Remembering These Banners by Maple Street Press

Remembering These Banners The 30th and 35th anniversaries of two of IU basketball’s greatest teams: 1981 and 1976 by Hugh Kellenberger

here is something to these banners. Something beyond how they hang at one end of Assembly Hall, resplendent in their crimson backdrop and cream lettering. The 1976 NCAA basketball champions. The 1981 NCAA basketball champions.

National champions. The best of the best. Teams that will be remembered forever in Bloomington, in Indianapolis, in Evansville and Fort Wayne and Gary. The young, charismatic coach who was as old school as they come. And his teams—oh man, his teams. The bouncy point guards who just led their teams to victory after victory. The big men who could leap high in the air and bring down seemingly every missed shot. The shooters. The defenders. The way they played, so pure and so driven. It all seems like such a long time ago. This March, it will be 35 years since Bob Knight brought his first national championship back to Bloomington, 30 since he did it again. Those teams were different, but still the same. So was the group that won it all in 1987, but the 24th anniversary is so often downplayed in the building up to number 25. These banners are lasting testament to those teams, because so much has happened in the years since. The shorts got longer and the dunks became more prevalent. The players got mouthier and the coach’s antics became worse. The Tournament runs became shorter and shorter. The scandals were sad at first, then embarrassing. Knight is gone. First to Texas Tech, now as a member of the media he loathed for so long. Mike Davis took over, then Kelvin Sampson. Now it’s Tom Crean’s turn to try to return Indiana to the peak of the college basketball mountain.

Respect for the past

1976 In 2010, every recruiting step Crean makes is followed, reported on, and scrutinized by a vast print and online media contingent. At a time when news is increasingly valued at next-to-nothing and expected to be all but free, a 6'10" junior’s five finalists are worth $10 a month to thousands. That may have not been the case when Bob Knight took the head coaching job at Indiana, but recruiting was still central to the development of the program. Every NCAA champion in history has been built through solid recruiting, evaluating talent, and then convincing those players to come to your university. In the case of Quinn Buckner, even Knight needed an assist. It’s difficult to undervalue just how talented the Dolton, IL, native really was in 1972. Not just in basketball, since he was truly a two-sport star: a sophomore defensive back on a team that won the mythical state title. He would eventually play two seasons of football at Indiana and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in 1976.

On the basketball court, his Thornridge team won the state championship in 1971 and 1972. That team won 58 games in a row, beginning the 6'3" Buckner’s reputation as a pure winner. In 1972, the Falcons won every game by at least 14 points. They rolled to the state title, up by 31 at halftime of the state championship game. Buckner continuingly found 6'7" Boyd Batts, who finished with 37 points, and scored 28 points himself. Buckner was Chicago’s player of the year in both football and basketball as a senior, and had opportunities to play both sports in college. He was so talented that most schools, including Indiana, were willing to go along with the idea of double dipping. Buckner’s father, Bill, made sure it was the Hoosiers, though, who got his son. Bill lettered on the undefeated 1945 football team and had a close friend, Howard Brown, serving as an assistant coach at Indiana. As the story goes, Bill placed the scholarship offer on Buckner’s bed and told him to sign it. Obviously, showing signs of respect that would help him for the next four years, Buckner did just that. Buckner was the star recruit, but the core of the 1976 championship team was built in 1972. Jimmy Crews and Don Noort came from Illinois, Scott May (a football standout himself) and Craig Morris from Ohio, and Knight found two players close to home in Indiana All-Stars Tom Abernethy and Bobby Wilkerson. Four years later, May, Abernethy, Wilkerson, and Buckner were starters. Crews was one of the top bench players in the country.

The 1976 National Champion Indiana Hoosiers were led by Kent Benson (54), Scott May (42), Quinn Buckner (21), and a young Bob Knight. 108 | Hoosier Tip-Off 2010–2011

Photo on previous page: U Media Relations Photo this page: IU Media Relations

There have been 16 wins in the last two seasons, not nearly enough for a fan base that viewed 20 wins as a Godgiven right. And all the patience in the world cannot prevent just a little bit of sadness as opponents take advantage of their chance to knock the Hoosiers around. Perhaps this anniversary means something special then. The hazy memories become vibrant once again when juxtaposed against the mediocrity of present day.

