The perfect champions: How 1975-76 Indiana men’s basketball achieved immortality 50 years on

They stand tall and proud. Symbols of hope. Six bronze men immortalized. 

Four raise their index fingers to the sky. Another has a basketball net draped around his neck. The other holds the national championship trophy. 

The bronze men greet every visitor that enters through the south side of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. They’ve done so for nearly a decade, and likely many decades more. 

Other statues accompany the six men in the South Lobby, each representing a different period of Indiana men’s basketball. But it’s impossible to miss those six larger-than-life athletes — Bobby Wilkerson, Kent Benson, Scott May, Quinn Buckner, Jim Crews and Tom Abernethy. 

They’re the centerpieces for a reason. Their legacy remains intact, even 50 years on. 

The last undefeated national champions. 

Another team might join them one day. Some have come close. But for now — half a century later — the 1975-76 Indiana men’s basketball squad is the last perfect team. 

*** 

The Hoosiers had been close before. 

A season prior, they entered the NCAA tournament undefeated and the No. 1 team in the nation. After winning both of their opening games, they slipped up against the University of Kentucky, falling 92-90 and ending the season with their only loss. 

Then-junior May’s late-season broken arm did no favors for Indiana’s failed conquest to the pinnacle of college basketball. Head coach Bob Knight and his squad would have to wait another season to accomplish that goal. 

After the season, the players made a decision. They had a mission, and they were determined to accomplish it. 

The athletes stayed in Bloomington over the summer. Knight and the coaching staff weren’t there. After work, they would train together, play together and beat any team they faced at the upstairs gym in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation building — together. 

“One thing we did, we always played on the same team,” Wilkerson told the Indiana Daily Student. “We played together because we knew that we had to get to know each other even better.” 

They played anyone, sometimes even members of the football team. Games were different that summer than any during the regular season. They played “like madmen.” 

“Coach Knight wasn’t on the sidelines, so we got to do some stuff that he wouldn't approve of, like dunking the ball,” Wilkerson said, laughing. “I loved it.” 

The bonds continued to strengthen for a team loaded with talent. Indiana returned three All-Big Ten players and six future NBA draft picks from the previous season, including future No. 2 overall pick May and future No. 1 overall pick Benson. 

But the unsung heroes of the squad were the second team, which many players deemed to be their hardest opponents over the course of the whole season. They knew the offense the starters ran, and their defensive effort reflected it. 

“They were being, you know, basically tutored with the same information we were,” Buckner said. “So, you got somebody that’s — they’re not starting, but they’re still heavily involved with everything you do, so they know what you’re trying to do.” 

Practices were so intense and physical, players looked forward to games because they were “a piece of cake” by comparison, Benson said. Even though they knew every opponent gave Indiana their best performance, nothing matched the competition of the second team. 

Yet it wasn’t all physical preparation for the Hoosiers. Knight often preached the mental is to the physical as four is to one. So, when the media called the team’s undefeated record entering the tournament a fluke, the players weren’t bothered. 

“We really didn’t care,” Buckner said. “That’s the thing that I thought Coach Knight did exceptionally well with, and surely you couldn't do it today, was he kept us at arm's length from those who had opinions without knowing how hard the group worked or understanding what the group was trying to do.” 

Winning. That was it. 

*** 

As the NCAA Tournament came around, the Hoosiers were back as the No. 1 overall team. 

They had yet to lose in the regular season. They were back-to-back champions. Except this time, May was still around. 

A year before, May's broken arm hampered the Hoosiers as they eventually fell in the Elite Eight to Kentucky. This time, Knight had every player at his disposal entering the tournament. Buckner believed the Wildcats had humbled them a year before, and Indiana had the experience necessary to survive the gauntlet that lay in front of them. 

St. John’s University was the first foe in Indiana’s path, a team ranked No. 17 in The Associated Press’ poll. The two sides had previously faced off Dec. 28 at Madison Square Garden, and the Hoosiers handled business once again in the first round of the tournament, 90-70. 

Next came the No. 6 University of Alabama, another formidable opponent. Led by future fourth overall pick Leon Douglas, the Crimson Tide entered the matchup winners of 10 of their last 11 games with only four total losses. 

Once again, the Hoosiers emerged victorious. Douglas, whom Benson called a “great player,” only scored 12 points. Conversely, May scored 25 points and netted the eventual game-clincher with just over two minutes left as Indiana won 74-69. 

