Indiana Hoosiers men’s basketball

The Indiana Hoosiers men’s basketball team is a college basketball program representing Indiana University Bloomington in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. The team has been part of the Big Ten Conference since its inception in 1896 and plays its home games at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, located on IU’s campus in Bloomington, Indiana.

Indiana won their first NCAA championship title under head coach Bob Knight in 1981 with an 81-80 win over North Carolina; they have gone on to appear nine times overall and were most recently crowned champions again under Coach Tom Crean with an 87-68 victory against Kansas. They currently hold five national titles—the second most all time behind UCLA—and 20 Big Ten regular season championships as well as seven conference tournament crowns.

In addition to these accomplishments, numerous current NBA players are alumni of the university including Victor Oladipo, Cody Zeller, Eric Gordon and Yogi Ferrell among many others. Legendary coaches that have led the Hoosiers include Branch McCracken (1938–1965), Lou Watson (1966–1971), Bobby Knight (1972–2000), Mike Davis (2001–2006), Kelvin Sampson(2006–2008) Dan Dakich(2008 – 2008) Tom Crean 2009 – 2017 Archie Miller 2018 – Present). Since 1976 no other school has produced more NBA players than IU making them one of college basketball’s top programs for preparing athletes for professional play.

Despite having had some periods where performance declined or was inconsistent throughout their history they remain one of only six teams nationally whose winning percentages exceed .700 from 2000 onward through 2021 which includes consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearances from 2013-2016 and another appearance this past year after going 21‐11 during 2020/2021 season despite pandemic restrictions severely limiting travel opportunities for nonconference matchups which traditionally give teams much needed experience heading into conference play..

In recent years several new traditions have taken shape such as playing ‘Back Home Again…in Indiana’ before every game start along with fans waving white handkerchiefs when opponents shoot free throws something unique within collegiate athletics becoming instantly recognizable symbols synonymous with pride associated not just regionally but across entire country giving rise collective identity shared between generations old young alike reaffirming commitment excellence standards set forth by those who came before while inspiring next wave strive reach same heights if not even higher ones moving forward