1974–75 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team

The 1974–75 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represented Indiana University, led by fourth-year head coach Bobby Knight. The team played its home games on campus in Bloomington at Assembly Hall, and was a member of the Big Ten Conference.

1974–75 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball
Big Ten champions
NCAA Tournament, Elite Eight
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 3
Record31–1 (18–0 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
CaptainSteve Green
Quinn Buckner
Home arenaAssembly Hall
1974–75 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 3 Indiana18–0 1.00031–1  .969
No. 19 Michigan12–6 .66719–8  .704
Minnesota11–7 .61118–8  .692
Purdue11–7 .61117–11  .607
Michigan State10–8 .55617–9  .654
Ohio State8–10 .44414–14  .500
Iowa7–11 .38910–16  .385
Wisconsin5–13 .2788–18  .308
Illinois4–14 .2228–18  .308
Northwestern4–14 .2226–20  .231
Rankings from AP Poll

The Hoosiers finished the regular season with a 29–0 record, and won the Big Ten Conference by six games at 18–0.[1] They began the season third in the polls and were top-ranked since January 7.[2][3] When combined with the following year, Indiana won 37 consecutive Big Ten games. The Hoosiers won their conference games by an average of 22.8 points. However, in an 83–82 win against Purdue on February 22, they lost consensus All-American forward Scott May to a broken left arm. The Hoosiers were so dominant that four starters – Scott May, Steve Green, Kent Benson, and Quinn Buckner – were named to the five-man All-Big Ten team following the regular season. With May's injury keeping him to seven minutes of play, the No. 1 Hoosiers lost to Kentucky 92–90 in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament and finished the season at 31–1.[4][5][6]

Roster
No.NamePositionHt.YearHometown
20Bobby WilkersonG/F6–7Jr.Anderson, Indiana
21Quinn BucknerG6–3Jr.Phoenix, Illinois
22Wayne RadfordG/F6–3Fr.Indianapolis, Indiana
24Steve AhlfeldG6–1Sr.Wabash, Indiana
25Doug AllenF6–6Sr.Champaign, Illinois
30John KamstraG6–1Sr.Frankfort, Indiana
31John LaskowskiG/F6–5Sr.South Bend, Indiana
32Mark HaymoreF/C6–8Fr.Shaker Heights, Ohio
33Tom AbernethyF6–7Jr.South Bend, Indiana
34Steve GreenF6–7Sr.Sellersburg, Indiana
40Jim WismanG6–2Fr.Quincy, Illinois
42Scott MayF6–7Jr.Sandusky, Ohio
43Don NoortC6–8Jr.Worth, Illinois
45Jim CrewsG6–5Jr.Normal, Illinois
54Kent BensonC6–11So.New Castle, Indiana

Regular season game against Kentucky

On December 7, 1974, Indiana and Kentucky met in the regular season in Bloomington with a 98–74 Indiana win.[7] Near the end of the game, Indiana coach Bobby Knight went to the Kentucky bench where the official was standing to complain about a call. Before he left, Knight hit Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall in the back of the head.[8] UK's assistant coach Lynn Nance, a former FBI agent who was about 6 feet 5 inches, had to be restrained by Hall from hitting Knight. Hall later said, "It publicly humiliated me."[9]

Knight said the slap to the head was something he has done, "affectionately" to his own players for years. "But maybe someone would not like that", he said. "If Joe didn't like it, I offer an apology. I don't apologize for the intent." ... "Hall and I have been friends for a long time", Knight said. "If he wants to dissolve the friendship, that's up to him."[10] Knight blamed the furor on Hall, noting in his inimitable style, "If it was meant to be malicious, I'd have blasted him into the seats."[11]

NCAA tournament

Following the one-sided regular season game in early December,[7] Indiana and Kentucky met again in the 1975 Elite Eight in Dayton, Ohio, the Mideast regional final. Entering that game on March 22, the top-ranked Hoosiers had a 34-game winning streak and Kentucky (24–4) was ranked fifth. However, Indiana had lost star player Scott May to a broken arm in the regular season finale against Purdue. May scored 25 points in the regular season IU-UK meeting, but he managed only two points in seven minutes in the tournament game, which he played with a cast on his left arm. IU surged out to an early seven-point lead before UK rallied to tie it at 44 by halftime. Despite Indiana's Kent Benson scoring 33 points (13-of-18) and grabbing 23 rebounds, Kentucky won by two points, 92–90.[4][5][6] The game made USA Today's list of the greatest NCAA tournament games of all time.[12] The win put Kentucky in the Final Four in San Diego, where they dropped the NCAA title game to UCLA in John Wooden's final game as head coach.

The loss for Indiana prevented what could have been back-to-back undefeated seasons and national championships as the Hoosiers went on to take the national title in 1976. Bob Knight would later say that this 1974–75 team was the best he ever coached, even better than the undefeated national champions of 1976.

