Hoosiers Now

ON THIS DAY: IN 2016, Indiana Fell to No. 1 North Carolina, and Hasn't Danced Since

In the regional semifinals of the 2016 NCAA tournament, Yogi Ferrell had a huge final game with Indiana, but it wasn't enough against No. 1 North Carolina.

Tom Brew

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — North Carolina was a No. 1 seed for a reason back in 2016, and when the Tar Heels took on fifth-seeded Indiana in the regional semifinals on March 25 that year, you knew things would be tough.

You just didn't expect impossibly tough.

The Tar Heels, led by Marcus Paige's six three-pointers, scored practically at will on Tom Crean's Hoosiers, running up and down the court at rolling to a 101-86 victory. Crean, who was trying to celebrate his 50th birthday, had no answers for the Tar Heels. 

Neither did his players.

“If they play like that, even remotely close to that, then they’re going to be very, very hard to beat,” Crean said of the Tar Heels, who made it all the way to the NCAA title game that year, losing on a last-second shot to Villanova. 

It was the second-straight blue blood showdown for the Hoosiers, who had beaten Kentucky in the second round. They were short-handed against UNC, though, forced to play without Robert Johnson, who was out with an ankle injury. Indiana had won the two previous tournament meetings in 1984 (Dakich vs. Jordon) and 1981 (Isiah's national title).

Crean needed a good run in the tournament after missing the NCAAs entirely in 2014 and then then losing in the first round in 2015. Winning twice the first weekend helped, but the naysayers were out right after this game, where the howls about Indiana being a horrible defensive team were heard loud and clear.

Getting burned by Paige really hurt. He scored 12 of North Carolina’s first 14 points in the opening minutes by going 4-for-4 from three-point range. The Tar Heels shot 62.1 percent from the field in the first half, taking a 52-41 lead into the break.

Indiana was trying to reach its first regional final since 2002, but simply couldn't ever make a serious run at the Tar Heels. 

Senior point guard Yogi Ferrell, playing his final game for the Hoosiers, was terrific, scoring 25 points on 4-of-9 shooting from three-point range and making 9-of-10 free throws. Troy Williams had 21 and Max Bielfeldt had 15 off the bench. 

Ferrell had a brilliant four-year career at Indiana, being a big part of two Big Ten championship teams (2013, 2016) and leaving Bloomington as the school's all-time assists leader.

"I gave my all to IU,'' Ferrell said afterward.

The following year, Indiana failed to make the NCAA tournament and Crean was fired after nine years. The Hoosiers still haven't played in the Big Dance since then, though they probably would have this year during Archie Miller's third season at Indiana.

VIDEO: Tom Crean on the 2016 Indiana team

Related 'ON THIS DAY' stories

  • March 16, 2017: Indiana fires Tom Crean after nine seasons. CLICK HERE
  • March 17, 2000: Indiana loses to Pepperdine 77-57 in Bob Knighjt's final game as coach of the Hoosiers. CLICK HERE
  • March 18, 1953: Hoosiers win their second NCAA championship on Bobby Leonard's last-minute free throw. CLICK HERE
  • March 19, 201
  • March 19, 2016: Indiana knocks off Kentucky in second round in Des Moines in Tom Crean's final NCAA tournament win for the Hoosiers. CLICK HERE
  • March 20, 1987: Bob Knight and Mike Krzyzewski meet in the postseason for the first time, and IU prevails. CLICK HERE
  • March 21, 2002: Indiana's huge second-half comeback helps take down No. 1-ranked Duke in regional semifinals. CLICK HERE
  • March 22, 1975: Indiana's unbeaten season gets spoiled by Mike Flynn and Kentucky in an epic 92-90 regional final. CLICK HERE
  • March 23, 2002: Mike Davis and Indiana punch their ticket to the 2002 Final Four with a regional final win over Kent State. CLICK HERE 
  • March 24, 1973: Indiana comes oh so close to taking down Bill Walton and the UCLA dynasty in the Final Four national semifinals. CLICK HERE

Follow our best Indiana coverage

Published
Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.

Home/Basketball