Illinois–Indiana men's basketball rivalry

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 games 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]

Illinois–Indiana men's basketball rivalry

Illinois Fighting Illini Indiana Hoosiers
Sport	College basketball
First meeting	January 20, 1906 Illinois 27 – Indiana 24
Latest meeting	January 27, 2024 Illinois 70 – Indiana 62
Stadiums	State Farm Center, Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall
Statistics
Meetings total	188
All-time series	Indiana leads, 96–92
Largest victory	Indiana, 107–67 (1974)
Longest win streak	Indiana, 9 (1972–1977)
Current win streak	Illinois, 1 (2024–present)

75km
50miles

Indiana

Illinois

  

Locations of Illinois and Indiana

History

Main articles: Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball and Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball

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 Simon Skjodt 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 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 competition between Illinois and Indiana, and while the allegations of improper conduct were unfounded by the NCAA, the controversy had some level of impact on the games at the time.^[2]

On March 10, 1991, after an Indiana victory in Champaign, a profanity-laced shouting match between Knight and Fighting Illini coach Lou Henson erupted outside the team locker rooms. The incident started when Knight left the Assembly Hall court with seven seconds remaining in the game, skipping the traditional postgame handshake while laughing and waving to the Illinois crowd. This incident enraged Henson to the point of confronting Knight outside of the locker room. Henson's anger continued as he spoke out against Knight at the postgame press conference.

"What do you expect out of Knight? He`s a classic bully. I was in the (Indiana) locker room, he jumped on me and I wanted him to come outside. He intimidates the Big 10 office; he tries to intimidate everybody. His entire life is based on intimidation, but the big bully won`t intimidate me."

—Lou Henson^[3]

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 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 issued the second technical foul by Valentine.^[4]

Occasional feuds and incidents between the schools' programs have fueled the competition over the years. Illinois has dominated Indiana in the short history of the Big Ten tournament. Since the onset of the conference tournament, Illinois and Indiana have played a total of 9 times. Illinois holds the record of 6-3 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 before he set foot in Champaign. As head coach at Southern Illinois University for five years from 1998-2003, he scheduled some 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 tension between himself and Indiana (see Indiana–Purdue rivalry).^[5]

In 2007 there was a recruiting battle between the schools over Indiana Mr. Basketball, Eric Gordon. Gordon initially verbally committed to play for Illinois.^[6] 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.^[7]

Accomplishments by the two rivals

The following summarizes the accomplishments of the two programs.

Team	Illinois	Indiana
National titles^[8]^[9]	0	5
Final Four appearances^[10]^[11]	5	8
NCAA Tournament appearances^[10]^[11]	32	41
NCAA Tournament record^[10]^[11]	42-34	68-36
Big Ten tournament titles^[12]	3	0
Big Ten regular season titles^[13]	18	22
Consensus First Team All-Americans^[14]	16	16
Naismith Players of the Year^[15]	0	2
Big Ten Players of the Year^[16]	3	6
Big Ten Medal of Honor Recipients^[17]	19	16
All-time program record^[10]^[11]	1876-1054	1909-1106
All-time winning percentage^[10]^[11]	.640	.633

• Through March 19, 2023^[18][19]

Game results

Games with both teams ranked

(Rankings are from AP Poll)^[12]

Date	Illinois rank	Indiana rank	Winner	Score
January 15, 1951	14	6	Indiana	64–53
February 19, 1951	11	6	Illinois	71–65
January 14, 1952	2	4	Illinois	78–66
February 18, 1952	6	20	Illinois	77–70
January 17, 1953	4	6	Indiana	74–70^OT
February 28, 1953	10	2	Indiana	91–79
January 14, 1956	8	12	Illinois	96–72
January 4, 1965	6	2	Illinois	86–81
May 5, 1981	16	14	Indiana	69–66
January 27, 1985	6	13	Illinois	52–41
January 28, 1987	14	4	Indiana	69–66
May 1, 1987	14	3	Illinois	69–67
January 28, 1989	1	16	Illinois	75–65
May 5, 1989	8	3	Illinois	70–67
February 4, 1990	11	22	Illinois	70–65
May 10, 2000	21	13	Illinois	72–69
February 26, 2002	15	25	Illinois	70–62
January 18, 2003	8	18	Indiana	74–66
January 17, 2006	7	13	Indiana	62–60

Winning team is shown. Ranking of the team at the time of the game by the AP poll is shown by the team name.

