NCAA basketball rivalries: Ranking the top 25 college basketball rivalries

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: A fan of the North Carolina Tar Heels (L) and the Duke Blue Devils pose for a photo while holding a sign referring to the Duke/UNC rivalry during the semifinals of the ACC Basketball Tournament at Barclays Center on March 10, 2017 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

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No. 3 – Indiana Hoosiers vs. Purdue Boilermakers

All-Time Series: Purdue leads 122-89

Not too many places can claim to be the epicenter of American basketball more than the Hoosier state, and from this proud basketball state come two programs with history, success, and tremendous disdain for the other. From the alleged sucker punch of Roosevelt Barnes by Isiah Thomas to Bob Knight’s mocking of the Purdue athletic director to the infamous chair-throwing incident, this rivalry is not short of iconic moments.

In 1987, each of the two games between these teams was played with both teams in the top-10 of national polls, typifying the illustriousness of this long-standing rivalry. Basketball is in the blood of all native Hoosiers and the annual battles between IU and Purdue consistently produce the goods, especially when one or both of the teams is nationally prominent, a scenario that has played out multiple times over the years.

Game of Note: March 13, 1980 – Sweet 16 – Purdue def Indiana 76-69

In a rivalry dating as far back as does Indiana versus Purdue, it is sometimes difficult to pick out only one game of note. However, when one of those matchups is an NCAA Tournament contest, it rises to the top of the list. And when the matchup is right in the middle of what some would call the “Golden Age” of the rivalry, it makes for a memorable occurrence.

Indiana came into the 1979-80 season fresh off an NIT Championship, where it defeated Purdue in the title game and would go on to win the NCAA Tournament in 1980-81, but in this Sweet 16 matchup, the only NCAA Tournament matchup Purdue would upset the favored Hoosiers en route to a Final Four appearance.