Indiana is tied for fourth with Duke for having the most men's basketball national championships…read more The Hoosiers have five NCAA titles. Two were won with Branch McCracken as the head coach (1940, 1953) and three were won with Bob Knight as the head coach (1976, 1981, 1987). I consider Indiana one of college basketball's "blue blood" programs along with UCLA, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Duke. However, since Bob Knight's firing in 2000, Indiana has returned to the Final Four and national championship game only once (2002).
I attended that 2002 national championship game in person. One-seed Maryland, coached by Gary Williams and led by Juan Dixon, Lonny Baxter, Chris Wilcox, and Steve Blake, beat Indiana, 64-52, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Fifth-seeded Indiana was coached by former Knight assistant Mike Davis and led by Jared Jeffries and Tom Coverdale. I still remember watching Indiana warm up in their candy-striped warm-up pants before the game and watching "One Shining Moment" with the Maryland basketball team on the big screen after the game.
Branch McCracken beat Kansas twice for his two titles. Bob Knight beat Michigan in 1976, North Carolina in 1981, and Syracuse in 1987 for his three titles. Bob Knight's 1976 team was one for the record books. It was the last team to go undefeated in NCAA Division I men's basketball. That 1976 Indiana team was actually mentioned a lot this past March/April because Gonzaga was on the cusp of becoming the next college basketball team to have a perfect season. The Zags, however, fell short in the final game.
Bob Knight coached Mike Krzyzewski at the college level (Army) and Mike Krzyzewski worked as an assistant coach under Knight at Indiana for one season (1974-1975). "The General" was an outspoken and controversial coach. Lowlights from his career include throwing a chair across the court in a 1985 game against rival Purdue (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukpekodCQ-U) and appearing to choke former player Neil Reed during a 1997 practice (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm3YFFjj5y8). Knight currently ranks fourth in all-time wins behind Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, and Roy Williams.
Some notable former Indiana players include Steve Alford, OG Anunoby, Walt Bellamy, Calbert Cheaney, Jason Collier, Eric Gordon, Alan Henderson, Scott May, George McGinnis, Victor Oladipo, Isaiah Thomas, Mike Woodson (who is the team's new coach as of 2021), and Cody Zeller. I'm familiar with Mike Woodson from his days as the Atlanta Hawks head coach (2004-2010).
With a capacity of 17,357, Indiana's Assembly Hall is the third-largest basketball arena in the Big Ten behind Ohio State (19,049) and Maryland (17,950). It opened in 1971 and is located on campus. For parking info and a map, see https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/simon-skjodt-assembly-hall-bloomington?select=uZHuomKWOWmal6Ygn2T1nw.