking only two shots, missing both, in 34 minutes.

"I just know he (Knight) prepared us the best way we could be prepared," Guyton said. "I really don't know how much that (Reed controversy) was a bother to us. Pepperdine seemed like they were a step quicker than us at everything. Every time we missed an easy shot, they converted."

"UB, Bobby, UB," one local fan yelled referring to the University of Buffalo, "We need you."

Actually, Buffalo had him. The Bulls had a 16-14 lead in Bloomington earlier this season before the Hoosiers went on a 25-3 run during a 106-55 victory. Ah, the good times.

In a sad ending to the whole sordid season, the Indiana rooting section resembled a bar at closing time. One fan that came from the upper reaches to taunt Knight had to be escorted out of the arena while being yelled at by Hoosier fans. Others were more direct.

"You quit on us," one Indiana fan yelled as the state's favorite sons left the court for the last time this season.

All the scene needed was a bouncer with a twist on the famous closing refrain, "Time to go folks. You don't have to stop getting blown out, you just can't do it here."