Sue Voss with grandaughter Alexis Lewis (7) and Tom Voss in their Milan, Ind., picture window. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        MILAN, Ind. — Even the most die-hard Indiana fans in this rural enclave of happy Hoosiers had a hard time envisioning tonight's championship matchup with Maryland.

        “Nobody expected them to get this far,” said Tom Voss, 58.

        But Milan residents know that anything is possible when it comes to Indiana basketball.

        The town is a virtual shrine to perhaps the most defining moment in the state's basketball history - Milan's upset victory in the 1954 state basketball championship game against the Muncie Central Bearcats.

        The championship was won by a bunch of small-town boys playing for one of the smallest schools in the tournament. Milan's run to the title was so improbable that it inspired the movie, Hoosiers.

        Can history repeat itself?

        “I think they're up against their toughest opponent, but I wouldn't bet against them,” Mr. Voss said.

        If Indiana wins tonight, Mr. Voss and his neighbors could be staring at the IU banner in his front window for a long time.

Glen Butte, a member of the famous Milan state high school championship team, points to himself in a rendering of the team on the wall of the Railroad Inn in Milan. (Michael E. Keating photo) | ZOOM |

        His wife, Sue, put up the banner.

        “Go Hoosiers!,” she shouted Sunday, with her husband in their front doorway. “This is the home of the original Hoosiers.”

        An Indiana victory tonight would go a long way toward reinvigorating the Hoosier spirit, which has been mostly dormant since the school's last championship in 1987, according to some fans.

        “We're long overdue for this one,” said Rick Zumwalde, who owns the Milan Railroad Inn, where team photos and letter jackets commemorating the '54 state championship are enshrined.

        Glen Butte, who helped lead Milan to the '54 championship, said just getting to the title game has already been an inspiration for many Indiana fans.

        “People around here are proud and happy that IU is back where they need to be,” Mr. Butte said Sunday as he prepared for a family get-together at the Railroad Inn.

        Mr. Butte, 63, who played for Indiana University from 1957 to 1960, doesn't think an Indiana victory would be as surprising as Milan's win in '54.

        “If they (Indiana) win, it wouldn't be the same as our victory because they've already won five championships,” he said. “It's not like they haven't been there before.”

        How did they get back to the “Big Dance?”

        Mr. Butte believes the answer was a much-needed coaching change and a return to the principles of unity and team spirit embodied by second-year coach Mike Davis.

        “If Bobby Knight were still here, we'd be at home just like Texas Tech,” Mr. Butte said, referring to the longtime Indiana coach now at Texas Tech.

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