Indiana's intentional fouling was working...after being down 7 with 39.5 seconds to play they cut the lead to 3 with 34.1 seconds to play...
Then, down 3, a one possession game, 31.9 seconds left they intentionally fouled again in the back court!!! I watched in disbelief as two Indiana players obviously contemplated intentionally fouling, rightly laid off then apparently after looking for guidance from their coach attempted to foul!
I've thought about it several times and no matter how you look at it it was the worst decision possible. Even if the Connecticut player missed both free throws, Connecticut would be guaranteed to get the ball back with a chance to win at worst.
If you were going to intentionally foul in that situation you would have to wait until there were under 24 seconds left in the game to ensure you got the final shot (assuming the player you fouled missed both free throws). But...
Under no circumstances would a team in this situation want the game to become a two possession game by intentionally fouling, it's ludicrous in every way unless their true intention was not to cover and the line was -4 to -4.5 almost everywhere until just before game time when it became -5 at some places. They lost by five, do you have a better explanation?
Mistake? Watch the replay, the Indiana players were clearly acting under orders to foul.
Retardation or incompetence? Indiana's coaching staff is very experienced and successful, I don't think so.
Corruption? It's the best explanation I can come up with here.