Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball
Year Round Opponent Result
1942 First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Wisconsin-Stevens Point Simpson Hamline W 83-45 W 51-43 L 41-45
1943 First Round Northwest Missouri State L 28-37
1946 First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship Game St . Cloud State Houston Dakota Wesleyan Pepperdine Southern Illinois W 62-51 W 62-43 W 55-34 W 56-43 L 48-49
1948 First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship Game St. Francis ( PA ) BYU San Jose State Hamline Louisville W 72-40 W 82-68 W 59-52 W 66-65 L 70-82
1949 First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals 3rd Place Game Eastern New Mexico Loyola ( MD ) Emporia State Regis Beloit W 60-42 W 78-5-8 W 67-66 L 45-48 L 59-67
1950 First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship Game Delta State Arkansas Tech Baldwin-Wallace Tampa East Central W 65-59 W 87-79 W 61-39 W 73-69 W 61-57
1952 First Round Second Round Farleigh Dickinson Southwest Missouri State W 79-72 L 64-82
1953 First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals 3rd Place Game Midwestern State Arkansas Tech Findlay Southwest Missouri State East Texas State W 100-76 W 100-81 W 106-70 L 78-84 W 74-71
1954 First Round Geneva L 82-88
1959 First Round Second Round Morningside Georgia Southern W 87-67 L 70-73
1962 First Round Winston-Salem L 71-83
1963 First Round Second Round Parsons Carson-Newman W 78-77 L 63-70
Postseason -- NAIA Tournament results
The Sycamores have appeared in the NAIA Men 's Division I Basketball Tournament 12 times . They reached the NAIA Final Four five times . The Sycamores combined NAIA Tournament record is 25–12 . Indiana State is the only team to finish as the National Runner-Up in the NAIA and both the NCAA DI and DII tournaments . Indiana State won 7 NAIA District 21 titles ( 1951 , 1952 , 1953 , 1954 , 1959 , 1962 and 1963 ) [ 8 ]
The Indiana State Sycamores basketball is the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. They currently compete in the Missouri Valley Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2011. The Sycamores' first season was 1896, making them the oldest basketball team in the NCAA along with Bucknell, Minnesota, and Washington; however, the records from 1896 to 1899 no longer exist. The Sycamores boast two College Players of the Year, 14 All-Americans, 39 1,000-point scorers, and 1,507 victories. Their victory count places them in the top 70 of all NCAA Division I programs. In addition, the Sycamores have 26 postseason appearances (7 NCAA, 4 NIT, 1 CBI, 1 CIT, 12 NAIA, and the 1936 Olympic Trials) with five national championship appearances (2 NCAA, 3 NAIA). Seven Sycamores were members of the 1951 Pan-American Games gold medal-winning team. The Sycamores' most memorable season was 1978-79, when unanimous National Player of the Year Larry Bird led an undefeated team to its first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament appearance, as well as the UPI national title. However, it lost the national title game versus the Magic Johnson-led Michigan State team; and ended the season with a record of 33-1. Their performance was the deepest run by a first-time participant in the Division I tournament, and one of only three times that a first-time team has advanced as far as the Final Four (UNCC in 1977 and Georgia in 1983). They would not have another postseason appearance until 2000.