This IU basketball series will focus on a specific date in Hoosier hardwood history. In addition to game notes, important facts, and highlighted pieces of IU memorabilia, there will also be a focus on pop culture facts (music, movies, TV), other sporting highlights, as well as U.S. and world events. Inspiration for this series comes from the “Random Box Score” series from soxmachine.com.
The Game:
#16 Indiana (7-1) vs #10 Temple (4-2), December 5, 1998. Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana. Nationally televised on ESPN.
Pop Culture and Major Events
If you were tuned in to the FM dial, chances are you wouldn’t be able to miss hearing “I’m Your Angel,” a collaboration by R. Kelly and Celine Dion, which stood atop the Billboard music chart for six straight weeks. Moviegoers could take in the recently released re-make of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic “Psycho,” “A Bug’s Life,” and the Will Smith action thriller, “Enemy of the State.”
Gamers would be enjoying the recent release of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron for Nintendo 64.
For a sampling of TV commercials from January of 1993 click here.
Americans would be watching developments in the accusations of “high crimes and misdemeanors” against President Bill Clinton, as preparations for impeachment were in motion. Clinton would become the third president in American history to be impeached later that month.
Outlook
The #16th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers entered the game seeking to upend their first top-ten opponent of the season. Come-from-behind wins had been the theme thus far for a Hoosier squad that had to claw back three previous times for victories.
Question marks hovered over this Hoosier squad entering the season as a concern over front-court play would lead to Coach Bob Knight implementing more three-guard rotations. At the conclusion of the prior season, Indiana lost a huge bulk of their frontcourt — Andrae Patterson, Charlie Miller, and Richard Mandeville — to graduation, plus the transfer of 7-foot center Jason Collier, who transferred to Georgia Tech.
Indiana’s success for 1998-99 would largely depend on the backcourt play of guards A.J. Guyton and Luke Recker, the top two scorers for the Hoosiers during the 1997-98 season.
Temple had gotten off to a quick 4-0 start to their season, including an upset victory over eventual Big Ten champion Michigan State. However, three straight losses had left the Owls reeling heading in to the matchup in Bloomington. Temple’s main outside shooting threat, Lynn Greer, was unavailable due to having surgery on a fractured bone under his eye.
This was the third ever matchup between the two programs. In their previous meeting, Temple defeated Indiana 59-53 on November 14, 1997. An obvious storyline heading in to the 1998 matchup was two high-profile coaches at the helm of each program: Bob Knight and John Chaney. Knight was coaching in his 999th career game.
The Starters for Indiana:
Luke Recker (So.), A.J. Guyton (Jr.), Dane Fife (Fr.), William Gladness (Sr.), Jarrad Odle (Fr.)
The Starters for Temple:
Pepe Sanchez (Jr.), Quincy Wadley (Jr.), Rasheed Brokenborough (Sr.), Mark Karcher (So.), Lamont Barnes (Jr.)
The Game:
To no one’s surprise, Temple implemented their zone defense in an effort to force the Hoosiers to play outside and shoot jumpers. It definitely seemed to be working, as clutch shooter A.J. Guyton couldn’t seem to buy a bucket for much of the first half. By halftime, with momentum going back and forth throughout the first 20 minutes, the Hoosiers clung to a one-point advantage, 30-29.
Temple came out more aggressive from the get go in the second half and stretch a lead to 52-43 with less than eight minutes remaining in the game. The large deficit was the fourth of the season for the Hoosiers, who also found themselves down big against Indiana State, Kansas State, and Notre Dame before coming from behind to win. With key three pointers from Luke Recker and A.J. Guyton tying the game at 58, Indiana looked to gain another come-from-behind victory.
With under 30 seconds remaining, and the game tied 60-60, Temple dumped it down low to Lamont Barnes, who converted a bucket to give Temple the lead 62-60. While nearly everyone inside Assembly Hall including Coach Bob Knight was screaming for a double-dribble violation against Barnes, the basket counted and Indiana found themselves down two with 18 seconds remaining and an Indiana timeout being called.
Knight put a four-guard lineup on the floor (Luke Recker, A.J. Guyton, Dane Fife, and Luke Jiminez) to give IU plenty of shooting options in hopes of tying the ball game or hitting a three for the win. With under 10 seconds remaining, Guyton had the ball behind the arc. Following a fake pass to Luke Recker in the left corner, Guyton drained a three-pointer with six seconds remaining. Temple was unable to convert in the the final seconds and Indiana emerged victorious over the 10th-ranked Owls, 63-62.
The Hoosiers were led by Luke Recker with 15 points, and Kirk Haston, who finished with 12 points and nine rebounds. Lamont Barnes led Temple with 16 points while Rasheed Brokenborough added in 15 points in the loss.
Click here for the full game video.
Reaction:
Temple coach John Chaney on the final sequence: “I don’t second-guess myself,” Chaney said. “We forced them to try to get a shot outside, and they got a good look on a swing pass. We really wanted them to do exactly what they did, and they hit a good shot.”
Indiana coach Bob Knight regarding the decision to go for the win in the final seconds of the game: “I would not bet on getting two against Temple,” he said. “They’re just too tough inside. We had our four best shooters in there.”
Season Conclusion:
Indiana would enter Big Ten play with a solid 13-2 record. However, consistency would plague the Hoosiers throughout conference season. Michigan State would run away with the Big Ten title at 15-1, and Indiana would settle for a three-way tie for second place at 9-7.
The Hoosiers’ 22-10 overall record would earn them a 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament. After taking out 11-seed George Washington, the Hoosiers would fall flat against 3-seed St. John’s, losing 86-61.
Following their loss to Indiana, the Owls would struggle with consistency in their remaining pre-conference games finishing at 6-6. Conference play would prove to be more rewarding for Temple as they would capture the Atlantic-10 title with a conference record of 13-3 (21-10 overall) and be rewarded with a 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Temple’s NCAA Tournament run was one of the main storylines that year as the Owls came within one game of a Final Four appearance, losing in the regional final to Duke, 85-64.
Resources: sports-reference.com, Indy Star IU Basketball database, NewspaperArchive.