Series results

Illinois victories

Indiana victories

Tie games

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 January 20, 1906 Kenney Gym Illinois 27–24 2 February 16, 1906 Old Assembly Hall Indiana 37–8 3 January 25, 1908 Kenney Gym Illinois 39–12 4 January 9, 1909 Kenney Gym Illinois 30–2 5 March 6, 1909 Old Assembly Hall Indiana 23–13 6 February 5, 1910 Kenney Gym Illinois 30–20 7 March 5, 1910 Old Assembly Hall Illinois 26–12 8 January 8, 1911 Kenney Gym Illinois 33–22 9 February 12, 1911 Old Assembly Hall Indiana 19–14 10 February 7, 1912 Old Assembly Hall Indiana 24–23 11 February 23, 1912 Kenney Gym Illinois 41–18 12 March 1, 1913 Kenney Gym Illinois 29–12 13 March 8, 1913 Old Assembly Hall Illinois 23–17 14 January 6, 1914 Kenney Gym Illinois 35–6 15 February 7, 1914 Old Assembly Hall Illinois 31–15 16 January 11, 1915 Kenney Gym Illinois 34–14 17 January 26, 1915 Old Assembly Hall Illinois 20–4 18 January 23, 1923 Kenney Gym Illinois 31–22 19 February 12, 1923 Men's Gymnasium Indiana 31–24 20 January 17, 1925 Kenney Gym Illinois 31–22 21 February 23, 1925 Men's Gymnasium Indiana 30–24 22 February 19, 1926 Men's Gymnasium Illinois 21–20 23 March 6, 1926 Huff Gym Indiana 28–25 24 January 21, 1928 Men's Gymnasium Indiana 44–29 25 March 6, 1928 Huff Gym Indiana 27–23 26 January 8, 1929 Huff Gym Illinois 20–16 27 February 26, 1929 Men's Gymnasium Indiana 32–22 28 January 17, 1931 Huff Gym Indiana 35–34 29 February 23, 1931 The Field House Illinois 39–25 30 January 11, 1932 The Field House Illinois 30–22 31 March 7, 1932 Huff Gym Illinois 33–32 32 February 10, 1934 Huff Gym Illinois 28–25 33 February 24, 1934 The Field House Indiana 36–24 34 January 5, 1935 Huff Gym Indiana 32–28 35 January 14, 1935 The Field House Indiana 42–29 36 January 11, 1937 Huff Gym Illinois 40–31 37 February 20, 1937 The Field House Illinois 42–25 38 January 4, 1938 The Field House Indiana 51–46 39 March 4, 1938 Huff Gym Indiana 45–35 40 January 9, 1939 Huff Gym Indiana 38–32 41 January 6, 1940 The Field House Indiana 38–36 42 January 11, 1941 Huff Gym Indiana 48–38 43 February 9, 1942 The Field House Indiana 41–36 44 February 12, 1945 Huff Gym Illinois 71–48 45 February 28, 1945 The Field House Indiana 65–55 46 February 15, 1947 Huff Gym Illinois 59–50 47 March 1, 1947 The Field House Indiana 48–41 48 January 19, 1948 Huff Gym Illinois 46–45 49 March 1, 1948 The Field House Illinois 52–51 50 January 8, 1949 The Field House Illinois 44–42 51 February 28, 1949 Huff Gym No. 4 Illinois 76–60 52 February 13, 1950 Huff Gym No. 16 Indiana 83–72 53 February 27, 1950 The Field House No. 17 Indiana 80–66 54 January 15, 1951 The Field House No. 6 Indiana 64–53 55 February 19, 1951 Huff Gym No. 11 Illinois 71–65 56 February 14, 1952 Huff Gym No. 2 Illinois 78–66 57 February 18, 1952 The Field House No. 6 Illinois 77–70 58 January 17, 1953 The Field House No. 6 Indiana 74–70^OT 59 February 28, 1953 Huff Gym No. 2 Indiana 91–79 60 March 6, 1954 The Field House No. 2 Indiana 67–64 61 January 8, 1955 Huff Gym No. 12 Illinois 99–75 62 January 14, 1956 The Field House No. 8 Illinois 96–72 63 February 6, 1956 Huff Gym No. 6 Illinois 92–89 64 January 14, 1957 Huff Gym No. 10 Illinois 112–91 65 March 4, 1957 The Field House No. 10 Indiana 84–76 66 January 11, 1958 The Field House Indiana 89–82 67 March 3, 1958 Huff Gym Indiana 96–86 68 February 9, 1959 The Field House Illinois 89–83 69 February 21, 1959 Huff Gym Illinois 100–98 70 February 22, 1960 Huff Gym Indiana 92–78 71 February 25, 1961 New Field House Indiana 93–82 72 February 3, 1962 Huff Gym No. 4 Illinois 96–85 73 March 5, 1962 New Field House Indiana 104–92 74 February 4, 1963 Huff Gym No. 4 Illinois 104–101 75 February 16, 1963 New Field House Indiana 103–100 76 February 3, 1964 New Field House Indiana 104–96 77 January 4, 1965 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 6 Illinois 86–81 78 January 8, 1966 New Field House Illinois 98–84 79 February 12, 1966 Assembly Hall^Champaign Indiana 81–77 80 February 20, 1967 