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 Men's Division II 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)
1967–68 record23–8 (9–3 ICC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaIndiana State Arena

Regular season

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; unfortunately, 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

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.NamePositionHt.YearHometown
13Howard HumesG6–0Jr.Madison, Indiana
20Don WeirichF6–4So.Middlebury, Indiana
22Rod HerveyG5–11So.Cloverdale, Indiana
30John McIntireF6–4So.Rushville, Indiana
33Mike CopperG6–1Jr.Valparaiso, Indiana
34Dan ChitwoodG6–3So.Unionville, Indiana
35Fred HardmanF6–6Jr.Lexington, Illinois
40Tom ZellersF6–3So.Logansport, Indiana
41Jerry NewsomC6–CSr.Columbus, Indiana
43Ken HassF6–6Jr.South Bend, Indiana
44Jerry NovakF6–6Jr.Hammond, Indiana
45Steve HollenbeckG6–1Sr.Columbus, Indiana
51Mike PhillipsF6–3Sr.Terre Haute, Indiana
52Rich MasonF6–8Sr.East Chicago, Indiana
54Jim WaldripF6–3So.Cumberland, Illinois

Schedule and results
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
12/2/1967*
 at Cincinnati L 79-83  0-1
 Armory Fieldhouse 
Cincinnati, Ohio
12/5/1967*
 at Indiana Central W 84-73  1-1
 Central College Gym 
Indianapolis, Indiana
12/7/1967*
 No. 3 at No. 2 Kentucky Wesleyan L 61-62  1-2
 The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
12/9/1967*
 No. 3 Kent State W 91-66  2-2
 The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
12/11/1967*
 No. 3 Lamar Tech W 105-93  3-2
 The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
12/14/1952*
 No. 7 at Purdue L 71-90  3-3
 Mackey Arena 
West Lafayette, Indiana
12/16/1967*
 No. 7 Western Illinois W 86-72  4-3
 The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
12/29/1978*
 No. 7 No. 1 San Diego State W 84-69  5-3
 The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
12/21/1967*
 No. 6 No. 3 Southwest Louisiana W 63-60  6-3
 The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
12/27/1967*
 No. 6 at Weber State
Golden Spike Tournament		 L 66-71  6-4
 Swenson Gym 
Ogden, Utah
12/28/1967*
 No. 3 vs. Pepperdine
Golden Spike Tournament		 W 88-81  7-4
 Swenson Gym 
Ogden, Utah
1/4/1968
 No. T-5 DePauw W 86-66  8-4 (1-0)
 The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
1/6/1968*
 No. T-5 Southern Illinois W 78-60  9-4 (1-0)
 The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
1/8/1968
 No. T-5 at Valparaiso W 71-70  10-4 (2-0)
 Hilltop Gymnasium 
Valparaiso, Indiana
1/10/1968
 No. T-5 Indiana State_Muncee W 94-81  11-4 (3-0)
 The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
1/13/1968
 No. 4 St. Joseph’s (IN) W 75-59  12-4 (4-0)
 The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
1/16/1968
 No. 4 at Butler L 85-86  12-5 (4-1)
 Butler Fieldhouse 
Indianapolis, Indiana
1/27/1967
 No. 6 at Indiana State_Muncee W 96-81  13-5 (5-1)
 Irving Gymnasium 
Muncee, Indiana
1/31/1968
 No. 6 No. 2 Evansville College L 78-84  13-6 (5-2)
 The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
2/3/1968
 No. 6 at DePauw L 84-98  13-7 (5-3)
 Bowman Gym 
Greencastle, Indiana
2/7/1968
 No. 6 Northern Illinois W 95-84  14-7 (5-3)
 The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
2/10/1968
 Valparaiso W 97-60  15-7 (6-3)
 The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
2/12/1968*
 at Eastern Illinois State W 100-71  16-7 (6-3)
 McAfee Gym 
Charleston, Illinois
2/14/1968
 at St. Joseph’s (IN) W 96-75  17-7 (7-3)
 Scharf Fieldhouse 
Rensselaer, Indiana
2/17/1968
 at No. 3 Evansville W 68-58  18-7 (8-3)
 Roberts Municipal Stadium 
Evansville, Indiana
2/20/1968
 Butler W 83-55  19-7 (9-3)
 The Arena 
Terre Haute, Indiana
3/8/1968*
 (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
3/9/1968*
 (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
3/13/1968*
 (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
3/14/1968*
 (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
3/15/1968*
 (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

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
  • 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
  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. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-07-15. Retrieved 2010-07-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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