'
Team: Indiana Hoosiers
Conference: Big Ten
City: Bloomington, Ind.
Arena: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall
National Titles: Five
Notable Players: Steve Alford, Eric Gordon, Don Schlundt, Archie Dees, Scott May, Mike Woodson, Kent Benson, Calbert Cheaney, D.J. White, Jared Jeffries
'
'
Since it first began playing in 1900, Indiana has been one of the most winning teams in NCAA Division I basketball. Between 1924 and 1938, Hall of Fame coach Everett Dean built the team into a Big Ten conference contender and an All-American powerhouse. After Dean departed for Stanford, Branch McCracken, who played for Indiana under the former coach, led the team to its first national championship in 1940 with a record of 20-3. He repeated as national champion in 1953. Hall of Fame coach Bobby Knight took over in 1971 and led Indiana to its most dominant stretch of basketball with a school-record 662 wins and 11 conference titles. Under his leadership, the Hoosiers won a national championship in 1976 with a perfect 32-0 record and then two more championships in 1981 and 1987. After the end of Knight’s tenure, Indiana returned to the championship game in 2002 under head coach Mike Davis but lost in the finals to
Maryland
by a score of 64-52. Indiana fans can catch a live game at Assembly Hall by purchasing tickets at StubHub.
''Indiana finished the 2018-2019 season with a record of 19-16, including a 79-75 overtime win over (at the time) No. 6 ranked Michigan State and a 75-73 double-overtime win over No. 19 Wisconsin. After it narrowly missed an NCAA berth as one of the last four out, the Hoosiers earned a No. 1 seed in the NIT tournament, where the team lost to Wichita State 73-63 in the quarterfinals.'
'
Indiana opens up the season with an important slate of games in December, including a matchup against the
Florida State
in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on December 3rd, a visit to
Wisconsin
on December 7th to open the conference season, a matchup against UConn in the
Jimmy V Classic
on December 10th and finally a game against
Notre Dame
in the
Crossroads Classic
on December 21st. This is followed by an in-conference schedule against Maryland on January 4th and 26th,
Michigan State
on January 23rd,
Purdue
on February 8th and 27th,
Michigan
on February 16th and Wisconsin again on March 7th. The Big Ten Tournament begins on March 11th.
''
The
Simon Skjodt
Assembly Hall, which was named in honor of the school’s first basketball arena (the old Assembly Hall) as well as the high-profile donor Cindy Simon Skjodt, has a seating capacity of 17,222, including court level seating and club seating.
''
Indiana’s most important Big Ten rival is fellow in-state team Purdue Boilermakers from West Lafayette. The two schools first met each other in 1901 and have since competed for numerous Big Ten championships. Indiana’s other major rival is the
Kentucky Wildcats
from the SEC. Since 1970, when the two teams began to meet on a regular basis, the outcome of the game has frequently had national title implications.
''Fans of Hoosiers basketball can look forward to experiencing numerous traditions and gameday activities. One of the most famous traditions of Indiana basketball is The Greatest Timeout in the History of College Basketball, in which the Big Red Basketball Band plays the William Tell Overture during the under-eight-minute timeout in the second half. The cheerleaders run out of the tunnel waving eight flags that spell out the name Indiana Hoosiers. The timeout ends with a flourish as the band plays the song Indiana, Our Indiana, and the crowd shouts I-U together. There is also plenty to see and do within the stadium itself, including historic displays, shops, restaurants and food vendors.'