Photo: Courtesy of IU Media Relations

Remembering These Banners Indiana had the talent. All it needed was drive. The first three years of their careers would take care of that. The 1972–73 season was the first in which the NCAA allowed freshmen immediate eligibility. Knight took advantage, inserting Buckner and Crews into this starting lineup. Each averaged ten points a game, but this was Steve Downing and John Ritter’s team. The Hoosiers went 11–3 in the Big Ten and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. They topped Marquette by six in the first round, then Kentucky by seven in the second. That brought Indiana to the Final Four A force down low during Knight’s first national championship and UCLA. Indiana took aim at UCLA’s season, Kent Benson (54) was a two-time All-American and dominance and forced Bill Walton out of Big Ten Player of the Year his senior season. the game with foul trouble. Down, coach John Wooden was forced to insert Walton back into the game. a month later, he was wearing a soft cast. But he had been Walton got the ball on the baseline and there was contact with shooting the ball well in practice, and Knight made the deciDowning. The foul call, a most controversial one, went against sion to start May against Kentucky. Downing, his fourth. A minute later, he picked up his fifth and Kentucky came out with a physical approach, though, left the game. Without the big man, Indiana fell, 70–59. and disrupted Indiana all game. Benson’s basket with 33 “I had a tough time swallowing that loss,” wrote Knight in seconds remaining made it a two-point game (after Indiana his autobiography with Bob Hammel, Knight: My Story. “I’ve trailed by ten with four minutes to go), but Indiana could always considered that fourth foul on Downing one of the two never tie the game, and lost, 92–90. worst big calls my teams have ever had... But, as bad I felt, I It was heartbreak for all involved. told two friends of mine from Orrville, Dick Rhoads and Tony “It was very emotional,” May said to the Bloomington Yonto, on the elevator that evening, ‘We weren’t good enough Herald-Times in 2000. “A really emotional locker room because to win it, but we’ll be back with a team that will win it, soon.’” we’d won 31 in a row and to lose to a team that we had beaten In due time, he was right. by 24 points earlier in the year was just... tough to take.” Knight signed Kent Benson from New Castle that spring, The pain and sorrow of what had happened during the to eventually replace Downing. He got May and Wilkerson last three seasons all led into what was Indiana’s best chance back from academic non-predictor years, where they attended at its first national championship since 1953. Green and John school but could not play or practice with the team. Laskowski were gone, but Abernethy stepped into the starting When the Hoosiers lost to Michigan for the Big Ten lineup, and Wayne Radford, a 6'3" sophomore, stepped up his title (and the accompanying NCAA Tournament appearance) play. May, Buckner, Wilkerson, and Crews were all seniors, the next season, Knight made sure his team won the new battle-tested and hardened by previous successes and few failures. Conference Commissioners Association (CCA) Tournament. With that, the season began in one of the first madeThat set up the special 1974–75 season. With Buckner for-TV events: #1 Indiana vs. #2 UCLA. The Hoosiers and and Steve Green as captains, Indiana won every game it played Bruins (under Gene Bartow, who had replaced Wooden) during the regular season. Green led the team in scoring at 16.6 would meet at 10:40 p.m. on a Saturday in St. Louis, the sight points a game, and May was right behind him at 16.3. Benson, of their memorable 1973 Final Four game. now a sophomore, put in 15, and Buckner had 5.5 assists a night. Most of what became UCLA’s last championship team The first round of the NCAA Tournament was easy, a was still on the court, but May was healthy and determined 78–52 win against UTEP. The second round was not bad to prove it. He came out firing, making 15-of-24 shots for either, beating Oregon State by ten. But then came Kentucky 33 points. Benson added a double-double (17 points, 14 in the regional finals. rebounds), and Indiana pulled away in the second half for a The Hoosiers beat the Wildcats by 24 earlier in the convincing 84–64 victory. season, but that was with a healthy May. The big man had “I’ll always believe that because of [May’s] injury, the fractured his left arm against Purdue on February 22, and best team in the country didn’t get to play for the national © 2010 Maple Street Press, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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“They had Buckner, Benson, and May in foul trouble and never lost their poise,” St. John’s coach Lou Carnesecca said after the game. “I consider it one of the great teams.” Big Ten play began in Columbus, OH, with Benson’s free throws at 0:11 giving the Hoosiers the necessary margin of victory. The Northwestern game on January 5 was most unusual. For one, Wilkerson came off the bench, replaced in the starting lineup by sophomore Jim Wisman. And the Wildcats jumped out to an 18–15 lead, putting Buckner on the bench with three fouls in the process. Wisman did not score and fouled out in 14 minutes, Buckner played only nine minutes himself and scored The 1976 national title was Bob Knight’s first, and the two points. And while Benson had a game-high Hoosiers’ 32–0 record followed up a 1975 campaign in 22 points, he had only two rebounds. Somehow, which they did not lose a game until the Elite Eight. though, the Hoosiers got enough from the rest championship, and I wanted to make that point clear,” of the team to win, 78–61. Knight wrote. Indiana rattled off win after win throughout January, After a dominant win against Florida State on a neutral including a 114–61 victory against Wisconsin that set a Big Ten court in Indianapolis, the Hoosiers came home to play Notre record for consecutive basketball victories. On February 10, Dame. Indiana was not at its best, though, up by five at Benson and Michigan State’s Terry Furlow engaged in a shoohalftime and letting the Irish stick around. Buckner missed tout. Furlow scored 40, one point shy of Downing’s Assembly two free throws in the final minute, and Notre Dame pulled Hall record, but Benson had 38, and Indiana won, 85–70. within a point, but Buckner made the most of a second oppor“I’d just like to borrow him for one quarter,” Michigan tunity at the line. His two points with 11 seconds remaining State coach Gus Ganakas said afterward. “He plays like he’s in gave Indiana a 63–60 win. the NBA.” The same thing happened four days later, against A 20-point win against Iowa on February 23 gave Buckner Kentucky in Louisville. The Wildcats and Hoosiers went his 100th career win and Indiana a fourth straight Big Ten title, into overtime before Benson (27 points, 14 boards) made with three games to go. There was no letdown, but a poignant sure Indiana got the win. moment came in the regular season finale. It was Ohio State Never one to let a team rest on its laurels, Knight let coach Fred Taylor’s last game before entering retirement. loose with a classic barb at a banquet to celebrate the beginKnight, who played for Taylor with the Buckeyes, made sure ning of the second-annual Indiana Classic. there was a ceremony before the game to honor him. “We just out struggled them,” Knight said afterward. “I “Most of what [Indiana was] doing, you’re responsible think my team needs an enema.” for,” Knight said during the ceremony. “And I’ll tell you one Okay then. thing, they don’t like all of it.” With that, Indiana was back to dominating its opponents. It was also Senior Day for that spectacular class, one of, if Georgia went down, 93–56, in the first round of the Classic, not the, best in Big Ten history. and May had 27 points in 23 minutes during a 101–74 win “Take a good look at these kids,” Knight said to the against Virginia Tech. Indiana led the Gobblers, now the adoring crowd. “Because you’re never going to see the likes of Hokies, 41–15 at one point during the game. them again.” On a trip to New York, Indiana beat Columbia 106–63, With the celebration and pageantry over, it was time for Manhattan 97–61, and St. John’s 76–69. A then Madison Indiana to begin the second season, the NCAA Tournament. Square Garden record crowd for a college game, 19,694, The goal was clear: remain undefeated and win a championship. saw the final game. Four Indiana starters had foul trouble St. John’s was walloped by 20 in the opener, and both (Wilkerson fouled out, while May, Buckner, and Benson each Alabama and Marquette went down in Indianapolis. That set finished with four infractions), but May’s 29 points powered up a rematch with UCLA in the Final Four, familiar territory the Hoosiers to the win. given what had happened with Kentucky a year before.