New Field House Indiana 96–81 81 March 4, 1967 Assembly Hall^Champaign Illinois 80–70 82 January 9, 1968 Assembly Hall^Champaign Indiana 61–60^OT 83 March 1, 1969 New Field House No. 15 Illinois 77–64 84 January 6, 1970 Assembly Hall^Champaign Illinois 94–74 85 March 3, 1970 New Field House Illinois 85–75 86 February 20, 1971 Assembly Hall^Champaign Indiana 88–86 87 March 13, 1971 Assembly Hall^Bloomington Illinois 103–87 88 February 22, 1972 Assembly Hall^Champaign Indiana 90–71 89 February 12, 1973 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 4 Indiana 87–66 90 February 9, 1974 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 12 Indiana 107–67 91 February 18, 1974 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 12 Indiana 101–83 92 January 27, 1975 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 1 Indiana 73–57 93 February 24, 1975 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 1 Indiana 112–89 94 January 17, 1976 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 1 Indiana 83–55 95 February 24, 1976 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 1 Indiana 58–48 No. Date Location Winner Score 96 January 8, 1977 Assembly Hall^Bloomington Indiana 80–60 97 February 17, 1977 Assembly Hall^Champaign Illinois 73–69 98 January 7, 1978 Assembly Hall^Bloomington Illinois 65–64 99 March 2, 1978 Assembly Hall^Champaign Indiana 77–68 100 January 4, 1979 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 4 Illinois 65–61 101 March 3, 1979 Assembly Hall^Champaign Indiana 72–60 102 January 31, 1980 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 18 Indiana 60–54 103 February 9, 1980 Assembly Hall^Champaign Illinois 69–68 104 January 10, 1981 Assembly Hall^Bloomington Indiana 78–61 105 March 5, 1981 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 14 Indiana 69–66 106 January 21, 1982 Assembly Hall^Champaign Indiana 54–53 107 February 11, 1982 Assembly Hall^Bloomington Indiana 73–60 108 January 13, 1983 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 4 Indiana 69–55 109 March 5, 1983 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 11 Indiana 67–55 110 January 11, 1984 Assembly Hall^Bloomington Indiana 73–68 111 March 4, 1984 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 10 Illinois 70–53 112 January 27, 1985 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 6 Illinois 52–41 113 February 21, 1985 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 16 Illinois 66–50 114 January 25, 1986 Assembly Hall^Bloomington Indiana 71–69 115 February 20, 1986 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 15 Indiana 61–60 116 January 28, 1987 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 4 Indiana 69–66 117 March 1, 1987 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 14 Illinois 69–67 118 February 6, 1988 Assembly Hall^Champaign Indiana 75–74 119 February 29, 1988 Assembly Hall^Bloomington Illinois 75–65 120 January 28, 1989 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 1 Illinois 75–65 121 March 5, 1989 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 8 Illinois 70–67 122 February 4, 1990 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 11 Illinois 70–65 123 March 10, 1990 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 20 Illinois 69–63 124 January 2, 1991 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 5 Indiana 109–74 125 March 10, 1991 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 3 Indiana 70–58 126 February 4, 1992 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 6 Indiana 76–65 127 March 1, 1992 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 2 Indiana 76–70 128 January 16, 1993 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 6 Indiana 83–79 129 February 17, 1993 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 1 Indiana 93–71 130 January 30, 1994 Assembly Hall^Champaign Illinois 88–81 131 March 1, 1994 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 17 Indiana 82–77 132 January 14, 1995 Assembly Hall^Champaign