1975–76 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team
American college basketball season
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The 1975–76 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represented Indiana University Bloomington and were the winners of the NCAA Men's Division I Tournament, the school's third national championship. The Hoosiers included three All-Americans and were led by head coach Bob Knight, in his fifth year, to an undefeated 32–0 record. The team played its home games in Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, and was a member of the Big Ten Conference.[1] They remain, as of the 2025–26 season, the last team to be undefeated National Champions.
| 1975–76 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball | |
|---|---|
| |
NCAA tournament National champions Big Ten champions | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 1 |
| AP | No. 1 |
| Record | 32–0 (18–0 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| Assistant coaches |
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| Captains | |
| Home arena | Assembly Hall |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1 Indiana | 18 | – | 0 | 1.000 | 32 | – | 0 | 1.000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 Michigan | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 25 | – | 7 | .781 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 16 | – | 11 | .593 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 14 | – | 13 | .519 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 19 | – | 10 | .655 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 16 | – | 10 | .615 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 14 | – | 13 | .519 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 12 | – | 15 | .444 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 10 | – | 16 | .385 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 2 | – | 16 | .111 | 6 | – | 20 | .231 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Roster
| No. | Name | Position | Ht. | Year | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Bob Wilkerson | G/F | 6–6 | Sr. | Anderson, Indiana |
| 21 | Quinn Buckner | G | 6–3 | Sr. | Phoenix, Illinois. |
| 22 | Wayne Radford | G/F | 6–3 | So. | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 23 | Jim Wisman | G | 6–2 | So. | Quincy, Illinois |
| 25 | Bob Bender | G | 6–3 | Fr. | Bloomington, Illinois |
| 31 | Scott Eells | F | 6–9 | Fr. | Hoopeston, Illinois |
| 32 | Mark Haymore | F/C | 6–8 | So. | Shaker Heights, Ohio |
| 33 | Tom Abernethy | F | 6–7 | Sr. | South Bend, Indiana |
| 34 | Rich Valavicius | F | 6–5 | Fr. | Hammond, Indiana |
| 42 | Scott May | F | 6–7 | Sr. | Sandusky, Ohio |
| 43 | Jim Roberson | C | 6–9 | Fr. | Rochester, New York |
| 45 | Jim Crews | G | 6–5 | Sr. | Normal, Illinois |
| 54 | Kent Benson | C | 6–11 | Jr. | New Castle, Indiana |
The team manager was Chuck Swenson.
Regular season
The team entered the season ranked No. 1.[2][3] The Hoosiers ended the regular season unbeaten, a feat that has been accomplished only seven times since, by the Larry Bird-led 1979 Indiana State Sycamores, the 1979 Alcorn State Braves, the 1991 UNLV Runnin' Rebels, the 2004 Saint Joseph's Hawks, the 2014 Wichita State Shockers, the 2015 Kentucky Wildcats, the 2021 Gonzaga Bulldogs, and the 2026 Miami (OH) RedHawks. All but Alcorn State and Saint Joseph's, and Miami (OH) would enter the NCAA Tournament unbeaten.