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Photo: IU Media Relations

Respect for the past

Remembering These Banners

Photo: IU Media Relations

But the Bruins were no match for the Hoosiers. Up by eight at intermission, Indiana’s two baskets to open the second half gave it a comfortable 12-point lead. Defense was the story of the day, as the Hoosiers kept the ball from going inside and forced UCLA into a 34.4% shooting day. The championship game featured a familiar opponent, Michigan. The Wolverines played the Hoosiers twice in the regular season, losing by a combined 11 points. It was not hyperbole when Knight said before the game that Michigan had been the toughest opponent of the season. But this Indiana team was special and willing to display once again its unique blend of skill and focus. It did not matter that Wilkerson was lost with a concussion just three minutes into the game. Wisman came off the bench and delivered six assists in 21 minutes. Michigan was up by six at halftime. According to accounts of the game, Knight was calm when he entered the locker room, said that Wilkerson was resting comfortably at a local hospital, and then delivered his message: “The next 20 minutes are going to go down in history if we just play like we are capable of playing.” It took five minutes for Indiana to tie the game and begin the heavyweight bout, trading punches for several moments. Freshman Rich Valavicius came off the bench and hit a jump shot to make it 55–51 with nine minutes remaining. Still up by four, May knocked down a basket to start an 8–0 run. After that, Indiana could afford to spread the floor and pick apart Michigan, winning 86–68.

