Illinois–Indiana men's basketball rivalry

Illinois–Indiana men's basketball rivalry
First Meeting January 20, 1906
First Result UI 27 - IU 24
Latest Meeting February 25, 2016
Latest Result IU 74 - UI 47
Total Number of Meetings 167
Largest Victory UI: 29 points (1914)
IU: 40 points (1974)
Current Streak IU 3
All-time Series IU leads 87-80
Men's Basketball Post Season History
Last Meeting February 25, 2016
Last Result IU 74 - UI 47
All-Time Postseason Series UI 6 - IU 2
Men's Basketball National Success
NCAA Final Fours
  • Illinois- 5 (tied for 13th all-time)
  • Indiana - 8 (9th all-time)

NCAA Tournament Championships

  • Illinois - 0
  • Indiana - 5 (tied for 3rd all-time)

The Illinois–Indiana men's basketball rivalry is an intra-Big Ten Conference, college sports rivalry between the Illinois Fighting Illini and Indiana Hoosiers. Multiple factors have played into the creation of the battle between the two schools; Illinois and Indiana share a state border and are located about 153 miles (246 km) apart, they share recruiting ground, and for many decades both teams played in a facility named Assembly Hall.[1]

History

Illinois and Indiana first met on January 20, 1906 with an Illinois victory, 27-24. Since the two teams are both in the Big Ten Conference, they meet at least once a season. The location of the game alternates between Assembly Hall in Bloomington and the State Farm Center, formerly Assembly Hall, in Champaign. There have been a total of five overtime games in this rivalry series."[1]

In mid-1980s Indiana head coach Bob Knight brought allegations to the NCAA that Illinois assistant coaches had acted improperly in the recruitment of Lowell Hamilton. Hamilton was the focus of a recruiting battle between Illinois and Indiana, and while the allegations of improper conduct were unfounded by the NCAA, the controversy had a lasting impact on the rivalry.[2]

In a game at Bloomington on February 25, 1998, Indiana head coach Bob Knight was issued two technical fouls by referee Ted Valentine for first arguing a call after a hard collision between Illinois guard Sergio McClain and Indiana guard Luke Recker in which McClain was issued a technical foul for touching the rim after blocking Recker's shot. Coach Knight mistakenly argued the call should have been goaltending. From the collision, Recker fell hard to the court in pain. To check on his player, Coach Knight rushed to the court for which he was incorrectly issued the second technical foul by Valentine.[3]

Multiple feuds and incidents between the schools' programs have fueled the rivalry over the years. Illinois has dominated Indiana in the short history of the Big Ten Tournament. Of the 18 years the conference tournament been held, Illinois and Indiana have played a total of 8 times. Illinois holds the record of 6-2 over Indiana. In the 1999 Big Ten Tournament the Hoosiers and the Illini faced each other and Illinois won the game 82-66. Illinois would go on to win 4 of the next 5 tournament meetings.[1]

Another feud is less focused on the tension between the two schools, but rather a former Illinois head coach and his ties to Indiana. Bruce Weber coached the Fighting Illini from 2003-12, but the history between Weber and Indiana began long before he set foot in Champaign. As head coach at Southern Illinois University from 1998-2003, he often scheduled non-conference meetings against Indiana. Before that, Weber served as an assistant coach under Gene Keady at Purdue University for 18 years. During his tenure at Illinois, Weber noted that there was strong tension between himself and Indiana for multiple and obvious reasons (see Indiana–Purdue rivalry).[4]

In 2007 there was a recruiting battle between the schools over Indiana Mr. Basketball, Eric Gordon. Gordon initially verbally committed to play for Illinois.[5] However when Mike Davis resigned as Indiana's head coach and Kelvin Sampson was hired, Gordon decommitted and signed his National Letter of Intent to play for Indiana.[6]

Game results

Winning team is shown in bold. Ranking of the team at the time of the game by the AP poll is shown in parenthesis next to the team name.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Illinois Basketball: The Indiana Rivalry Over the Years". Writing Illini. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  2. ↑ Tate, Loren (January 8, 2009). "Intense rivalry cools, but a fire still burns". News Gazette. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  3. ↑ Davis, Seth (March 25, 2013). "The Hell of Fame". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  4. ↑ Klee, Paul (February 9, 2012). "Klee: Illini to get earful at Indiana". The News-Gazette. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Indianapolis standout commits to Illini early". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 1, 2005. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
  6. ↑ Rabjohns, Jeff (October 13, 2006). "Prep star Eric Gordon changes mind, makes move to Hoosiers". USA Today. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
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