Ranking Indiana's Five Championship Seasons.
Indiana last cut down the nets in 1987. Here is how all five National Championship seasons rate.
By Dante Pryor
As the Final Four approaches this weekend, many Indiana fans wonder when will they have another run at a National Championship. The Hoosiers last National Title was in 1987 and it last Final Four appearance was in 2001-02. Although it's been a while since the Hoosiers won it all, only UCLA, Kentucky, and Duke have more Naitonal Titles.
How do their seasons rank?
The Hoosiers won its first title in the 1939-40 season. It is difficult to compare today's game to the basketball of yesteryear for several reasons, but winning a title in any era isn't easy. Here is how Indiana's National Championships rank:
#5. 1939-40
The 1939-40 team was the first of Indiana's five National Titles. Quantifying how good this team would be compared to any other era is hard. However, it was one of the best of its era. Head coach Branch McCracken led this Hoosiers squad to a dominant win against the Kansas Jayhawks in the title game, 60-42.
The Hoosiers were led by All-American Marv Huffman and Third-Team All-American Bill Menke. The Hoosiers were invited to play in the second iteration of the eight-team NCAA tournament despite finishing second to Purdue in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers declined the invite, and recommended Indiana take their place.
It was a good recommendation.
Both the tournament and college basketball looked much different then. Teams that no longer play Division I basketball, including Springfield and Wabash (my alma mater). That said, Indiana defeated their opponents by an average of 17 points in the tournament.