The championship that had eluded the Hoosiers was finally theirs, and the celebration was joyous. Knight put his arms around Buckner and May in the moments after the final buzzer had sounded. Knight wore a smile—that distinctive grin—across his face. May and Buckner looked relieved, the embodiment of men who had survived and accomplished their mission. Undefeated national champions, something no team has done since. Knight, 35, became one of the youngest coaches to win a championship. May, named National Player of the Year, joined Buckner and Benson as All-Americans. It was truly one of the greatest teams in history. The letter Knight’s mentor, Clair Bee, wrote to him after the 1975 heartbreak fueled Knight during the 1976 season. It also provided a hint of what was to come. “Take a deep breath,” Bee wrote. “Get your bearings. Set your sights on even greater heights and start all over again.”

1981 After the 1976 season was completed, Wilkerson, May, and Buckner were each drafted into the NBA. Abernathy and Crews graduated. That left Benson as the only returning starter. Six freshmen were recruited to fill the void, and they were hailed as perhaps better than the 1972 group that had just become the winningest class in Big Ten history. What happened, though, was a classic story of no matter how talented you are as a coach, and how established your program is, there are going to be recruiting misses. Butch Carter,

Isiah Thomas, fourth from the right, almost looks hidden in the team picture for the 1981 team, which would go on to win Bob Knight’s second national title. © 2010 Maple Street Press, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Respect for the past Thomas’s mother, Mary, made sure he made that trip to the suburbs every day, and not just to play basketball. Her worry was education, and that was still the priority when it came time to decide on a college. “Kids nowadays, they get to decide,” Thomas told ESPN Chicago after his mother’s passing earlier this year. “When I was coming up, my mom had a press conference and said, ‘We decided my son is going to Indiana.’” During Thomas’s freshman season, he assumed a leadership role when Woodson was sidelined with a back injury. A team that could have won the NCAA championship went down in the Sweet 16 and lost two important seniors, but that time in Thomas’s career would help the Hoosiers in 1981. The obscenely young team of two seasons prior was now a cast of veterans, if not in age then experience. Grunwald was back, albeit slowed by two knee injuries. Ray Tolbert was the big man inside, delighting Assembly Hall crowds with his ferocious dunks. Ted Kitchel and Randy Wittman, two Indiana-bred kids, were both third-year sophomores, having taken redshirts. And Landon Turner, even if he often joked that he built Knight’s doghouse with his inconsistent play, was undeniably skilled. Senior forward Steve Risley and sophomore guards Tony Brown and Jim Thomas would each start games during the championship season and provide a lift off the bench. The talent was there, and no longer did it lack experience. But during the brief lean period, Woodson and Carter had become important to the Hoosiers—the unifying thread that had now unraveled. It did not help matters that Thomas, fresh off leading the US Olympic team to gold that summer, sat out the 1980–81 season opener with a pulled groin muscle. Ray McCallum, who would later coach at Indiana as an assistant to Kelvin Sampson, had upset on his mind when he came to Assembly Hall with Ball State. McCallum scored 25 points in that game, three with no time left on the scoreboard. An oddity, to be sure. The score was 75–63 when Ball State reserve Mark Thurston drove the lane. Thurston collided with Steve Bouchie, and Turner leaped from behind his teammate to block the shot. One official called for a foul. Another called goaltending. And Knight, enraged by it all, drew two technical fouls. McCallum came off the bench to make 3-of-4 technical free throws, and the final margin was 75–69. Thomas was back on the court against Murray State, scoring 21 points before fouling Thomas was a tough-nosed leader, albeit as just a out. But the Racers led 39–38 early in the sophomore, on the 1981 national championship team.

