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35 years ago tonight, Keith Smart won IU a national title

Indiana defeated Syracuse, 74-73, for their fifth national championship on March 30, 1987.

INDIANAPOLIS — It has been 35 years since Keith Smart made Indiana University the national champions in men's basketball.

On March 30, 1987, Smart's game-winning jumper in the closing seconds beat Syracuse, 74-73, to clinch the Hoosiers' fifth national title. Despite two trips to the Final Four since that night in New Orleans, including an appearance in the 2002 nationalh championship game, IU has not won another men's basketball championship. 

You can relive the memory of the 1987 title game in its entirety below:

Smart's shot isn't the only memorable March 30 moment in IU basketball history. The school also clinched NCAA titles on this date in 1940 and 1981. That game was almost postponed after President Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded earlier in the day.

The 1987 championship also marked a new era in the television history of the national title game. For the first time, a video montage of highlights from the entire tournament aired following the game to the now-iconic song "One Shining Moment." 

Smart is currently an assistant coach with the Arkansas Razorbacks, who reached the Elite Eight before falling to Duke in this year's NCAA Tournament. 

He recalled his career, including the 1987 championship in an Arkansas podcast last year.

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