How did legendary Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight fare in games against KU Jayhawks?

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Bob Knight coached against Kansas 16 times during a stellar 42-year career that included stops at Army, Indiana and Texas Tech.

Knight — he died Wednesday at the age of 83 — directed the Hoosiers to a 5-6 combined mark versus Roy Williams and Ted Owens-led Jayhawks teams, while his Texas Tech Red Raiders went 2-3 against Bill Self’s KU squads.

It adds up to a 7-9 overall mark (at all stops) versus the Jayhawks.

The best record in Knight vs. KU coaching matchups was recorded by Williams, whose Jayhawks went 5-1 versus Knight’s Hoosiers in Williams’ 15 seasons at KU.

“Coach (Dean) Smith was certainly my mentor, but the next guy for me was Bob Knight,” Williams said Wednesday in a statement. “I played golf with him, watched baseball with him, watched his practices my first year as a head coach (at KU), but more importantly I appreciated the help he gave me in my coaching career. He acted like I was one of his guys and made me so much better. He was one of my heroes and I will be forever grateful to him.”

KU, in Williams’ third season at KU, routed Indiana, 83-65, in an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game on March 21, 1991 in Charlotte, North Carolina. In a second tourney game involving Knight and Williams, Williams’ Jayhawks stopped the Hoosiers, 83-77, in an Elite Eight contest on March 27, 1992, in St. Louis.

KU also went 3-1 during a four-year series that included one game at Allen Fieldhouse, one at IU’s Assembly Hall, plus one in Kansas City and one in Indianapolis. KU defeated Indiana, 74-69, on Dec. 5, 1992 at the Hoosier Dome in Indy then prevailed, 86-83, in overtime on Dec. 22, 1993 in Allen Fieldhouse. That was the game in which Kansas’ Jacque Vaughn drilled a game-winning three with :02 left in OT.

Knight’s Hoosiers ran away from the Jayhawks, 80-61, on Dec. 17, 1994 in Bloomington, Indiana. KU then wrapped up the four-game, four-year series by tripping IU, 91-83, on Dec. 16, 1995 in Kemper Arena in KC.

KU, a No. 3 seed in 1991, followed the regional semifinal victory over No. 2-seed Indiana by beating No. 1 seed Arkansas in the regional finals in Charlotte. Knight uttered one of his most memorable quotes after his Hoosiers’ 18-point loss to up-and-coming KU coach Williams and the Jayhawks.

“With about five minutes left in the first half, John Clougherty (ref) told me there was a screw loose on the floor. I said, ‘Can we start again tomorrow?’’’ Knight cracked after a game in which the Hoosiers trailed by 22 points at halftime.

In 1992-93, No. 2 seed KU’s six-point victory over No. 1 seed Indiana in the Elite Eight spoiled one of the greatest seasons in IU history. Indiana had dominated the Big Ten in 1993 with a 17-1 record.

The Hoosiers finished that season 31-4 with two of their losses to Williams’ Jayhawks.

Ted’s teams 1-4 versus Knight’s Hoosiers

Knight’s Hoosiers played KU five times in the Ted Owens era. Indiana went 4-1 in those games.

Indiana defeated KU, 59-56, on Dec. 6, 1971, in Bloomington. It was a signature victory for Knight, who was in his first of 29 seasons at Indiana after six campaigns at Army.

The Hoosiers went 2-0 vs. Owens’ KU teams at Allen Fieldhouse, prevailing, 72-55, on Dec. 5, 1972 and, 74-71, in overtime on Dec. 4, 1974.

KU lost, 72-59, at Assembly Hall on Dec. 5, 1973. The Jayhawks prevailed, 71-61, on Dec. 29, 1981 in an ECAC Holiday Festival game in New York City.

Current KU coach Self, like former KU coach Larry Brown didn’t have the opportunity to coach against a Knight-led IU squad while Jayhawk coach.

However, Self’s Jayhawks went 3-0 vs. Knight’s Texas Tech Red Raiders in Allen Fieldhouse but 0-2 in United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock.

“We lost a legend,” Self, KU’s 21st-year coach, said of Knight, whose teams won 902 games in 42 seasons. “Coach Knight gave an awful lot to the game and an awful lot to a lot of people in only the way that he could do it. I think most people respected it. A lot of people picked holes at it. That’s OK because he is a controversial figure. Nobody could ever doubt or deny the good he did for a lot of people. Every one of his players graduated. He did a lot of things for a lot of people that people in his circle knew he did. He wouldn’t go around telling everybody what he was doing. He is an icon and probably as big a figure as our sport has known,” Self added.

They said it

Several folks in the sports world have issued statements following the news of Knight’s death on Wednesday.

Quinn Buckner, chair IU Board of Trustees and 1976 national champion at IU: “One of the things that he said to our (undefeated) 1976 team, which I was fortunate enough to be a part of, was that you may never see another team like this again. Well, I don’t know that we will ever see another coach like him again. I think it’s important for people to realize that. It was a special opportunity to have been coached by him, and an equally special opportunity to have him as a friend.”

Mike Krzyzewski, legendary Duke coach/Hall of Famer who played for Knight at Army: “We lost one of the greatest coaches in the history of basketball. Clearly, he was one of a kind. Coach Knight recruited me, mentored me, and had a profound impact on my career and in my life. This is a tremendous loss for our sport and our family is deeply saddened by his passing.”

Dick Vitale, ESPN: “Yes Robert Montgomery Knight who I called, ‘The General,’ was a special man’ in my life. I met him as a brilliant basketball mind at West Point. Through the years we disagreed on various issues but never did it stop us caring for one another. He was so good in his prime teaching how to play the game.Always loved talking hoops with him over the years.”

Jay Bilas, ESPN: “RIP to the legendary Bob Knight. He was an American original. I had the honor of knowing him well, and while he wasn’t for everyone, I always truly liked, respected and admired him. As he once said of Henry Iba, of all the shadows cast in the game, his was the longest. … Bob Knight was brilliant in every way, I’ve never seen a better coach on the floor. Bob Knight was an American original.”

Fran Fraschilla, ESPN: “When Bob Knight was coaching at Texas Tech, he had heard second hand that I had said something he didn’t like on a broadcast. I was told by the Red Raiders SID not to come to their shootaround at KU. I went anyway. Halfway through practice, after giving me the ‘evil eye,’ he came barging over to me and said, ‘Do you think we should recruit junior college players?’ I said, ‘I do, coach, you’re in West Texas.’ He said, ‘I agree.’ We became friends after that.”

Chris Beard, Mississippi head coach: “Besides my own father, nobody’s had more of an impact in my life than Bob Knight.”

Indiana coach Mike Woodson who played for Knight at IU from 1976-80: “As far as I’m concerned, he’s the greatest coach to ever grace a college basketball floor. I am so blessed that he saw something in me as a basketball player. He influenced my life in ways I could never repay. As he did with all his players, he always challenged me to get the most out of myself as a player, and more importantly, as a person. I will always cherish the time we spent together after I played for him. His fierce loyalty to his former players never wavered.”

Tom Crean, former Indiana coach: “Although we never got him back to Indiana to be honored on our watch, I was so thankful when he finally did return. We were always going to revere what he accomplished and who he accomplished it with. Our deepest condolences.”

George Karl, former NBA coach: “Bobby Knight is one of the guys who took basketball to a higher level. He taught at a higher level and helped it become the second most popular sport in the world. He was a tough cat but will always be remembered as one of the grandfathers of the sport.”