1940 was the first National Championship for Indiana in basketball, following a 60-42 win over Kansas. Coach Branch McCracken led the charge and established the scoring mark that has proven to be magical in Hoosier round-ball history. No one has ever worn jersey #60 in basketball, but it just might might deserve future consideration. It’s the number the team needs to get to first to assure a win, as proven through years of game research. However, back in 1940, the championship game was the first time they ever actually got to 60-points in 20 victories that year. Sixty is not necessarily an offensive goal, but rather a defensive standard.
In recently talking with Jeff Oliphant, a member of the 1987 National Champions, he indicated that Coach Knight would often write the number 63 on the strategy board as a defensive goal, much as Coach Woodson in his first year quickly enforced lap-running penalties for turnovers over 12 in his first year of coaching. This was talked about frequently by the game announcers early in the season. I wondered if “The General” was as conscious of the importance of 60, as I was as a fan, and was his number of 63 an adjustment after the shot clock and 3-point shot came into play? Even without those new rules that favored more offense, Jeff and I watched the Maryland victory together, as the 2022 team held the Terps to 55 points while committing only 10 turnovers. At the midpoint of the season, it was easily their best performance so far and my 60-point level still commanded a timeless place in securing victory.
Woodson has added a welcome spark to a program that has badly suffered since the Knight era. Mike Davis capitalized on Knight recruits to get to the final game in 2002. Then came Kelvin Sampson and recruiting violations, Tom Crean who missed the tourney five times in nine years, and Archie Miller who couldn’t beat Purdue or even make the NCAA field of 68. Strong defense has once again become a I.U. priority, but they allowed Syracuse to get to 60 first and lost in double overtime. They then got stuck on 59 for the last three minutes of the game against Wisconsin and they cruised by us for the 64-59 victory. This is an excellent example of how important that magical 60-mark is in closing out a game.
IU did not get to 60 in the 61-58 loss to Penn State, while Iowa held them at the 57-threshold for nearly two minutes and eventually passed them up for victory 83-74. The Hoosiers hit 57 against rival Purdue at the 10:28 mark of the second half with an 8-point lead and finally got to 61 at 7:34 on a Race Thompson dunk, then held on for victory, snapping a 9-game Boiler winning streak. Even in the early stages of the Woodson campaign, the “rule of 60” has already played a significant role. Quite simply, if the Hoosiers get to that pivotal point first, they win.
2021-22 defensive averages are some of the best in team history, dating back to the fifties. So far, IUD has limited opponents to 63-points per game. Only the Mike Davis finalist team of 2001-02 at 62.6, Tom Crean’s 2012-13 average of 62,1, Kelvin Sampson’s 2006-07 61.8. and Bob Knight’s 1980-81 championship team at 58.5 have been better on opponent points per game. All of those teams had at least first round tourney success. Averages then predictably swelled into the 70.0 range with the addition of the 3-pointer in 1986-87. Steve Alford used it to perfection in winning our 5th National Crown that year, but it has appeared to be our nemesis ever since.
Data provided by Gracenote, A Nielsen Company. Copyright © 2000-2022 Sports Reference LLC. All rights reserved.
Leave a Reply