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1939–40 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team

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1939–40 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball
NCAA tournament National champions
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record20–3 (9–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coachRalph Graham
CaptainMarv Huffman
Home arenaThe Fieldhouse
Seasons
1939–40 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Purdue 10 2   .833 16 4   .800
Indiana 9 3   .750 20 3   .870
Ohio State 8 4   .667 13 7   .650
Illinois 7 5   .583 14 6   .700
Northwestern 7 5   .583 13 7   .650
Michigan 6 6   .500 13 7   .650
Minnesota 5 7   .417 12 8   .600
Iowa 4 8   .333 9 12   .429
Wisconsin 3 9   .250 5 15   .250
Chicago 1 11   .083 5 15   .250


The 1939–40 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represented Indiana University. Their head coach was Branch McCracken, who was in his 2nd year. The team played its home games in The Fieldhouse in Bloomington, Indiana, and was a member of the Big Ten Conference.[1]

The Hoosiers finished the regular season with an overall record of 17–3 and a conference record of 9–3, finishing 2nd in the Big Ten Conference to the Purdue Boilermakers. Purdue was invited to participate in the 8-team NCAA tournament, but declined their bid recommending IU play in the tournament in their place. In only the second national tournament, IU won their first NCAA Tournament Championship by defeating Kansas, 60–42, in the final. Indiana was also retroactively recognized as the national champion by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.[2]

Roster

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No. Name Position Ht. Year Hometown
7 Andy Zimmer C 6–4 So. Goodland, Indiana
9 Chet Francis G 6–1 Jr. Avon, Indiana
10 Harold Zimmer F 5–8 Jr. Springfield, Ohio
11 Everett Hoffman C 6–3 So. Evansville, Indiana
12 Jim Gridley G 6–1 Jr. Vevay, Indiana
13 Jim Ooley G 6–2 Sr. Spencer, Indiana
16 James Clifton C 6–3 Jr. Bentonville, Indiana
18 Cliff Wiethoff F 6–1 So. Seymour, Indiana
19 Ed Newby G 5–11 So. Indianapolis, Indiana
20 Jack Stevenson F 6–1 Sr. Indianapolis, Indiana
21 Max Hasler G 5–10 So. Elnora, Indiana
22 Jay McCreary G 5–10 Jr. Frankfort, Indiana
23 Don Huckleberry G 5–9 So. Salem, Indiana
24 John Torphy F 5–11 So. Bedford, Indiana
25 Bill Frey F 6–1 So. Kokomo, Indiana
26 Tom Motter F 6–1 Jr. Fort Wayne, Indiana
28 William Torphy G 6–1 So. Bedford, Indiana
29 Robert Menke F 6–3 Jr. Huntingburg, Indiana
30 Ralph Dorsey F 5–10 Sr. Horse Cave, Kentucky
32 Herm Schaefer F 6–1 Jr. Fort Wayne, Indiana
33 Curly Armstrong F 5–11 Jr. Fort Wayne, Indiana
34 Marv Huffman G 6–2 Sr. New Castle, Indiana
35 William Menke C 6–3 Jr. Huntingburg, Indiana
38 Bob Dro G 5–11 Sr. Berne, Indiana

Schedule/Results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
12/9/1939*
Wabash W 37–24  1–0
The Fieldhouse 
Bloomington, Indiana
12/11/1939*
Xavier W 58–24  2–0
The Fieldhouse 
Bloomington, Indiana
12/15/1939*
at Nebraska W 49–39  3–0
Nebraska Coliseum 
Lincoln, Nebraska
12/18/1939*
Pittsburgh W 51–35  4–0
The Fieldhouse 
Bloomington, Indiana
12/23/1939*
at Butler W 40–33  5–0
Butler Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis
12/27/1939*
at Duquesne W 51–49  6–0
Duquesne Gardens 
Pittsburgh
12/28/1939*
at Villanova W 45–33  7–0
Villanova Field House 
Villanova, Pennsylvania
1/6/1940
Illinois
Rivalry
W 38–36  8–0 (1–0)
The Fieldhouse 
Bloomington, Indiana
1/8/1940
Iowa W 45–30  9–0 (2–0)
The Fieldhouse 
Bloomington, Indiana
1/13/1940
at Minnesota L 44–46  9–1 (2–1)
Minnesota Field House 
Minneapolis
1/15/1940
at Wisconsin W 40–34  10–1 (3–1)
Wisconsin Field House 
Madison, Wisconsin
2/3/1940*
at DePaul W 51–30  11–1 (3–1)
University Auditorium 
Chicago
2/10/1940
Purdue
Rivalry
W 46–39  12–1 (4–1)
The Fieldhouse 
Bloomington, Indiana
2/12/1940
Michigan W 57–30  13–1 (5–1)
The Fieldhouse 
Bloomington, Indiana
2/17/1940
at Northwestern L 36–40  13–2 (5–2)
Old Patten Gymnasium 
Evanston, Illinois
2/19/1940
at Iowa W 46–42  14–2 (6–2)
Iowa Field House 
Iowa City, IA
2/24/1940
Chicago W 38–34  15–2 (7–2)
The Fieldhouse 
Bloomington, Indiana
2/26/1940
at Ohio State L 26–44  15–3 (7–3)
Ohio Expo Center Coliseum 
Columbus, Ohio
3/2/1940
at Purdue
Rivalry
W 51–45  16–3 (8–3)
Lambert Fieldhouse 
West Lafayette, Indiana
3/4/1940
Ohio State W 52–31  17–3 (9–3)
The Fieldhouse 
Bloomington, Indiana
NCAA tournament
3/22/1940*
vs. Springfield
Quarterfinals
W 48–24  18–3 (9–3)
Butler Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis,IN
3/23/1940*
vs. Duquesne
Final Four
W 39–30  19–3 (9–3)
Butler Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis
3/30/1940*
vs. Kansas
Championship
W 60–42  20–3 (9–3)
Municipal Auditorium 
Kansas City, Missouri
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^ "Indiana Basketball Men's Database". IndyStar. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  2. ^ ESPN, ed. (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. New York: ESPN Books. p. 553. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.