1967–68 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball team

The 1967–68 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball team represented Indiana State University during the 1968 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament. The Sycamores won 19 games in the regular season and were led by Jerry Newsom. He led the Sycamores to the national title game versus a George Tinsley-led Kentucky Wesleyan team, and ended the season as national runner-up with a record of 23–8.

1967–68 Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball
Indiana Collegiate Conference champions
ConferenceIndiana Collegiate Conference
Ranking
APNo. 3 (PreSeason), #9 (Final Poll)
Record23–8 (9–3 ICC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaIndiana State Arena
Seasons

Regular season

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During the 1967–68 season, Indiana State finished with a non-conference record of 10–4; they placed 3rd in the Golden Spike Tournament hosted by Weber State (Utah); shared (with DePauw) the championship of the highly competitive Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) with a 9–3 record; spent eleven (of fourteen) weeks ranked in the top ten in the country for the season; their streak of 23 consecutive weeks in the AP Top Ten came to an end after dropping 3 out of 4 games in mid-season. They closed out the season by winning 6 consecutive games to win the conference title and qualify for the NCAA tournament; they would eventually stretch their winning streak to 10 games until losing the NCAA title game.[1] The Sycamores finished the regular season with a record of 23–8, 9–3.

Newsom received several honors at the end of regular season. He won the ICC Player of the Year, was named All-ICC for the third time and was a consensus All-American. The co-captain also led the conference in scoring with an average of 27.3; while leading the Trees in scoring in 28 games; he collected 14 double-doubles on the season and led the team in rebounding 17 times.

Newsome was not the only weapon for Stauffer's Sycamores; Rich Mason led the conference in rebounding, grabbing an average of 13 per game and was named 1st Team All-Conference. Mike Copper, the other co-captain was named Honorable Mention All-Conference and Fred Hardman was named to the All-NCAA tournament team.

Roster

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The Sycamores were led by Newsom, the ICC Player of the Year, and his 26.1 scoring average. He was followed by Mike Copper's 17.8 average. The starting lineup also included Fred Hardman, Rich Mason and Steve Hollenbeck. Howard Humes and Mike Phillips were key reserves. The remainder of the roster consisted of Dan Chitwood, Ken Hass, John McIntire, Jerry Novak, Jim Waldrip, Don Weirich and Tom Zellers.[2]

No. Name Position Ht. Year Hometown
13 Howard Humes G 6–0 Jr. Madison, Indiana
20 Don Weirich F 6–4 So. Middlebury, Indiana
22 Rod Hervey G 5–11 So. Cloverdale, Indiana
30 John McIntire F 6–4 So. Rushville, Indiana
33 Mike Copper G 6–1 Jr. Valparaiso, Indiana
34 Dan Chitwood G 6–3 So. Unionville, Indiana
35 Fred Hardman F 6–6 Jr. Lexington, Illinois
40 Tom Zellers F 6–3 So. Logansport, Indiana
41 Jerry Newsom C 6–C Sr. Columbus, Indiana
43 Ken Hass F 6–6 Jr. South Bend, Indiana
44 Jerry Novak F 6–6 Jr. Hammond, Indiana
45 Steve Hollenbeck G 6–1 Sr. Columbus, Indiana
51 Mike Phillips F 6–3 Sr. Terre Haute, Indiana
52 Rich Mason F 6–8 Sr. East Chicago, Indiana
54 Jim Waldrip F 6–3 So. Cumberland, Illinois

