Forty seasons ago, Keith Smart rose up from the baseline and sank a 16-foot jumper with four seconds left to lift Indiana to a one-point win over Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament championship game.
It was a magical era when both schools lived near the top of the national rankings.
But all these years later, the Hoosiers and Orange are simply searching for a path back into the NCAA Tournament.
Syracuse hasn’t participated in March Madness since 2021, and Indiana hasn’t been there since 2023.
Considering that Syracuse (2-0) and Indiana (2-0) are off to fine starts this season — albeit against outmanned regional opponents — the winner of Monday night’s non-conference clash in Indianapolis will take a valuable step toward earning a coveted NCAA berth.
New Syracuse coach Gerry McNamara, who teamed with Carmelo Anthony to help longtime coach Jim Boeheim get his only NCAA championship in 2003, retained just two players from last season’s squad that finished 15-17: Sadiq White Jr. and Kiyan Anthony, Carmelo’s son.
Anthony, who is averaging 15.5 points per game this season, and White (11 ppg, 10 rebounds per game) join Siena transfer Gavin Doty (16 ppg) and Slovenian freshman Mark Morano (12.5 ppg, seven 3-pointers) as double-figure scorers in the early going.
While McNamara likes having a multitude of scorers, he loves the “fun, unselfish basketball” he has seen throughout the roster — and it doesn’t always have to do with scoring.
After Syracuse’s 102-49 win over Central Connecticut State on Thursday, McNamara’s first words of praise were directed toward Quinnipiac transfer Amarri Monroe for diving on the floor to capture a loose ball — even though the Orange were up 92-45.
“And you make a play like that?” McNamara said. “Laying it on the line every second, every possession, is who we’re going to be, is who we need to be all the time. Just a hell of a play. Hell of an effort.”
While Indiana coach Darian DeVries is a year ahead of McNamara in rebuilding his squad, he, too, retained just two scholarship players. DeVries is figuring out how to blend the six transfers from high-major schools who serve as his top six players.
In a 91-57 win over Eastern Illinois in the season opener last Monday, former Notre Dame point guard Markus Burton tallied 19 points and five assists. Villanova transfer Bryce Lindsay contributed 14 points off the bench.
In the Hoosiers’ 92-69 victory over Bellarmine on Thursday, Burton settled for two points, but Duke transfer Darren Harris — who shot just 1-for-7 from the floor in the opener — delivered a career-high 23 points in 23 minutes. He was 5 of 10 from 3-point range — the primary reason the Hoosiers brought in Harris.
“We’ve seen it all summer and fall and previously in his high school days,” DeVries said. “It was just a matter of time.”
In two years as a backup at Duke, the top-40 recruit scored in double figures just three times.
“You’re part of a new team and got a new role and you want to do well, and he’s a kid that really tries every day to give us what he can give,” DeVries said. “He wants to so bad. It was nice to see him have a great night.”