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Photo: IU Media Relations

Bill Cunningham, Glen Grunwald, Derek Holcomb, Mike Miday, and Mike Woodson entered Indiana in the fall of 1976. Miday and Holcomb were gone by the next season. Cunningham followed a year later. Grunwald, in part because of injuries, never became more than a reserve. That left Woodson and Carter to share the load. The two were up to the task, willing to take the handoff from Benson and carry the team post-championship. But it was not enough. The Hoosiers missed the postseason in 1977 and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 1978. There was an NIT championship in 1979, with eight sophomores and freshmen on the roster. Woodson and Carter finished out their careers in 1979–80, but that season may be best remembered for a precocious young point guard by the name of Isiah. Isiah Thomas came to Bloomington in 1979, a 6'1" burst of energy from Chicago. So talented was Thomas, that he was recruited for high school. Gene Pingatore, who would acquire a certain amount of fame for his role in the documentary Hoop Dreams more than a decade later, convinced Thomas to attend St. Joseph’s High School in suburban Westchester. Thomas took three buses and the train to get to school from his home in West Chicago. What he brought with him was a tremendous talent, but also a mean streak that would be with him throughout his career. That was chronicled in a 2006 Slate.com profile of Thomas, then in charge of the New York Knicks. “I was running around a screen,” a former opponent said in the article. “He grabbed me and pulled us both down to the floor, and I was called for charging. Dirty play? Sure. But a smart one, I guess, because it worked. As we got up, he whispered, ‘Sucka.’”

Photo: Courtesy of IU Media Relations

Remembering These Banners second half when Thomas missed a shot. Tolbert rose high through the air, though, and dunked the ball home. The home crowd delighted in the effort and became electrified when Tolbert immediately stole the ball at midcourt and dunked it again. Thomas stole another pass and went through two defenders for the first dunk of his college career. Now 2–0, it was time for Indiana to face rival Kentucky. The Hoosiers were #5 in the nation, the Wildcats #2. The game played out as evenly as one would have expected, standing at 62–62 with 3:27 remaining in the game. Kentucky dropped back into a 1-3-1 zone, forcing Knight to make a decision: back off and play for the last shot, or draw Kentucky out of the zone. He chose to have his team work for a shot either over the zone or inside it. A full minute ticked away as the Hoosiers looked for the right opportunity. Thomas broke into the middle and forced 7'1" center Sam Bowie to move up and cover him. Tolbert raced down the baseline and got himself in position to catch Thomas’s lofting, alley-oop pass. It was not meant to be. The ball rimmed out and into Wildcat hands. Charles Hurt, a UK reserve, grabbed a rebound on the other end and put it back in. Kitchel’s 18-footer with 1:32 remaining tied the game at 64. Thomas went for a steal on the next possession but instead fouled Kentucky’s Dirk Minniefield. He made both free throws, and Kentucky had a lead it would not relinquish. “It was... unfortunate,” Thomas said afterward. “You can’t say he should have made the shot. You can’t say I shouldn’t have thrown the pass. I threw it right and he shot it right. It just missed.” The 2–0 start was completely forgotten when Indiana followed the Kentucky loss with one to Notre Dame. John Paxson occupied Thomas, Turner’s 23 points were not enough, and the Irish got the lead for good with a 7–0 run midway through the second half. The struggles against Kentucky and Notre Dame were a sign of things to come. The 1975–76 Hoosiers were a study in prolonged excellence, the cap on a two-year run of near perfection. The 1980–81 Hoosiers were a work in progress, a team with all the necessary parts but with a few loose screws that only time could tighten. After convincing wins against California, Baylor, and Oral Roberts, Dean Smith’s North Carolina team welcomed Indiana to Chapel Hill and sent the Hoosiers home with a 65–56 loss. Indiana was 5–0 against mediocre competition and 0–3 against ranked teams. But Smith was not ready to dismiss this team. “I think Indiana has a great team,” said Smith, the gentleman of college basketball. “Time will tell.”

Though sometimes overlooked by the casual observer when talking about the ‘81 team, Ray Tolbert was named the Big Ten Player of the Year that season. The back-and-forth play continued. The Hoosiers beat Kansas Sate and Rutgers, but lost to Clemson and Pan American to close out the non-conference schedule. “From our standpoint, we did not come out of this as solidly as we would have liked,” Knight said at the time. “There’s a certain way we have to play in our league, and we’re certainly not there yet.” Indiana beat Michigan State behind Thomas’s 20 to start the Big Ten season, and defeated its first ranked opponent of the season, #12 Illinois, behind the Kitchel show. Kitchel scored 40 points on 11-of-13 from the field and 18-of-18 from the free-throw line, and Knight praised his effort going to the basket and getting to the charity stripe. Indiana dipped with a loss to Michigan and another defeat a week later, at home to Iowa. A four-game winning streak provided hope that the turnaround had happened, but then Indiana lost to Purdue in West Lafayette and again to Iowa. The Hawkeyes and Hoosiers had been tied for the Big Ten lead. Maybe it was Thomas’s ejection from the Iowa game. Maybe it was coming back home. Maybe Knight’s prodding was finally working. But Indiana was on the verge of a tengame run that ended with a trophy. Minnesota came to Assembly Hall on February 21 and was in the game when Turner grabbed a rebound and wheeled around to an open court. With Thomas at his side, barking for the ball, Turner went up for a dunk that gave the Hoosiers a comfortable lead. Ohio State lost to Indiana, 74–58. So did Michigan, by the score of 98–83.

