Tempers Flare After Indy Win

Bob Knight ranted several times during the game, his face nearly turning the color of his familiar red sweaters as he came off the bench to question an official or scream at one of his own players. That's been going on for decades.

But once victory was secured Saturday for his Indiana Hoosiers, the volatile coach went to center court to deliver more than a handshake to Northwestern's Kevin O'Neill.

After the 17th-ranked Hoosiers pitched a shutout in overtime to beat the Wildcats 69-62, Knight wanted O'Neill to know he didn't appreciate some of the chants resonating from the bleachers at the end of the floor.

O'Neill, combustible in his own right, didn't appreciate it and had to be separated from his counterpart, an ugly ending to an emotional game. Less than an hour after the game, the two met on a side practice court, sat together under a basket and talked.

"I'm going to fight Knight at noon tomorrow over in Bloomington," joked O'Neill.

But it wasn't funny when it first happened. The loss was tough enough for Northwestern, battling for a first-ever bid to the NCAA tournament.

"I love Kevin. Kevin and I didn't get in any kind of argument," Knight insisted. "I just told him that when a crowd starts chanting `Who's your daddy? Who's your daddy? Who's your daddy?' I don't think we have to put up with that."

"The crowd can get on my butt, they have all things to get on my butt about, they'll never run out of them. But that's not the kind of thing that should be part of college basketball. The crowd needs to have the same class as the team does."

So after the game, after Indiana's 21st consecutive victory over Northwestern, Knight turned to the crowd and asked: "Who's your daddy now?"

Knight said he approached O'Neill to tell him he didn't like the crowd's behavior and that set things off. "Kevin said, `I have no control over it,' and said, 'I know that,"' Knight related.

"I started to walk away and I don't think he felt I heard him or understood him. And he grabbed me. Well, I thought he was irritated and I said, `Hey, don't grab me, Kevin."'

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Bob Knight (left) and Kevin O'Neill put Saturday's incident behind them. (AP)

O'Neill, who said he didn't know what the crowd was chanting, also tried to downplay the incident immediately after the game.

"Coach was upset about our crowd and I don't control the crowd," O'Neill said. "He's been there 20 years. He may control the crowd at his place. I don't."

"It was nothing really, kind of a heat-of-battle thing. There's no bigger supporter of coach Knight than me. To me it was nothing."

Indiana's collapsing zone defense in the second half was the difference because it took 6-foot-11 Northwestern center Evan Eschmeyer out of the game.

Eschmeyer, averaging 20.5 points, was held to just 12 before fouling out in overtime. He managed only two points and two shots in the second half.

Little-used Lynn Washington's only basket gave Indiana (19-8, 6-6 Big Ten) the lead at 64-62 in overtime. A.J. Guyton sealed the win with four free throws, capping his 22-point performance.

Luke Recker scored 21 points for the Hoosiers. David Newman led Northwestern (14-8, 6-6) with 18 points but had only three in the second half when Indiana was able to contest his 3-point attempts.

Still, the game seemed overshadowed after the two coaches exchanged unpleasantries after the game. Knight's list of anger-filled incidents is extensive.

"It was a great game between two competitive coaches," Recker said. "It really had nothing to do with the game. They are good friends off the court. It's no big deal. That's what happens sometimes."

Eschmeyer, who had burned Indiana for 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in an earlier loss this season, agreed with Recker. He was talking with Recker right after the game when the O'Neill-Knight confrontation took place.

"I didn't see much," Eschmeyer said. "I was talking to Luke and all of a sudden I hear people yelling and I just jumped in the middle and it was over in a few seconds and done," he said.

"I don't think it was a big deal. I'm not really sure what happened."

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