Indiana Basketball: Ranking all 5 National Championship teams
By Alec Lasley
2. 1981 National Championship Team
This was one of the more improbable title teams for the Hoosiers, despite having the Big Ten Player of the Year and a future all-time great NBA point guard.
Starting off the season 7-5 and then 10-7, the Hoosiers went just 3-6 against ranked teams and failed to find much chemistry throughout the season… until the final stretch.
Indiana, sitting at 16-9, rattled off 10 straight wins en route to the National Championship and beat ranked teams such as Maryland, LSU and North Carolina in dominating fashion.
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Isiah Thomas was named the Tournament MVP and finished off his career in style with 23 points and eight assists, while Randy Wittman added 16 points. Ray Tolbert and Landon Turner were also major parts of the championship-winning team.
Thomas, Tolbert, and Wittman were all drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft, with Thomas and Tolbert going in the first 18 picks in 1983.
While you can make the argument this roster underachieved during the regular season, the real Hoosiers came out ready to play come the NCAA Tournament and proved to be another terrific Indiana team.