Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall
The legend continues in Bloomington, Indiana. The Indiana University Hoosiers have won five national championships, appeared in eight Final Fours and earned 22 regular season Big Ten titles throughout their 119-year history. The Hoosiers play out of the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, which first opened in 1971 as Assembly Hall and currently seats 17,222.
Indiana Hoosiers Men's Basketball History
The University of Indiana first fielded a men's basketball team in 1901, going 1-4 in their first season under James H. Home, but eventually getting a foothold in the nascent Big Ten conference, winning their first share of a conference championship in 1926 under coach Everett Dean. Legendary Hoosiers player Branch McCracken coached Indiana from 1938 to 1965, with a hiatus from 1943 to 1946 while serving as a lieutenant in the United States Navy during World War II. Under McCracken, the Hoosiers won their first two NCAA tournament championships in 1940 and 1953. In 1971, Indiana hired Bob Knight away from Army, changing the course of Big Ten basketball forever. Knight became a household name while coaching the Hoosiers, leading Indiana to national championships in 1976, 1981 and 1987.
The 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers are the last Division I men's basketball team to date to have achieved a perfect season, going 32-0 and defeating the Michigan Wolverines in Philadelphia for their third national championship. Keith Smart's game-winning shot with six seconds left gave Indiana a 74-73 victory over Syracuse in the 1987 national championship game. Many legends have played for the Hoosiers over the years, including Isiah Thomas, identical twins Tom and Dick Van Arsdale, Kent Benson, Steve Alford, Cody Zeller and Eric Gordon.
