# 1952–53 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team

The 1952–53 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represented Indiana University. Their head coach was Branch McCracken, who was in his 12th year. A member of the Big Ten Conference, they played home games on campus in The Fieldhouse in Bloomington, Indiana.
The Hoosiers finished the regular season with an overall record of 23–3 and a conference record of 17–1, first in the standings. As Big Ten champion, Indiana was invited the 22-team NCAA tournament, and advanced to the championship game in Kansas City. IU beat defending champion Kansas by a point for their second national title.

## Roster

| No. | Name | Position | Ht. | Year | Hometown |
| 13 | Charlie Kraak | F | 6–5 | Jr. | Collinsville, Illinois |
| 14 | Phil Byers | G | 5–11 | So. | Evansville, Indiana |
| 14 | James Fields | F | 6–1 | So. | Andrews, Indiana |
| 15 | William Ditius | F | 6–1 | So. | Mount Pulaski, Illinois |
| 19 | Jim Schooley | C | 6–5 | Sr. | Auburn, Indiana |
| 20 | Goethe Chambers | F | 6–3 | So. | Union City, Indiana |
| 21 | Bobby Leonard | G | 6–3 | Jr. | Terre Haute, Indiana |
| 22 | Jim DeaKyne | G | 6–3 | Jr. | Fortville, Indiana |
| 23 | Ron Taylor | F | 6–3 | Jr. | Chicago |
| 24 | Jack Wright | F | 5–10 | Jr. | New Castle, Indiana |
| 25 | Burke Scott | G | 6–1 | So. | Tell City, Indiana |
| 30 | Paul Poff | G | 6–1 | So. | New Albany, Indiana |
| 31 | Dick Farley | F | 6–3 | Jr. | Winslow, Indiana |
| 33 | Dick Hendricks | C | 6–5 | Jr. | Auburn, Indiana |
| 34 | Don Schlundt | C | 6–10 | So. | South Bend, Indiana |
| 35 | Lou Scott | C | 6–10 | Jr. | Chicago |
| 41 | Dick White | F | 6–1 | So. | Terre Haute, Indiana |
| 42 | Don Henry | F | 6–2 | So. | Evansville, Indiana |

## Schedule/Results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 12/1/1952* | | Valparaiso | W 95–56 | 1–0 | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/6/1952* | | at Notre Dame | L 70–71 | 1–1 | Notre Dame Fieldhouse Notre Dame, Indiana |
| 12/13/1952* | | at Kansas State | L 80–82 | 1–2 | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| 12/20/1952 | No. 19 | Michigan | W 88–60 | 2–2 (1–0) | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/22/1952 | No. 19 | Iowa | W 91–72 | 3–2 (2–0) | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 1/3/1953 | No. 12 | at Michigan | W 91–88 | 4–2 (3–0) | Yost Field House Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| 1/5/1953 | No. 12 | at Michigan State | W 69–62 | 5–2 (4–0) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, Michigan |
| 1/10/1953 | No. 7 | No. 19 Minnesota | W 66–63 | 6–2 (5–0) | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 1/12/1953 | No. 7 | at Ohio State | W 88–68 | 7–2 (6–0) | Ohio Expo Center Coliseum Columbus, Ohio |
| 1/17/1953 | No. 6 | No. 4 Illinois Rivalry | W 74–70 $^{2OT}$ | 8–2 (7–0) | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 1/19/1953 | No. 6 | at Purdue Rivalry | W 88–75 | 9–2 (8–0) | Lambert Fieldhouse West Lafayette, Indiana |
| 2/2/1953* | No. 2 | Butler | W 105–70 | 10–2 | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/7/1953 | No. 2 | at Northwestern | W 88–64 | 11–2 (9–0) | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois |
| 2/9/1953 | No. 2 | Wisconsin | W 66–48 | 12–2 (10–0) | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/14/1953 | No. 2 | Michigan State | W 65–50 | 13–2 (11–0) | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/16/1953 | No. 2 | at Wisconsin | W 72–70 | 14–2 (12–0) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, Wisconsin |
| 2/21/1953 | No. 2 | Ohio State | W 81–67 | 15–2 (13–0) | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/23/1953 | No. 2 | Purdue Rivalry | W 113–78 | 16–2 (14–0) | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/28/1953 | No. 2 | at No. 10 Illinois Rivalry | W 91–79 | 17–2 (15–0) | Huff Hall Champaign, Illinois |
| 3/2/1953 | No. 2 | Northwestern | W 90–88 $^{OT}$ | 18–2 (16–0) | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| 3/7/1953 | No. 1 | at Minnesota | L 63–65 | 18–3 (16–1) | Williams Arena Minneapolis |
| 3/9/1953 | No. 1 | Iowa | W 68–61 | 19–3 (17–1) | The Fieldhouse Bloomington, Indiana |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 3/13/1953* | No. 1 | vs. DePaul Regional semifinals | W 82–80 | 20–3 | Chicago Stadium Chicago |
| 3/14/1953* | No. 1 | vs. No. 17 Notre Dame Regional Finals | W 79–66 | 21–3 | Chicago Stadium Chicago |
| 3/17/1953* | No. 1 | vs. No. 7 LSU Final Four - Semifinal | W 80–67 | 22–3 | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri |
| 3/18/1953* | No. 1 | vs. No. 5 Kansas National Championship | W 69–68 | 23–3 | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## NBA draft

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1954 | 2 | 10 | Bobby Leonard | Baltimore Bullets |
| 1954 | 2 | 15 | Dick Farley | Syracuse Nationals |
| 1954 | 5 | 37 | Lou Scott | Baltimore Bullets |
| 1954 | 6 | 49 | Charlie Kraak | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| 1955 | 2 | 14 | Don Schlundt | Syracuse Nationals |