“Scott was the catalyst because I have never met nobody who can shoot that quick and just, I mean, it's just amazing,” Wilkerson said. “And I would always look for him. 
When I'm running the break, I'm thinking about where Scott at.” 

That next game likely conjured déjà vu for the Hoosiers, as they were back in the Elite Eight and facing a top five team. Instead of No. 5 Kentucky, which ended their season last year, it was No. 2 Marquette University. 

And after only seven minutes, Indiana was once again without May, who picked up his third foul of the game. 

The Hoosiers led by three points when May left the game. Knight said postgame that without his star player for most of the half, he just wanted his team to be tied at the intermission. 

At the half, Indiana led by one point — a testament to the depth and character of the squad. 

“When you have a mutual admiration and respect for each of your teammates’ talents and abilities,” Benson said, “and knowing that you have tremendous confidence in them and them in you, we just went about doing what we had to do.” 

Crews — who Benson singled out as a critical bench piece along with Wayne Radford and Jim Wisman — led the bench in minutes. May still finished with 15 points, second among the Hoosiers only to Benson with 18. 

And even through the adversity, Indiana won 65-56 to reach its first Final Four since 1973 and fourth in the university’s history. 

There was no dwelling on the feat, however. Postgame celebrations weren't Knight and Indiana’s style. 

The season before, the Hoosiers swept through a string of games at the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. Wilkerson recalled wanting to visit the city after the games, but their bus was set to leave at 6 a.m. the next morning. 

He switched his mindset from sightseeing to a bubble bath. 

“Next morning, you’re ready to go,” Wilkerson said. “So, it was a lot of fun, but it was all business.” 

The Final Four presented Indiana with a similar foe — No. 5 UCLA. The Bruins had won the previous NCAA Tournament, yet the Hoosiers defeated them 84-64 in the first game of the regular season.  

Wilkerson said people called the win a fluke. Indiana proved that wasn’t the case. 

As a 6-foot-7 guard, Wilkerson provided the Hoosiers with a do-it-all mentality. Benson called him “the most versatile player” Knight ever had at Indiana. And against UCLA, the versatility was on full display. 

Wilkerson snagged 19 rebounds along with seven assists, five points and two steals. The other four starters scored in double figures. Benson led the way with 16. 

The Hoosiers won 65-51, setting up a Big Ten clash in the national championship. Only 40 minutes separated the Hoosiers from perfection and failure.  

Indiana was almost there — but disaster was still bound to strike. 

*** 

Wilkerson doesn’t remember much. 

Michigan’s Wyman Britt finished a fastbreak layup, but in his follow-through, he landed an elbow to Wilkerson’s face. The Hoosier guard fell to the floor, and after many minutes on the ground, was stretchered off the court. 

Only three minutes into the national championship, and Indiana was down a key starter. Even more so, the Hoosier players had watched a teammate — a friend — carried away unconscious, an unsettling experience. 

Down six points at halftime, the Hoosiers entered their locker room with only 20 minutes to save the season. Benson recalls the first words Knight shared in the halftime talk were about Wilkerson. 

“He said, ‘Boys, Bobby is resting comfortably in the hospital, and he’s under observation, and all is gonna be ok,’” Benson said. “And Coach Knight knew that we needed to know that first and foremost going into that locker room.” 

The rest of Knight’s team talk was simple. Execute their offense, play their defense and the Hoosiers would make history. 

They did just that. 

“We went out in that second half and played probably the most flawless half of basketball that we played,” Benson said. 

The six-point deficit rapidly disappeared, led by May’s 26 points and Benson’s 25. In Wilkerson’s stead, both Wisman and Crews played valuable bench minutes, combining for 10 total assists. 

A national championship teetering on the precipice of defeat became a blowout. Knight managed to give the seniors and Benson a tribute with late substitutions, letting the traveling fans in Philadelphia cheer them on. 

Indiana completed the undefeated season with an 86-68 victory over Michigan. The physically demanding practices, the pickup games at HPER, every one of the 32 contests — it had all led to this moment. 

Now, 50 years on, the 1975-76 Indiana men’s basketball squad remains immortal. Standing tall in the South Lobby of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, the bronze statues reflect the team’s permanence. 

Each one of those players — five seniors and a junior — had the same goal. They overcame challenges, proved victorious 32 times and stayed the course in pursuit of perfection. 

It’s a feat no team has accomplished since. 

The last perfect champions.