NCAA Basketball: 25 best team rivalries heading into 2019-20 season
By Joey Loose
15. Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Indiana Hoosiers
Though this is one of those rivalries not exactly in its current prime, there’s significant history between Big Ten stalwarts Illinois and Indiana over the years.
The Hoosiers certainly have a greater college basketball history, but Illinois is no slouch. Things have been rough in recent seasons for both teams, though a pair of third-year coaches have these teams potentially trending upwards.
Overall, the series lead belongs to Indiana at 93 to 87. There’s a significant amount of history between these two programs, though we’ll do our best to point out some of the highlights.
While many of these games are heated, the bad blood also resonates from Kelvin Sampson’s recruiting of Illinois commit Eric Gordon to Indiana. There were also epic matches (with shouting) between Bobby Knight and Lou Henson back in the 1990s.
The teams have met eight times in the Big Ten Tournament, with Illinois victorious in six of those games. The Illini scored a massive upset win by knocking off No. 1 Indiana in 2013 with a Tyler Griffey layup.
The aforementioned disdain from Gordon’s recruitment boiled over in a double-overtime thriller won by Indiana back in 2008. There are dozens of other intense and exciting games worth mentioning that we can’t fit here.
Fortunately for the Illini, next season could be a massive step forward under coach Brad Underwood. Indiana has won seven of the last eight games in this rivalry, including an 18-point win at Illinois last season.
If the Illini can turn things around and the Hoosiers can steady the ship, this could be a fun, intense rivalry with an incredible basketball product once more. Not since 2006 have both teams been ranked during their matchup, but maybe that could happen again someday soon.