My Two Cents: To Indiana’s Detriment, There Are No Big Ten Bottom Feeders Anymore

During Bob Knight's 29 years at Indiana, he feasted on the bottom of the Big Ten. He had a career combined record of 68-4 against Northwestern, Nebraska and Penn State. But those perennial bottom-feeders are pushing Indiana around these days, all with winning streaks against the Hoosiers. Those streaks add up to nine straight losses for IU. Here's a great history of the good and bad.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Indiana fans are always clamoring for the good old days, and that makes total sense. This was a best-in-the-country type of college basketball program for most of Bob Knight's 29 years in Bloomington. A true blueblood.

And you know why? Because Indiana won a lot — three NCAA titles and 11 Big Ten crowns — on Knight's watch. Just as important? There was something of a pecking order back then, and it was consistent just about every year. Indiana was a beast, always in contention for a league title, and there were the bottom feeders that were easy wins.

Every. Single. Year.

I bring this up because I'm sitting in a hotel room in State College gearing up for the Hoosiers' matchup with Penn State on Saturday afternoon. Penn State, a basketball nobody, is better than Indiana this year. They've already blown out Indiana by 14 at Assembly Hall three weeks ago, and are favored again in the Noon ET showdown. They've won three in a row against Indiana, including knocking the Hoosiers out of the Big Ten Tournament last year.

And a couple of other perennial Big Ten bottom-feeders have had their way with Indiana this season, too. Northwestern has beaten the Hoosiers in Bloomington and has won four straight in the rivalry, and Nebraska's beaten them twice in seven weeks, including an Assembly Hall blowout on Wednesday.

How the mighty have fallen. The Hoosiers, just 2-7 in their last nine games, are near the bottom of the Big Ten standings now and are staring at having to play on Wednesday in the league tournament. That's a night reserved for the worst four teams in the 14-team conference.

Worst. Four. Teams

The Knight era from 1971 to 2000 was something special. We all know that. Since then? Pretty much all junk, with a handful of bright shiny seasons as glaring exceptions. The Hoosiers aren't going to finish in the top five in the league this year, and that will be the seventh time in the past eight years that's happened. Last year, when Indiana finished second to Purdue, was the lone exception.

Do you know how many times a Bob Knight-coached team at Indiana didn't finish in the top-five in the league? TWO!! He had 27 of his 29 teams finish fifth or better. The only two that didn't were in 1985 and 1990.

So I did some research and took a long, hard look at Indiana's success — plus decades of failure to those bottom-feeders, Northwestern, Nebraska and Penn State. All three of them are better than Indiana this year, and they've won a combined nine straight games against Indiana.

Nine. Straight. Games.

Let's start with the Knight era. This numbers are startling. Northwestern was in the league the whole time, and Penn State joined for the 1992-93 basketball season. Nebraskas was later, but we'll get to them.

Bob Knight at Indiana (1971-2000)

Be amazed at all of these nuggets:

• How bad did Indiana dominate Northwestern under Knight? Well, he won his last 22 games in a row vs. the Wildcats. He also won his first 19 games against them and had a career 51-3 record against Northwestern. 
• As we mentioned above, Indiana finished in the top five in the Big Ten 27 of 29 times during Knight's reign. And how many times did Northwestern finish in the top five? How about never? And they finished last — or tied for last — an amazing 20 times in 29 years. The best they did was finish seventh twice (1976 and 1977) in what was a 10-team league at the time.
• And even in Indiana's two losing seasons (1985, 1990), Northwestern finished last both years.
• Penn State joined the league in 1993, and in the eight years of the Knight era, they finished in the top five only once, finishing second in 1996. They were either last or next to last four times in the eight years. Northwestern was usually behind them. In that 1993-2000 window, the Wildcats were ninth or worse every single year.
• Knight went 15-1 vs. Penn State, only losing at Penn State in 1996. So that combined Knight record for Knight vs. Penn State and Northwestern? That's a whopping 66-4. Bottom-feeders, indeed

Post-Bob Knight era at Indiana (2000-present)

We've gone through Mike Davis, Kelvin Sampson, a dash of Dan Dakich, Tom Crean, Archie Miller and now Mike Woodson in the past 24 years, and there's only been brief moments of success. This differences are stark. 

Here are the post-Knight nuggets:

• Indiana has only won three Big Ten titles since 2000, with Davis winning in 2002, and Crean winning in 2013 and 2016. But they've only had 10 top-five seasons in 24 years, and just one (2023) in the past eight years. 
• Northwestern and Penn State have had only three seasons each in the top-half of the expanded league since 2000. The Wildcats were tied for fifth in 2004 and 2017, and finished tied for second with Indiana a year ago. They've won four in a row against Indiana right now
• Penn State tied for fourth in 2009, tied for sixth in 2018 and tied for fifth in 2020. They've finished 10th or worse 14 times since then, but still have a three-game winning streak against the Hoosiers.
• Nebraska joined the league in 2012, and have finished 10th or worse in 10 of the 12 seasons. Their only success came in 2014 and 2018, where they finished fourth. They've beaten Indiana three straight times after losing six in a row to the Hoosiers.

Modern-day bottom-feeders

Indiana, Maryland, Ohio State and Michigan have all won national titles, and they're considered four of the premier programs in the Big Ten. But it's very likely that all four will be playing on Wednesday night, March 13, in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis.

That's a sad indictment on some once-proud programs. Ohio State has already fired Chris Holtmann and Michigan's Juwan Howard and Indiana's Mike Woodson are on shaky ground. Their futures will likely be determined in the final three weeks of the season.

It seems weird to think of this group as modern-day bottom-feeders, considering all their history. But it's true. 

Indiana is 6-9 in the Big Ten this year, and those perennial bottom-feeders have had a lot to do with it. They've lost all four games so far against the group, and could go 0-5 on Saturday if they lost at Penn State.

It's one thing to get swept by Purdue, who's been a top-three team nationally all season, but getting run off the floor by these guys is downright embarrassing.

Knight beat Nebraska twice in nonconference games in December 1974 and December 1982, so his overall record against those three schools is 68-4. In Woodson's three years, he's a combined 4-10. 

Imagine that?

That's why it makes total sense that the old-time fans who remember all those Knight years just can't fathom losing to Northwestern and Nebraska and Penn State. Those were always locks.

Now they're flat-out embarrassing.

Related stories on Indiana-Penn State

• HOW TO WATCH: Indiana continues the 2023-24 season Saturday afternoon at Penn State. Here's how to watch, game time and TV information, the point spread and over/under, the coaching matchup, series history, predicted score, stats, rankings and more. CLICK HERE
• MEET THE OPPONENT: Penn State got the best of Indiana at Assembly Hall in early February, beating the Hoosiers 85-71. Here's a look at what the Nittany Lions are bringing into Saturday's Big Ten matchup. CLICK HERE
• MEDIA COMMENTS ON WOODSON'S JOB: In an article by ESPN's Jeff Borzello, Indiana and coach Mike Woodson were mentioned in several categories regarding college basketball's coaching carousel. CLICK HERE
• JACK ANKONY COLUMN: Indiana has lost its last three home games, and the crowd inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall has been understandably frustrated. Some fans booed the Hoosiers off the court at halftime of Wednesday’s 85-70 loss to Nebraska. Indiana plays three of its next four games on the road. Maybe it will be good to get away. CLICK HERE
• BOOS RAIN DOWN AT IU: Indiana gave up 14 threes and got blown out at home by Nebraska on Wednesday nightg, losing 85-70 and getting booed off their own home floor. The Hoosiers are now 14-12 on the season and have lost four of their last five games at Assembly Hall. CLICK HERE