NCAA Basketball: Top 10 teams Bob Knight has ever coached
By Joey Loose
10. 1989 Indiana (27-8)
When the initial AP poll (a Top 20 back then) came out before the season, Indiana was not ranked. A bit of a rough stretch that ended the previous season likely played a role, but the Hoosiers were still in fantastic shape in 1989. It was a unit led by future NBA guard Jay Edwards, who averaged 20.0 points per game as a sophomore and wasn’t alone, getting great contributions from Eric Anderson, Joe Hillman, and Todd Jadlow as well.
The Hoosiers actually began the season 3-4, though all of those losses came away from home and mostly to ranked opposition. They caught fire after that, winning 13 games in a row before a late January loss at #1 Illinois. They’d only drop two more games in Big Ten play, securing the conference’s regular season title with a 15-3 record and earning national respect once again.
Conference rival Michigan won the 1989 NCAA Tournament, but the Hoosiers came to play as well. They made quick work of their first two opponents, knocking out 15-seed George Mason and 7-seed UTEP by double-digit margins. Sadly, their ride would end in the Sweet Sixteen, dropping a tough 13-point contest to 3-seed Seton Hall, the eventual national runners up.