Hoosier State of Mind
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Indiana Basketball: Top 5 teams of the decade

By Trevor Gersmehl

DAYTON, OH - MARCH 22: Yogi Ferrell #11, Christian Watford #2, Jordan Hulls #1 and Cody Zeller #40 of the Indiana Hoosiers look on early in the game against the James Madison Dukes during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 22, 2013 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OH - MARCH 22: Yogi Ferrell #11, Christian Watford #2, Jordan Hulls #1 and Cody Zeller #40 of the Indiana Hoosiers look on early in the game against the James Madison Dukes during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 22, 2013 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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BLOOMINGTON, IN – MARCH 6: Yogi Ferrell #11 and Nick Zeisloft #2 of the Indiana Hoosiers hold the Big Ten Championship trophy following the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Assembly Hall on March 6, 2016 in Bloomington, Indiana. Indiana defeated Maryland 80-62. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN – MARCH 6: Yogi Ferrell #11 and Nick Zeisloft #2 of the Indiana Hoosiers hold the Big Ten Championship trophy following the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Assembly Hall on March 6, 2016 in Bloomington, Indiana. Indiana defeated Maryland 80-62. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

3. 2015-2016 Team

Tom Crean was able to follow-up a reasonably successful season by achieving even more with a similar roster. Yogi Ferrell (17.3 ppg, 5.6 apg) cemented himself in Indiana basketball history by becoming the leader in career assists for the cream and crimson, and freshman big Thomas Bryant (13.3 ppg 5.8 rpg) made an instant impact out of high school. Troy Williams had somewhat of a disappointing season, still putting up solid numbers (13.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg), but underachieving compared to his prior season. James Blackmon continued to score the ball well as a sophomore, averaging 15.8 points per game.

The supporting cast of grad transfer Max Bielfeldt, Robert Johnson, Nick Ziesloft and Collin Hartman made for a deep, well-balanced team.

Once again, this team scored the ball very well and shot very well from everywhere on the court. They averaged 82.6 points per game and were top 10 in the country in threes made, three-point percentage, field goal percentage, and field goals made. Predictably, they also had the same vices of weak defense and carelessness with the ball.

This team began the 2015 season ranked at No. 15, but dropped out around the midseason mark due to losses to average Wake Forest and UNLV teams in Maui. However, a strong end to the season caused a surge all the way up to No. 10 before Selection Sunday. They finished the season at 27-8, winning the regular season Big Ten title and earning a five seed in the big dance.

After defeating Chattanooga in the first round of the NCAA tournament, they beat Kentucky in the round of 32. Any Indiana team that beats Kentucky in March is memorable. They were eventually handily defeated by North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen, but were, and are, still thought of as a success.

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