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Respect for the past

The Hoosiers went back on the road and topped then #16 Illinois by three points. In a sign of the Hoosiers’ growth, the critical baskets came when the team followed Knight’s spread offense game plan with precision. Two days later, Indiana finished out the regular season with a 21-point beating of Michigan State. Iowa lost to Ohio State and, in the process, the Big Ten championship to Indiana. Afterward, Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote called Oregon State the team to beat and Indiana a team capable of playing in the Final Four, as long as it could play each game either tied or ahead. Thomas was the first sophomore at Indiana to be named an All-American. Tolbert took home Big Ten MVP honors. Perhaps most important, Indiana was entering the NCAA Tournament with its longest winning streak of the season. Maryland jumped out to an 8–0 lead in the first round, but the Hoosiers ended up scoring 99 points to Maryland’s next 56. UAB (by then coached by Bartow) was no match either, falling by 15. Indiana came to play against St. Joseph’s University and sent the Hawks back to Philadelphia with a 32-point loss. The Hoosiers would follow—for the Final Four. “I just looked at Zeke [Thomas],” Tolbert said after the win. “And I said, ‘We’re going.’” So was LSU, the SEC champion, and two ACC teams— the regular season champs, Virginia, and the tournament winner, North Carolina. LSU was up first for Indiana. Thomas, so excited he woke up at 6 a.m., and his teammates struggled in the first half. The Hoosiers missed their last ten shots, Thomas sat with foul trouble, and LSU led 30–27 at the break. “I told them, ‘We don’t need to do anything differently,’” Knight said, according to accounts. “‘Let’s just settle down and relax.’”

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While the paths were different, the results were the same. Leadership from the point guard position. A dominant big man. A second big man with the ability to take over a game. And a cast of role players that did their jobs so very well. On this, the 30th anniversary of the 1980–81 champions and the 35th of the 1975–76 title-winners, it all seems so magical. It wasn’t. It was the result of hard work, on the recruiting trail, on the practice court, and during games. It was honest work, done the old-fashioned way, with no shortcuts. It was Indiana. MSP

Hugh Kellenberger is a reporter with the Bloomington Herald-Times, where he has worked since 2008. He provides coverage of IU basketball and football, including columns on IU basketball, and is the lead high school writer in a basketball-crazy part of the country.

Photo: IU Media Relations

Quinn Buckner is part of a rare group of basketball players that have won championships at the high school, college, professional, and Olympic levels.

Tolbert, who was 1-of-5 in the first half, grabbed Kitchel’s miss to start the second half and threw it down. Indiana was back. Jim Thomas came off the bench and led the team with nine rebounds and blocked two shots as Indiana pulled away. The rematch was set, with Indiana and North Carolina meeting for the national title. Smith and Knight, ever the contrast in coaching styles, going head-to-head was surely a delight for the basketball purists. The Tar Heels, like the Tigers had done two days before, jumped out to an early lead in the title game. They were up 8–2, then 16–8. Wittman’s shot from the deep corner gave Indiana its first lead, 26–25, at the break. Like Michigan some five years ago, North Carolina felt like it had a chance. But the Hoosiers were ready to bust out during the second half. Thomas grabbed two steals in the opening minutes, finished both, and the Hoosiers had a 33–28 advantage. It was 39–30 with 15:23 remaining when Thomas again scored twice. He had 19 of his team-high 23 points in the second half and Indiana led 55–41 when North Carolina tried to make a run, one that ultimately failed. Forced to foul, the Tar Heels watched as the Hoosiers made 8-of-10 free throws in the last 1:22. It was all over, and Thomas threw the ball into the air with as much jubilation, Bloomington Herald-Telephone (now Herald-Times) reporter Bob Hammel noted in his account of the game, as Buckner had done some five years before. Indiana won its last ten games in 1980–81. It certainly was not season-long perfection, but the Hoosiers were unbeatable when it mattered most. More importantly, they were national champions again. The second title in six seasons and, with it, another banner to be hung in Assembly Hall.