Odds Were Against Hoosiers Hurryin' to Final Four Let Alone NCAA Crown
Someone has to be first but the odds were stacked against Indiana. The Hoosiers, after losing three times this season as the nation's top-ranked team, faced an uphill battle reaching the Final Four, let alone capturing the NCAA championship. IU became the 18th team to lose at least three times atop the national polls in the same campaign and subsequently fail to win the national title (including IU in 1954 and 1993).
Many in the national media simply showed their amateurish historical perspective when they continued to hail the Hoosiers as the best bet to capture the championship. Only four of the first 18 squads in this category reached the Final Four with Michigan '65 and Georgetown '85 succumbing in the national final. Following is a chronological look at NCAA playoff progress for schools with at least three defeats as the nation's top-ranked team in a single season:
| Season | #1 Three-Time Loser | Opponents Beating Same #1 | What Happened to #1? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951-52 | Kentucky | Minnesota/St. Louis/St. John's | UK lost in regional final |
| 1953-54 | Indiana | Oregon State/Northwestern/Notre Dame | IU lost in regional semifinals |
| 1964-65 | Michigan* | Nebraska/St. John's/Ohio State/UCLA | UM lost in national final |
| 1973-74 | UCLA | Notre Dame/Oregon State/Oregon | UCLA lost in national semifinals |
| 1983-84 | North Carolina | Arkansas/Duke/Indiana | UNC lost in regional semifinals |
| 1984-85 | Georgetown | St. John's/Syracuse/Villanova | Hoyas lost in national final |
| 1985-86 | North Carolina | Virginia/Maryland/North Carolina State | UNC lost in regional semifinals |
| 1989-90 | Kansas | Missouri (twice)/Oklahoma | KU lost in NCAA second round |
| 1992-93 | Indiana | Kansas (twice)/Ohio State | IU lost in regional final |
| 1993-94 | North Carolina* | UMass/Georgia Tech (twice)/Boston College | UNC lost in NCAA second round |
| 1997-98 | Duke | Michigan/North Carolina (twice) | Duke lost in regional final |
| 1997-98 | North Carolina | Maryland/North Carolina State/Utah | UNC lost in national semifinals |
| 1999-00 | Cincinnati | Xavier/Temple/Saint Louis | UC lost in NCAA second round |
| 2000-01 | Stanford | UCLA/Arizona/Maryland | Stanford lost in regional final |
| 2001-02 | Duke | Florida State/Maryland/Indiana | Duke lost in regional semifinals |
| 2002-03 | Arizona | Louisiana State/Stanford/UCLA | UA lost in regional final |
| 2005-06 | Duke | Georgetown/Florida State/North Carolina | Duke lost in regional semifinal |
| 2012-13 | Indiana | Butler/Illinois/Minnesota | IU lost in regional semifinal |
*Michigan '65 and North Carolina '94 are the only teams to lose four times in a single season when ranked #1.