The 2018–19 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represented

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Archie Miller, his second year as Indiana head coach. The team played its home games at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...

, as a member of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. The season officially kicked off with its annual event, Hoosier Hysteria, on September 29, 2018. Despite getting off to a strong start of 12–2, which included 3 conference wins, IU struggled mightily down the backstretch of the season. Riddled with injuries and the inability to shoot, the Hoosiers lost 12 of 13 games before turning things around and finishing the regular season with a 4-game winning streak. Having put themselves back into the conversation for making the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 3 years, the Hoosiers looked to knock off

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

in the Big Ten tournament. With a win, many bracketologists had IU safely in the field. However, the Hoosiers fell short and lost to Ohio State, 79–75. IU was deemed one of the Last Four Out in the NCAA Tournament, so they earned 1-seed in the NIT, where they advanced to the Quarterfinals before losing to

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 ...

, 73–63. Thus, the Hoosiers 119th season ended with an overall record of 19–16 and 8–12 in the Big Ten.

Previous season

Miller's first season was a major remodeling job, starting with laying the foundation of a pack-line defense and valuing possessions. Early in the season, Miller stated practices were 75% defense, 25% offense. That scheme showed early and often, as the Hoosiers struggled mightily throughout the season to find any flow or rhythm on offense, despite the defense making leaps and bounds in the overall rankings of Division 1 basketball. With a surprising early second round loss in the 2018 Big Ten tournament to

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

, 76–67, and losing enough games to keep them out of both the NCAA tournament and NIT, including games in which they were favored, such as Indiana State and

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 United S ...

, IU's first season under their new coach came to a disappointing close. They finished with an overall record of 16–15 and 9–9 in the Big Ten.

Offseason

Departures

On April 12, 2018, junior forward Juwan Morgan announced he was entering the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

, but he would not sign with an agent. However, on May 29, 2018, it was revealed that he had withdrawn from the draft and would return for his senior season.

Recruiting class

With the commitment of Romeo Langford on April 30, 2018, not only did Archie Miller recruit his first 5-star player, he also landed IU's first Indiana Mr. Basketball since Cody Zeller in 2011. In addition, he also signed two other finalists for the award in Rob Phinisee and Damezi Anderson. Miller rounded out the incoming class with the second best player from Ohio in Jerome Hunter, as well as another 4-star in Jake Forrester from Pennsylvania; this group of high school seniors comprised a Top 10 2018 recruiting class. Within the state of Indiana, there was a total of four 5- and 4-star 2018 recruits, 3 of whom committed to Indiana. The last addition to the team roster was made on May 3, 2018, when graduate transfer Evan Fitzner of Saint Mary's College claimed the final scholarship available.

Roster

Schedule and results

The 2018–19 season will mark the first time in

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

history that the teams will play a 20-game conference schedule. The new schedule will also include a regional component to increase the frequency of games among teams in similar areas. Over the course of a six-year cycle (12 playing opportunities), in-state rivals will play each other 12 times, regional opponents will play 10 times, and all other teams will play nine times. Three in-state series that will be guaranteed home-and-homes: Illinois and Northwestern, Indiana and Purdue, and Michigan and Michigan State will always play twice. , - !colspan=12 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=12 style=, Regular Season , - !colspan=12 style=, Big Ten tournament , - !colspan=12 style=, NIT

Player statistics

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a week 2 poll

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2018-19 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball seasons

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...