Tomorrow night, IU will play in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge for the ninth time. Bob Knight always was opposed to letting ESPN (once his enemy, now his employer) dictate any part of IU's schedule, and so 2001-02, Mike Davis's second season, was the first time IU played in the event. Here is a quick look at IU's performance to date, which has yielded a 3-5 record:
2001-02: Indiana 79, North Carolina 66 (Chapel Hill): North Carolina's 2001-02 season was roughly equivalent to IU's 2008-09 season. IU took the lead at 3-2 and never relinquished it, and won comfortably at the Dean Smith Center. AJ Moye led IU with 20 points and Tom Coverdale added 17.
2002-03: Indiana 80, Maryland 74 (Indianapolis): In a rematch played eight months after Maryland defeated IU in the 2002 NCAA championship game, IU obtained a small measure of revenge by beating the Terrapins in overtime. Steve Blake's desperation shot at the end of regulation went in, but was a fraction of a second after the buzzer, and the Hoosiers controlled overtime. To date, this game is IU's only BT-ACC game played on a neutral court. Tom Coverdale scored 30 points to lead IU, and freshman Bracey Wright scored 19 (on 7-25 from the field...ugh).
2003-04: Wake Forest 100, Indiana 67 (Winston-Salem): The demise of the Davis era was in full swing by 2003-04, and the Wake Forest game amplified concerns about the program. Bracey Wright led IU with 27 points, but future NBA star Chris Paul scored 20 points and had 8 assists. This remains IU's worst loss in the event.
2004-05: North Carolina 70, Indiana 63 (Bloomington): Sean May's return to Bloomington went the Tar Heels' way. May himself played poorly, but eventual NCAA champion UNC held off a few IU runs in the second half. Bracey Wright again led IU with 18 points.
2005-06: Duke 75, Indiana 67 (Bloomington): Another year, another Hoosier schoolboy who jilted IU cannot be avenged. Marco Killingsworth, the Auburn transfer who spent his senior year at IU, scored 34 points but never came close to that output again. JJ Redick led Duke with 29 points. Carmel's Josh McRoberts scored only 7 points but, like May, was on the winning team.
2006-07: Duke 54, Indiana 51 (Durham): Armon Bassett scored 16 points, and IU held Duke to 31 percent shooting, but Duke held on. IU had two chances to tie the game in the final minute.
2007-08: Indiana 83, Georgia Tech 79 (Bloomington): Eric Gordon scored 29 points to lead the Hoosiers past Georgia Tech in IU's only Challenge win of the last six seasons.
2008-09: Wake Forest 83, Indiana 58 (Winston-Salem): After a promising first ten minutes, an oversized Wake Forest team made easy work of an undersized and inexperienced IU team.
More on Maryland before tomorrow's game, of course.