Illinois 78–67 133 March 2, 1995 Assembly Hall^Bloomington Indiana 89–85 134 January 13, 1996 Assembly Hall^Champaign Indiana 85–71 135 February 28, 1996 Assembly Hall^Bloomington Indiana 76–64 136 February 2, 1997 Assembly Hall^Bloomington Illinois 78–74 137 January 3, 1998 Assembly Hall^Champaign Illinois 74–72 138 February 24, 1998 Assembly Hall^Bloomington Illinois 82–72 139 January 3, 1999 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 8 Indiana 62–53 140 February 24, 1999 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 20 Indiana 70–64 141 March 5, 1999* United Center Illinois 82–66 142 February 22, 2000 Assembly Hall^Champaign Illinois 87–63 143 March 10, 2000* United Center No. 21 Illinois 72–69 144 February 17, 2001 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 16 Illinois 67–61 145 March 10, 2001* United Center Indiana 58–56 146 January 26, 2002 Assembly Hall^Bloomington Indiana 88–57 147 February 26, 2002 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 15 Illinois 70–62 148 January 18, 2003 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 18 Indiana 74–66 149 February 25, 2003 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 18 Illinois 80–54 150 March 15, 2003* United Center No. 13 Illinois 73–72 151 February 3, 2004 Assembly Hall^Bloomington Illinois 51–49 152 March 12, 2004* Conseco Fieldhouse No. 12 Illinois 71–59 153 February 6, 2005 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 1 Illinois 60–47 154 January 17, 2006 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 13 Indiana 62–60 155 February 19, 2006 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 14 Illinois 70–58 156 January 23, 2007 Assembly Hall^Champaign Illinois 51–43 157 February 10, 2007 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 24 Indiana 65–61 158 March 9, 2007* United Center Illinois 58–54^OT 159 January 13, 2008 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 11 Indiana 62–58 160 February 7, 2008 Assembly Hall^Champaign No. 13 Indiana 83–79^OT 161 January 10, 2009 Assembly Hall^Champaign Illinois 76–45 162 February 15, 2009 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 20 Illinois 65–52 163 January 9, 2010 Assembly Hall^Bloomington Illinois 66–60 164 January 30, 2010 Assembly Hall^Champaign Illinois 71–70 165 January 27, 2011 Assembly Hall^Bloomington Indiana 52–49 166 March 5, 2011 Assembly Hall^Champaign Illinois 72–48 167 February 9, 2012 Assembly Hall^Bloomington No. 23 Indiana 84–71 168 February 7, 2013 Assembly Hall^Champaign Illinois 74–72 169 March 15, 2013* United Center No. 3 Indiana 80–64 170 December 31, 2013 State Farm Center Illinois 83–80^OT 171 January 26, 2014 Assembly Hall^Bloomington Indiana 56–46 172 March 13, 2014* Conseco Fieldhouse Illinois 64–54 173 January 18, 2015 State Farm Center Indiana 80–74 174 January 19, 2016 Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall No. 25 Indiana 103–69 175 February 25, 2016 State Farm Center No. 18 Indiana 74–47 176 January 7, 2017 Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall No. 25 Indiana 96–80 177 January 24, 2018 State Farm Center Illinois 73–71 178 February 14, 2018 Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Indiana 78–68 179 January 3, 2019 Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall No. 21 Indiana 73–65 180 March 7, 2019 State Farm Center Indiana 92–74 181 March 1, 2020 State Farm Center Illinois 67–66 182 December 26, 2020 State Farm Center No. 18 Illinois 69–60 183 February 2, 2021 Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall No. 12 Illinois 75–71^OT 184 February 5, 2022 Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall No. 18 Illinois 74–57 185 March 11, 2022* Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indiana 65–63 186 January 19, 2023 State Farm Center Indiana 80–65 187 February 18, 2023 Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall No. 14 Indiana 71–68 188 January 27, 2024 State Farm Center No. 10 Illinois 70–62 Series: Indiana leads 96–92

