# 1939–40 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team

The 1939–40 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represented Indiana University. Their head coach was Branch McCracken, who was in his 2nd year. The team played its home games in The Fieldhouse in Bloomington, Indiana, and was a member of the Big Ten Conference.
The Hoosiers finished the regular season with an overall record of 17–3 and a conference record of 9–3, finishing 2nd in the Big Ten Conference to the Purdue Boilermakers. Purdue was invited to participate in the 8-team NCAA tournament, but declined their bid recommending IU play in the tournament in their place. In only the second national tournament, IU won their first NCAA Tournament Championship by defeating Kansas, 60–42, in the final. Indiana was also retroactively recognized as the national champion by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll.

## Roster

| No. | Name | Position | Ht. | Year | Hometown |
| 7 | Andy Zimmer | C | 6–4 | So. | Goodland, Indiana |
| 9 | Chet Francis | G | 6–1 | Jr. | Avon, Indiana |
| 10 | Harold Zimmer | F | 5–8 | Jr. | Springfield, Ohio |
| 11 | Everett Hoffman | C | 6–3 | So. | Evansville, Indiana |
| 12 | Jim Gridley | G | 6–1 | Jr. | Vevay, Indiana |
| 13 | Jim Ooley | G | 6–2 | Sr. | Spencer, Indiana |
| 16 | James Clifton | C | 6–3 | Jr. | Bentonville, Indiana |
| 18 | Cliff Wiethoff | F | 6–1 | So. | Seymour, Indiana |
| 19 | Ed Newby | G | 5–11 | So. | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 20 | Jack Stevenson | F | 6–1 | Sr. | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 21 | Max Hasler | G | 5–10 | So. | Elnora, Indiana |
| 22 | Jay McCreary | G | 5–10 | Jr. | Frankfort, Indiana |
| 23 | Don Huckleberry | G | 5–9 | So. | Salem, Indiana |
| 24 | John Torphy | F | 5–11 | So. | Bedford, Indiana |
| 25 | Bill Frey | F | 6–1 | So. | Kokomo, Indiana |
| 26 | Tom Motter | F | 6–1 | Jr. | Fort Wayne, Indiana |
| 28 | William Torphy | G | 6–1 | So. | Bedford, Indiana |
| 29 | Robert Menke | F | 6–3 | Jr. | Huntingburg, Indiana |
| 30 | Ralph Dorsey | F | 5–10 | Sr. | Horse Cave, Kentucky |
| 32 | Herm Schaefer | F | 6–1 | Jr. | Fort Wayne, Indiana |
| 33 | Curly Armstrong | F | 5–11 | Jr. | Fort Wayne, Indiana |
| 34 | Marv Huffman | G | 6–2 | Sr. | New Castle, Indiana |
| 35 | William Menke | C | 6–3 | Jr. | Huntingburg, Indiana |
| 38 | Bob Dro | G | 5–11 | Sr. | Berne, Indiana |

## Schedule/Results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 12/9/1939* | Wabash | W 37–24 | 1–0 | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/11/1939* | Xavier | W 58–24 | 2–0 | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/15/1939* | at Nebraska | W 49–39 | 3–0 | Nebraska Coliseum Lincoln, Nebraska |
| 12/18/1939* | Pittsburgh | W 51–35 | 4–0 | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/23/1939* | at Butler | W 40–33 | 5–0 | Butler Fieldhouse Indianapolis |
| 12/27/1939* | at Duquesne | W 51–49 | 6–0 | Duquesne Gardens Pittsburgh |
| 12/28/1939* | at Villanova | W 45–33 | 7–0 | Villanova Field House Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| 1/6/1940 | Illinois Rivalry | W 38–36 | 8–0 (1–0) | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 1/8/1940 | Iowa | W 45–30 | 9–0 (2–0) | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 1/13/1940 | at Minnesota | L 44–46 | 9–1 (2–1) | Minnesota Field House Minneapolis |
| 1/15/1940 | at Wisconsin | W 40–34 | 10–1 (3–1) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, Wisconsin |
| 2/3/1940* | at DePaul | W 51–30 | 11–1 (3–1) | University Auditorium Chicago |
| 2/10/1940 | Purdue Rivalry | W 46–39 | 12–1 (4–1) | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/12/1940 | Michigan | W 57–30 | 13–1 (5–1) | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/17/1940 | at Northwestern | L 36–40 | 13–2 (5–2) | Old Patten Gymnasium Evanston, Illinois |
| 2/19/1940 | at Iowa | W 46–42 | 14–2 (6–2) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA |
| 2/24/1940 | Chicago | W 38–34 | 15–2 (7–2) | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/26/1940 | at Ohio State | L 26–44 | 15–3 (7–3) | Ohio Expo Center Coliseum Columbus, Ohio |
| 3/2/1940 | at Purdue Rivalry | W 51–45 | 16–3 (8–3) | Lambert Fieldhouse West Lafayette, Indiana |
| 3/4/1940 | Ohio State | W 52–31 | 17–3 (9–3) | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 3/22/1940* | vs. Springfield Quarterfinals | W 48–24 | 18–3 (9–3) | Butler Fieldhouse Indianapolis,IN |
| 3/23/1940* | vs. Duquesne Final Four | W 39–30 | 19–3 (9–3) | Butler Fieldhouse Indianapolis |
| 3/30/1940* | vs. Kansas Championship | W 60–42 | 20–3 (9–3) | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Marv Huffman, Consensus second team All-American
* Marv Huffman, NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player
* Bill Menke, Third team All-American (Converse)