NCAA Basketball: Top 10 teams Bob Knight has ever coached

3. 1981 Indiana (26-9)

Though perhaps the most unlikely of the Hoosiers’ three national championship runs during Knight’s tenure, having Isiah Thomas leading the charge certainly made things easier. Not only did Thomas have an explosive sophomore season, but he was joined in the backcourt by Randy Wittman, who himself had quite the career at Indiana. The frontcourt was led by Ray Tolbert and also included Ted Kitchel and Landon Turner, who each averaged nearly double figures as well.

Unlike some of the other teams on today’s list, the losses piled on for the Hoosiers, especially early in the season. Ranked defeats to schools like Kentucky and North Carolina were forgivable, but this squad actually lost back-to-back games to Clemson and Texas-Pan American just before the New Year’s. They climbed out of their proverbial hole and back into the national rankings with an impressive run through conference play, finishing 14-4 and with another Big Ten regular season title.

A few upsets made their run to that title easier than it could’ve been, as the Hoosiers knocked out 6-seed Maryland by 35, 7-seed UAB by 15, and 9-seed Saint Joseph’s by 32 points. Their dominant play continued in the Final Four, limiting LSU to just 49 points in another easy win. Knight would claim his second national championship as the Hoosiers gained revenge over North Carolina, winning 63-50, with All-American Thomas scoring 23 points and earning the nod as the Most Outstanding Player.