Illinois basketball has had their clashes with many other Big Ten teams over the years. They have rivalries that are formed because of location. They have rivalries that are formed because of how close the overall record is over the years.
And then there is the rivalry they have with the Indiana Hoosiers.
These two teams have been one of the best rivalries for over the last five decades. The series is led by Indiana 87-86. But when they talk about the best rivalries of all-time it is not talked about among the great ones.
Some bigger rivalries according to some people are Duke vs. North Carolina, Ohio State vs. Michigan, and Indiana vs. Purdue. I would give you Duke vs. North Carolina, but I think Illinois vs. Indiana is the best rivalry in the Big Ten.
The rivalry itself has been going on since Illinois basketball first came into fruition in 1905. Ever since then the animosity and frustration has built up over the years.
They only thing that is keeping them from being a top 5 rivalry is because they are in different states. But a rivalry isn’t always about where they are located. A rivalry is about the history the two teams have with each other.
Location is still an aspect of it though; Illinois does have that as well. The two teams are only 153 miles apart. This is only 40 miles more than the Indiana vs. Purdue rivalry.
The Illinois vs. Indiana rivalry was always there. The two teams would go back and forth winning games against each other. But the rivalry really started heating up the 2nd year of the Big Ten Tournament.
The year was 1999 and Illinois came into the Big Ten Tournament as a #11 seed. They ended up winning in the first round against the #6 seed Minnesota. The next game was the #3 seed Indiana.
Going into that game, Illinois had lost both the regular season games against the Hoosiers. The Illini ended up winning that game 82-66. That was a drip of gas on the burning fire. But there was still more in the tank.
The next season, Illinois headed into the Big Ten Tournament as a #4 seed. They advanced through the first round and then had another meeting with Indiana. Illinois again beat the #5 Indiana Hoosiers 72-69. Another drip of gas is added.
Illinois then came into the 2001 Big Ten Tournament as the #1 seed. Both teams made it to the final four of the conference tournament where they ended up meeting again.
This time #4 Indiana got the best of Illinois 58-56. Drip.
Two years later in 2003, #2 Illinois met #6 Indiana again in the Big Ten Tournament. Illinois ended up beating the Hoosiers 73-72. Not only did Illinois beat Indiana but that was on route to a Big Ten championship win for the Illini. Drip, drip, drip.
In 2004 they met again. And again, #1 Illinois beat #8 Indiana 71-59. This was the year before Illinois made their National Championship run. This team was stacked and no one should have expected Indiana to beat Illinois in those few years. The Hoosiers were also on the downslope of their golden years in the 2000’s.
The next year they met was 2007. In that tournament #6 Illinois beat #3 Indiana in overtime 58-54. This was the first Big Ten Tournament for Indiana under new Head Coach Kelvin Sampson. Drip.
Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
This wasn’t the last time we would hear from Sampson though.
Let’s go back a few years to November 28, 2005. Highly touted guard, Eric Gordon out of North Central High School, announced that he would commit to playing for the Illinois Fighting Illini and Head Coach Bruce Weber.
The Illini snuck in and stole a recruit right out of Indiana’s backyard. The turmoil in Bloomington about their coaching situation caused Indiana to lose out on one of the best recruits in the nation. Drip.
Kelvin Sampson was hired March 29, 2006 as the Head Coach of the Indiana Hoosiers. Less than 7 months later on October 13, 2006, Eric Gordon switches his commitment from Illinois to Indiana. Drip, Drip, KABOOM!
The rivalry officially exploded into what we know it today.
The only season that Eric Gordon played for Indiana, they finished the regular season 25-6. Illinois finished 13-18. But I guess you can see a silver lining that season. Indiana’s coach Kelvin Sampson would see the season end before the team did.
Sampson would get into trouble with illegal recruiting, and more charges, that would get him fired. He was given a 5 year show cause, which means he couldn’t coach in college for 5 years.
It always slips into my mind whether or not he illegally recruited Gordon away from Champaign. I have to assume yes. The fire was in full blaze then and is still burning strong today.
Craziest atmosphere I've witnessed as a reporter was the Eric Gordon game, which I covered for the DI. Hostile, sometimes scary crowd.
— Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) January 18, 2015
Since that season Gordon played for Indiana, Illinois leads the series 7-4 in the regular season and 1-1 in the Big Ten Tournament. This includes the game I watched today where I took the Illinois roller coaster for a ride and was disappointed at the end.
No matter what, this rivalry will keep going. Whether it is one team stealing a recruit from another or if it is a player making a game winning layup to beat the other team that is ranked #1 in the country at the time, there will always be that burning fire.