Schedule and results
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Non-conference regular season
11/30/1974*
 No. 3 Tennessee Tech W 113–60  1–0
 Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
12/4/1974*
 No. 3 at No. 7 Kansas W 74–70 OT 2–0
 Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, Kansas
12/7/1974*
 No. 3 No. 15 Kentucky
Indiana–Kentucky rivalry		 W 98–74  3–0
 Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
12/11/1974*
 No. 3 at No. 11 Notre Dame W 94–84  4–0
 Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
12/14/1974*
 No. 3 vs. Texas A&M W 90–55  5–0
 Market Square Arena 
Indianapolis
12/16/1974*
 No. 3 Toledo W 92–70  6–0
 Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
12/20/1974*
 No. 2 Creighton
Indiana Classic		 W 71–53  7–0
 Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
12/21/1974*
 No. 2 Nebraska
Indiana Classic		 W 97–60  8–0
 Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
12/26/1974*
 No. 2 vs. Florida
Rainbow Classic Quarterfinals		 W 98–84  9–0
 Neal S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, HI
12/27/1974*
 No. 2 vs. Ohio State
Rainbow Classic Semifinals		 W 102–71  10–0
 Neal S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, HI
12/30/1974*
 No. 2 vs. Hawaii
Rainbow Classic Championship		 W 69–52  11–0
 Neal S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, HI
Big Ten regular season
1/4/1975
 No. 2 at Michigan State W 107–55  12–0
(1–0)		 Jenison Fieldhouse 
East Lansing, Michigan
1/6/1975
 No. 2 at No. 17 Michigan W 90–76  13–0
(2–0)		 Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, Michigan
1/11/1975
 No. 1 Iowa W 102–49  14–0
(3–0)		 Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
1/13/1975
 No. 1 Minnesota W 79–59  15–0
(4–0)		 Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
1/18/1975
 No. 1 at Northwestern W 82–56  16–0
(5–0)		 Welsh-Ryan Arena 
Evanston, Illinois
1/20/1975
 No. 1 at Wisconsin W 89–69  17–0
(6–0)		 Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, Wisconsin
1/25/1975
 No. 1 No. 20 Purdue
Rivalry		 W 104–71  18–0
(7–0)		 Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
1/27/1975
 No. 1 Illinois
Rivalry		 W 73–57  19–0
(8–0)		 Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
2/1/1975
 No. 1 at Ohio State W 72–66  20–0
(9–0)		 St. John Arena 
Columbus, Ohio
2/3/1975
 No. 1 Michigan W 74–48  21–0
(10–0)		 Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
2/8/1975
 No. 1 at Iowa W 79–56  22–0
(11–0)		 Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, Iowa
2/10/1975
 No. 1 at Minnesota W 69–54  23–0
(12–0)		 Williams Arena 
Minneapolis
2/15/1975
 No. 1 Northwestern W 82–58  24–0
(13–0)		 Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
2/17/1975
 No. 1 Wisconsin W 93–58  25–0
(14–0)		 Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
2/22/1975
 No. 1 at Purdue
Rivalry		 W 83–82  26–0
(15–0)		 Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, Indiana
2/24/1975
 No. 1 at Illinois
Rivalry		 W 112–89  27–0
(16–0)		 Assembly Hall 
Champaign, Illinois
3/1/1975
 No. 1 Ohio State W 86–78  28–0
(17–0)		 Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
3/8/1975
 No. 1 Michigan State W 94–79  29–0
(18–0)		 Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
NCAA Tournament
3/15/1975*
 No. 1 vs. UTEP
Quarterfinals		 W 78–52  30–0
 Memorial Coliseum 
Lexington, Kentucky
3/20/1975*
 No. 1 vs. Oregon State
Sweet Sixteen		 W 81–71  31–0
 University of Daytona Arena 
Dayton, Ohio
3/22/1975*
 No. 1 vs. No. 5 Kentucky
Elite Eight		 L 90–92  31–1
 University of Dayton Arena 
Dayton, Ohio
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Rankings
Main article: 1974–75 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Team players drafted into the NBA
YearRoundPickPlayerNBA Club
1975230Steve GreenChicago Bulls
1975232John LaskowskiChicago Bulls
197612Scott MayChicago Bulls
197617Quinn BucknerMilwaukee Bucks
1976111Bob WilkersonSeattle SuperSonics
1976343Tom AbernethyLos Angeles Lakers
197711Kent BensonMilwaukee Bucks
1978227Wayne RadfordIndiana Pacers

[13]

References
  1. "Indiana Basketball Men's Database". IndyStar. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  2. Damer, Roy (January 8, 1975). "Improved Indiana now No. 1". Chicago Tribune. p. 5, sec. 4.
  3. "Top ranking is 'pressure'". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 8, 1975. p. 17.
  4. McDermott, Barry (March 31, 1975). "It will be a horse race". Sports Illustrated. p. 22.
  5. Damer, Roy (March 23, 1975). "Kentucky topples Indiana by 92–90". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
  6. "Kentucky topples Indiana". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 23, 1975. p. 1, sports.
  7. "Hoosiers blast Kentucky". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. December 8, 1974. p. 3, sec. 3.
  8. "Recapping the rivalry". Retrieved March 22, 2012.
  9. "none". Atlanta Constitution Journal. February 28, 1982.
  10. Laudeman, Tev (December 8, 1974). "none". Louisville Courier Journal.
  11. Delsohn, Steve (2006). Bob Knight: The Unauthorized Biography. Simon & Schuster. pp. 96. ISBN 9780743243483.
  12. Mike Douchant – Greatest 63 games in NCAA Tournament history. The Sports Xchange, published in USA Today, March 25, 2002
  13. "1975 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com". Archived from the original on May 23, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
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