• *Denotes game played during the Big Ten tournament

Series statistics

• All-Time Series: Indiana leads 96-92
• Current Streak: Illinois, 1 win
• Games at Illinois: Illinois leads 55-35
• Games at Indiana: Indiana leads 58-31
• Neutral Games: Illinois leads 6-3
• Illinois when ranked: 33-18
• Indiana when ranked: 40-21
• When both teams are ranked: Illinois leads 12-7
• Illinois when unranked: 59-78
• Indiana when unranked: 56-71
• Current Series Streak at Illinois: Illinois W-1
• Current Series Streak at Indiana: Indiana W-1
• Longest Illinois W-Streak: 8 (2/23/1912-1/23/1923)
• Longest Indiana W-Streak: 9 (2/22/1972-1/8/1977)
• Longest Illinois Home W-Streak: 11 (1/20/1906-1/17/1925)
• Longest Indiana Home W-Streak: 7 (1/27/2011-1/3/2019)
• Longest Illinois Road W-Streak: 3, three times (last, 2/29/1988-3/11/1990)
• Longest Indiana Road W-Streak: 4 (2/22/1972-1/17/1976)
• Largest Illinois Win Margin: 31 (76-45), 1/10/2009 at ILL
• Largest Illinois Road Win Margin: 24 (96-72), 1/14/1956
• Largest Indiana Win Margin: 40 (107-67), 2/19/1974 at IND
• Largest Indiana Road Win Margin: 28 (83-55), 1/17/1976
• In overtime games: Tied 3-3^[20]

References

1. "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. Isaacson, Melissa (Mar 11, 1991). "KNIGHT, HENSON SQUARE OFF". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
4. Davis, Seth (March 25, 2013). "The Hell of Fame". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
5. Klee, Paul (February 9, 2012). "Klee: Illini to get earful at Indiana". The News-Gazette. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
6. "Indianapolis standout commits to Illini early". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 1, 2005. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
7. Rabjohns, Jeff (October 13, 2006). "Prep star Eric Gordon changes mind, makes move to Hoosiers". USA Today. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
8. "Illinois Fighting Illini Men's Basketball School History". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
9. "Indiana Hoosiers Men's Basketball School History". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
10. "Illinois Fighting Illini Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
11. "Indiana Hoosiers Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
12. (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
13. "Big Ten Conference Sports References". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
14. "NCAA College Basketball AP All-America Teams". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
15. "Naismith Award Records". NaismithTrophy.com. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
16. (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
17. (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
18. "Illinois Fighting Illini Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
19. "Indiana Hoosiers Index". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-02-22.