NCAA tournament
Schedule
| Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site city, state | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | |||||||||||
| 11/29/1975* NBC |
No. 1 | vs. No. 2 UCLA | W 84–64 | 1–0 |
St. Louis Arena St. Louis, Missouri | ||||||
| 12/8/1975* |
No. 1 | vs. Florida State | W 83–59 | 2–0 |
Market Square Arena Indianapolis, Indiana | ||||||
| 12/11/1975* |
No. 1 | No. 8 Notre Dame | W 63–60 | 3–0 |
Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana | ||||||
| 12/15/1975* |
No. 1 | vs. No. 14 Kentucky Indiana–Kentucky rivalry |
W 77–68 OT | 4–0 |
Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky | ||||||
| 12/19/1975* |
No. 1 | Georgia Indiana Classic |
W 93–56 | 5–0 |
Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana | ||||||
| 12/20/1975* |
No. 1 | Virginia Tech Indiana Classic |
W 101–74 | 6–0 |
Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana | ||||||
| 12/26/1975* |
No. 1 | vs. Columbia Holiday Festival |
W 106–63 | 7–0 |
Madison Square Garden New York City, New York | ||||||
| 12/27/1975* |
No. 1 | vs. Manhattan Holiday Festival |
W 97–61 | 8–0 |
Madison Square Garden New York City, New York | ||||||
| 12/28/1975* |
No. 1 | vs. No. 17 St. John's Holiday Festival |
W 76–69 | 9–0 |
Madison Square Garden New York City, New York | ||||||
| 1/3/1976 |
No. 1 | at Ohio State | W 66–64 | 10–0 (1–0) |
St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio | ||||||
| 1/5/1976 |
No. 1 | Northwestern | W 78–61 | 11–0 (2–0) |
Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana | ||||||
| 1/10/1976 |
No. 1 | at No. 19 Michigan | W 80–74 | 12–0 (3–0) |
Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, Michigan | ||||||
| 1/12/1976 |
No. 1 | at Michigan State | W 69–57 | 13–0 (4–0) |
Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, Michigan | ||||||
| 1/17/1976 |
No. 1 | at Illinois Rivalry |
W 83–55 | 14–0 (5–0) |
Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois | ||||||
| 1/19/1976 |
No. 1 | Purdue Rivalry |
W 71–67 | 15–0 (6–0) |
Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana | ||||||
| 1/24/1976 |
No. 1 | at Minnesota | W 85–76 | 16–0 (7–0) |
Williams Arena Minneapolis | ||||||
| 1/26/1976 |
No. 1 | at Iowa | W 88–73 | 17–0 (8–0) |
Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa | ||||||
| 1/31/1976 |
No. 1 | Wisconsin | W 114–61 | 18–0 (9–0) |
Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana | ||||||
| 2/7/1976 |
No. 1 | Michigan | W 72–67 OT | 19–0 (10–0) |
Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana | ||||||
| 2/9/1976 |
No. 1 | Michigan State | W 85–70 | 20–0 (11–0) |
Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana | ||||||
| 2/14/1976 |
No. 1 | Illinois Rivalry |
W 58–48 | 21–0 (12–0) |
Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana | ||||||
| 2/16/1976 |
No. 1 | at Purdue Rivalry |
W 74–71 | 22–0 (13–0) |
Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana | ||||||
| 2/21/1976 |
No. 1 | Minnesota | W 76–64 | 23–0 (14–0) |
Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana | ||||||
| 2/23/1976 |
No. 1 | Iowa | W 101–81 | 24–0 (15–0) |
Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana | ||||||
| 2/26/1976 |
No. 1 | at Wisconsin | W 96–67 | 25–0 (16–0) |
Wisconsin Field House Madison, Wisconsin | ||||||
| 3/1/1976 |
No. 1 | at Northwestern | W 76–63 | 26–0 (17–0) |
Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois | ||||||
| 3/6/1976 |
No. 1 | Ohio State | W 96–67 | 27–0 (18–0) |
Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana | ||||||
| NCAA Tournament | |||||||||||
| 3/13/1976* |
No. 1 | vs. No. 17 St. John's Quarterfinals |
W 90–70 | 28–0 (18–0) |
Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana | ||||||
| 3/18/1976* |
No. 1 | vs. No. 6 Alabama Sweet Sixteen |
W 74–69 | 29–0 (18–0) |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana | ||||||
| 3/20/1976* |
No. 1 | vs. No. 2 Marquette Elite Eight |
W 65–56 | 30–0 (18–0) |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana | ||||||
| 3/27/1976* |
No. 1 | vs. No. 5 UCLA Final Four |
W 65–51 | 31–0 (18–0) |
The Spectrum Philadelphia | ||||||
| 3/29/1976* |
No. 1 | vs. No. 9 Michigan Championship |
W 86–68 | 32–0 (18–0) |
The Spectrum Philadelphia | ||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. | |||||||||||
Awards and honors
- Kent Benson, NCAA Men's MOP Award[6]
- Bob Knight, Big Ten Coach of the Year
- Scott May, National Player of the Year[7]
- Scott May, Big Ten Player of the Year
Team players drafted into the NBA
| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 1 | 2 | Scott May | Chicago Bulls |
| 1976 | 1 | 7 | Quinn Buckner | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 1976 | 1 | 11 | Bob Wilkerson | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1976 | 3 | 43 | Tom Abernethy | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 1977 | 1 | 1 | Kent Benson | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 1978 | 2 | 27 | Wayne Radford | Indiana Pacers |
| 1979 | 6 | 119 | Bob Bender | San Diego Clippers |