STF State Project: #7 Indiana

We've spent so much time dissecting the upcoming years of misery for the legendary Hoosiers that we should probably go ahead and look back on what was a pretty decent year for the state overall.

Butler, Notre Dame, and Purdue are ready and willing to battle it out for the mantle of the state's top program this season. The IUPUIs and Valpo will no doubt make some noise, as well.

Even with Indiana University likely to hang around the bottom of the state's rankings with Ball State, we should never count out the collective basketball will and savvy of this cradle of basketball. With the NCAA headquartered in the middle of the state, and former Indiana bigwig Myles Brand in charge, how can the state lose?

2008 Breakdown

State winning percentage: .604
Number of teams: 10
NCAA Tournament teams: Butler, Indiana, Notre Dame, Purdue
Conference champions: Butler
Most wins: Butler (30)
Least wins: Ball State (6)
Teams with winning records: Butler, Indiana, IUPUI, Notre Dame, Purdue, Valparaiso
Teams with single digit wins: Ball State, Evansville

Historical breakdown

Most Memorable Team: The undefeated 1975-1976 Hoosiers have to be the cream of a bumper crop. The crimson and cream are obviously one of the legendary programs in basketball history, and have plenty of history to hang their collective hats on, but 32-0 led by Robert Montgomery Knight and Scott May is sublime.

Top Player All-Time: I'm going with the Hick from French Lick. Larry Bird took Indiana State to the pinnacle, and would have given the school in Terre Haute a championship in 1979 if it hadn't been for that durn Magic Johnson. The two would meet again.

Best Vintage Flat-top: Luke Harangody. My favorite wisecrack during our stint as Deadspin closers last season was a response to my rhetorical question "Can anything stop the Irish?" to which a commenter replied "See Potato Famine, circa 1845", or words to that effect. Potatoes or no, Harangody earned POY honors in the brutal Big East.

Best Bowl Cut: This goes to Purdue's Robbie Hummell, who combined the bowl cut with bedhead to dramatic effect.

Favorite Coach: John Wooden coached Indiana State, but I already used him at some other school. I'm going to pick someone current and let the comment section be your sounding board. We like what Ron Hunter has done with his team and his charity at IUPUI, but our top man of the modern era is Valpo's folksy, loyal, wise, effective, damn-decent Homer Drew.

Top Player 2008: Some states, this category causes me ulcers. I really like what the blue-chippers at Indiana, Purdue, and Notre Dame did. And we are big fans of Butler's sharpshooting guards. But IUPUI's George Hill was a force to be reckoned with. At just 6'2", he led the Jaguars in scoring, three-point percentage, rebounding, assists, and steals. He was so good, he got himself drafted in the NBA's first round, even though most fans still don't know who the hell he is.

Best On-Campus Venue: Hinkle Fieldhouse at Butler. The Palestra in Pennsylvania is our most famous gym, but Hinkle has been rising in fame even amongst casual fans, thanks to a little movie called Hoosiers. It's another one on my endagered species list that I just need to visit.



Best NCAA Venue: The RCA Dome has hosted several recent Final Fours of note. Florida's first championship was won there, assuaging the memory of their 2000 loss to Michigan State, which also happened at RCA. Arizona over Kentucky happened there in 1997, and Duke began their glorious run with a victory over Kansas in 1991, proving that some dude named Krzyzewski could, in fact, win the big one.

Most Prestigious Program (ESPN Style): #13 Indiana Hoosiers.

Best Nickname: Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne Mastodons.

STF’s Favorite Program: Casual fans have started to notice the Butler Bulldogs in recent years, as they became a fixture in the NCAA tournament, garnering ever-higher seeds. But we loved them since Barry Collier's version of the team scared the living crap out of Billy Donovan's Gators in 2000, taking them to OT before losing 69-68. That was where they caught our attention.

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