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
December 2, 1967*
at Cincinnati L 79-83  0-1
Armory Fieldhouse 
Cincinnati, Ohio
December 5, 1967*
at Indiana Central W 84-73  1-1
Central College Gym 
Indianapolis, Indiana
December 7, 1967*
No. 3 at No. 2 Kentucky Wesleyan L 61-62  1-2
The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
December 9, 1967*
No. 3 Kent State W 91-66  2-2
The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
December 11, 1967*
No. 3 Lamar Tech W 105-93  3-2
The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
December 14, 1967*
No. 7 at Purdue L 71-90  3-3
Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, Indiana
December 16, 1967*
No. 7 Western Illinois W 86-72  4-3
The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
December 19, 1967*
No. 7 No. 1 San Diego State W 84-69  5-3
The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
December 21, 1967*
No. 6 No. 3 Southwest Louisiana W 63-60  6-3
The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
December 27, 1967*
No. 6 at Weber State
Golden Spike Tournament
L 66-71  6-4
Swenson Gym 
Ogden, Utah
December 28, 1967*
No. 3 vs. Pepperdine
Golden Spike Tournament
W 88-81  7-4
Swenson Gym 
Ogden, Utah
January 4, 1968
No. T-5 DePauw W 86-66  8-4 (1-0)
The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
January 6, 1968*
No. T-5 Southern Illinois W 78-60  9-4 (1-0)
The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
January 8, 1968
No. T-5 at Valparaiso W 71-70  10-4 (2-0)
Hilltop Gymnasium 
Valparaiso, Indiana
January 10, 1968
No. T-5 Indiana State_Muncee W 94-81  11-4 (3-0)
The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
January 13, 1968
No. 4 St. Joseph’s (IN) W 75-59  12-4 (4-0)
The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
January 16, 1968
No. 4 at Butler L 85-86  12-5 (4-1)
Butler Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, Indiana
January 27, 1968
No. 6 at Indiana State_Muncee W 96-81  13-5 (5-1)
Irving Gymnasium 
Muncee, Indiana
January 31, 1968
No. 6 No. 2 Evansville College L 78-84  13-6 (5-2)
The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
February 3, 1968
No. 6 at DePauw L 84-98  13-7 (5-3)
Bowman Gym 
Greencastle, Indiana
February 7, 1968
No. 6 Northern Illinois W 95-84  14-7 (5-3)
The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
February 10, 1968
Valparaiso W 97-60  15-7 (6-3)
The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
February 12, 1968*
at Eastern Illinois State W 100-71  16-7 (6-3)
McAfee Gym 
Charleston, Illinois
February 14, 1968
at St. Joseph’s (IN) W 96-75  17-7 (7-3)
Scharf Fieldhouse 
Rensselaer, Indiana
February 17, 1968
at No. 3 Evansville W 68-58  18-7 (8-3)
Roberts Municipal Stadium 
Evansville, Indiana
February 20, 1968
Butler W 83-55  19-7 (9-3)
The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
March 8, 1968*
(1 Great Lakes) No. 9 vs. (4) South Dakota State
Great Lakes Regional semifinals
W 101-96  20-7 (9-3)
Horton Fieldhouse 
Normal, Illinois
March 9, 1968*
(1 Great Lakes) No. 9 vs. (2 Great Lakes) No. 4 Illinois State
Great Lakes Regional finals
W 98-93  21-7 (9-3)
Horton Fieldhouse 
Normal, Illinois
March 13, 1968*
(1 Great Lakes) No. 9 vs. (2 Pacific) Nevada Southern
NCAA Nationals – Quarterfinals
W 94-75  22-7 (9-3)
Roberts Municipal Stadium 
Evansville, Indiana
March 14, 1968*
(1 Great Lakes) No. 9 vs. (3 Southwest) No. 10 Trinity (TX)
NCAA Nationals – Semifinals
W 77-67  23-7 (9-3)
Roberts Municipal Stadium 
Evansville, Indiana
March 15, 1968*
(1 Great Lakes) No. 9 vs. (1 South) No. 2 Kentucky Wesleyan
NCAA Nationals – Title game
L 52-63  23-8 (9-3)
Roberts Municipal Stadium 
Evansville, Indiana
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

NCAA basketball tournament

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The top seed in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional was awarded to the Sycamores. In the opener, the Trees sprinted past #4 seed South Dakota State, the final game of the regional tournament was against heated-rival & #2 seed Illinois State with a berth in the Final Four on the line.[3] The Sycamores won by 5, and returned to a National Tournament Finals for the first time in 15 seasons (1953 NAIA Tournament).

In Evansville, site of the NCAA Finals, the Sycamores dominated the Rebels of Nevada Southern, winning by 19; they cruised past Trinity of Texas advancing to the Championship game vs. Kentucky Wesleyan College, which was led by junior George Tinsley. Playing in a standing room only arena, they were unable to maintain their halftime lead and Kentucky Wesleyan defeated Indiana State 63–52. Newsom was voted Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. Fred Hardman was also named to the All-Tourney team after posting a 16-point, 9-rebound title game.

  • Elite Eight
  • National Semi-Finals
    • Indiana State 77, Trinity (TX) 67
  • National Championship Game

Awards and honors

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  • Mike Copper – All-Indiana Collegiate Conference (Honorable Mention)
  • Fred Hardman – NCAA Tournament All-Tourney Team
  • Rich Mason – All-Indiana Collegiate Conference (First Team)
  • Jerry Newsom – Consensus All-American (AP, UPI, and Coaches)
  • Jerry Newsom – Indiana Collegiate Conference Most Valuable Player
  • Jerry Newsom – All-Indiana Collegiate Conference (First Team)
  • Jerry Newsom – NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Award; NCAA Tournament All-Tourney Team

In 2005, the entire team was inducted into the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame; Jerry Newsom was inducted as an individual in 1984.

Jerry Newsom (1997), Head Coach Gordon Stauffer (2004), Assistant Coach Mel Garland (1993) Steve Hollenbeck (2005) and Mike Copper (2010) were inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.[4]

References

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  1. ^ campus.mst.edu/athleticsarchives/.../d2basketball/ncaa2mbbpolls.pdf
  2. ^ "2015-16 Indiana State Basketball Interactive Yearbook Is Now Online - Indiana State University". Indiana State University Athletics.
  3. ^ "RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More". RotoWire.
  4. ^ "Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame » Inductees". Archived from the original on July 15, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2010.