It has been 50 years since the last perfect NCAA champion. Indiana will be honored not far from home

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Bob Knight’s halftime speech on March 29, 1976, was an instant classic.

Indiana’s players remember walking into the locker room, down 35-29 to a Michigan team they’d already beaten twice in close games earlier that season with starting guard Bobby Wilkerson ruled out because of an injury. That’s when the late Hall of Fame coach arrived and issued the challenge that fueled the comeback and made history.

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Indiana responded with one of the most dominant halves in NCAA Tournament history, outscoring the Wolverines 57-33 to rally for an 86-68 victory in Philadelphia. It gave the Hoosiers their third national championship, Knight the first of his three crowns and it remains the last perfect season in Division I men’s basketball 50 years later.

“The greatest game I remember,” starting forward Tom Abernethy recalled during the team’s February reunion. “We had 20 minutes to make history. It could have been the best half of basketball I’ve ever witnessed. The way he (Quinn Buckner) played, (Kent Benson) played unbelievably well in that second half, Scott (May), those three guys they were not going to be held back.”

A half-century later, much to the surprise of the Hoosiers players who used The General’s words to complete a two-year mission, they’re still the last perfect team standing.

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There were a number of undefeated champions before these Hoosiers and there have been close calls since, including Indiana State (31-1 in 1978-79), UNLV (34-1 in 1990-91), Wichita State (35-1 in 2013-14) and Kentucky’s 38-0 start in 2014-15 before losing to Wisconsin in the Final Four.

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The 1975-76 Hoosiers didn’t just set the record for the most wins (32) by an undefeated national champion that season, they dominated opponents.

Knight’s lineup featured six future NBA players, four of whom were top 11 picks, two All-Americans, the Associated Press National Player of the Year and one player, Buckner, who also was…

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Publish date : 2026-04-02 15:40:00

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