Part Five: The 1987 Indiana Hoosier National Championship Team
Written by: Ben Malcomson (@malcomsonben)
Part One: The 1940 Indiana Hoosiers
Part Two: The 1953 Indiana Hoosiers
Part Three: The 1976 Indiana Hoosiers
Part Four: The 1981 Indiana Hoosiers
It had been just six short years since Indiana had stood on top of the NCAA mountain top. Now, in 87, the chance was there again. In the future, IU would make other deep runs into the tourney. In 2002, a trip to the final game. In 92, a trip to the final four. In 93, a run to the elite eight and in 94, 2013 and 2016 - runs in the sweet sixteen.
So, let us reflect back on that magical season. In 1986, John Feinstein’s book "A Season on the Brink " was the story of the season. Indiana had finished second in the Big Ten one game behind Michigan. The season record was 21 and 8. In 84, they had finished third and in 85 they had finished seventh so for the seniors , Alford, Meier, and Thomas they faced the very real fact that they could be the very first four year group under Knight to not win at least one Big Ten title.
Knight had gone out over the off season and brought in two junior college players, Keith Smart and Dean Garrett. Garrett would provide much needed height and Smart quickness and athletic ability.
Like the 76 and 81 teams, the 87 team played an exhibition game against the Russians. Unlike the two other teams, these Hoosiers trailed the Russians in the final minutes 91 to 88. However, Daryl Thomas buried a shot then connected on six free throws to lead Indiana to a 97 to 95 victory. In the game, Thomas had 24, Alford 23, and sophomore Ricky Calloway led the way with 25. Alford led the way in victories over Notre Dame and #13 Kentucky with 26 points in each game. After a 3 game winning streak on December 9th, they traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to take on Will Perdue and Vanderbilt Commodores where they lost 79 to 75. In that game, Ricky Calloway went down with a knee injury and many Hoosier fans he might be through for the season.
Three more victories brought the Louisville Cardinals to Bloomington on December 23rd. The Hoosiers won 67 to 58 behind Dean Garrett's 12 points and 11 rebounds against Louisville's star center Pervis Ellison while holding Ellison in check. The Hoosiers would host Princeton in Indianapolis in the Indiana Classic. Alford hit on 8 of 11 threes to lead Indiana to an 83 to 54 victory. The next night in the championship game Indiana defeated Illinois State 82 to 58 for another Classic Championship.
The Big Ten season opened for the Hoosiers in Columbus, Ohio. It would be Keith Smart 's time to shine. He scored 31 points on 13 of 18 shooting before leaving with a twisted ankle. Alford took over scoring 10 straight and IU won 92 to 80. In that game, Alford added 22 points followed by Calloway's 20.
Indiana had a victory over Michigan State and when traveled to Michigan, Gary Grant went to the free throw line with the game tied. He would hit his first but miss his second. Thomas grabbed the rebound and hit Alford with the pass speeding down court Alford pulled up and hit a ten foot jump shot as time expired. No one will ever forget seeing Coach Knight jumping up as ND down spinning around and dancing off the court after Steve's shot. After winning 2 over Wisconsin and Northwestern, the Hoosiers traveled to Iowa. Iowa was ranked number one in the nation and undefeated. The Hawkeyes led 33 to 20 before Indiana brought the game within two, 46 to 44. However, Iowa closed the game out with an 8 -0 run to win 101 to 88. It would be the first time an opposing team had scored 100 points against a Knight led team. Knight was so impressed with Iowa that he told the team they would have to win their next 8 games before playing Iowa again to have a chance at the Big Ten title.
Indiana would do just that including wins over #12 Illinois and number #4 Purdue at home. Iowa came to Bloomington down two games to IU. The Hoosiers led at half time 46 to 27 winning 84 to 75. However, much to Hoosier fans disappointment IU lost their next two road games against Purdue and Illinois, after the Illinois loss Indiana stood at 14 and 3 while Purdue was 15 and 2. On March 7th, IU beat Ohio State 90 to 81 and closing his senior speech Alford told the crowd let's go home and root for Michigan. Michigan would indeed beat Purdue that day 104 to 68.
Indiana would get the number one seed in the Midwest scheduled to be played in the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. In the first round of the NCAA, Indiana destroyed Fairfield 92 to 58 as Garrett, Thomas, and Calloway combined for 51 points. In the second round, Indiana faced Auburn Tigers. The Hoosiers charged back in the second half behind Alford 's 31 points hitting 7 threes. Smart would add 20 points, 15 assists, and 9 rebounds. Thomas added 27 points and 8 rebounds while Calloway threw in 18 points and 13 boards.
It was to the regionals in Cincinnati, Ohio and a sweet sixteen appearance against #17 Duke. The Hoosiers won 88 to 82 behind 21 points from both Calloway and Smart while all five starters scored in double figures. Next up was Dale Brown's LSU Tigers. In the second half LSU lead the Hoosiers 75 to 66 with 4:38 to go. Baskets by Garrett, Hillman, and Thomas brought the Hoosiers back to two points down. A missed LSU free throw with 26 seconds left gave the Hoosiers the ball down one. Indiana worked the ball around and Thomas got the all in the middle as time was running out as Thomas went up for the shot the ball slipped out of his hands Calloway grabbed the ball and but in the basket as time expired and Indiana won 77 to 76 it was on to New Orleans and the final four for the Hoosiers.
The #2 Hoosiers would take on UNLV. Knight would surprise everyone by running with UNLV. Indiana led 53 to 47 at half in the second half IU went on a 12 to 2 run and never looked back winning 97 to 93 behind Alford 's 33 points, Garrett had 18 points and 11 rebounds while Calloway added 12 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.
The championship game would pit Indiana against Syracuse the first half went back and fourth with Alford hitting a three at the end of the first half to give the Hoosiers a 34 to 33 lead. The second half was also back and fourth but the Orangemen led late with a one point led Syracuse had a one and one free throw chance with 28 seconds left however a missed free throw gave Indiana the ball and a chance to win at the end. The Hoosiers worked for a good shot and Smart kicked the ball into Thomas who faked a shot then kicked it back out to Smart who raised up and buried a jumper to give Indiana the win 74 to 73 and a fifth NCAA Title. Smart would be the Most Outstanding Player of the tourney. It would be a shot that would forever go down in Hoosier lore.