Bobby Knight Earns # 880 to Become Winningest Coach in Men’s Division I History

Texas Tech made it interesting but in the end the Red Raiders held on to give Bobby Knight his 880th career win in Division I history and surpass Dean Smith’s record.

Knight’s Red Raiders held a 20-point lead at one point but the New Mexico Lobos whittled away at the deficit and actually led 64-60 with 6:25 remaining in the second quarter.

Texas Tech reclaimed the lead 70-68 when Jay Jackson hit a 3-pointer with just over two-minutes left in the game. With the score still 70-68 New Mexico’s J.R. Giddens fired a 3-pointer at the buzzer that just missed.
 
At the end of the game Knight showed his appreciation towards the school that gave him a job, “I'd like to thank [administrators] for giving me an opportunity to coach at Texas Tech.”

Knight’s career record now stands at 880-354. He got his first head coaching job at Army where he coached Mike Krzyzewski. Now the head coach at Duke, Krzyzwski is considered by many to be the man in line to break Knight’s record.

As for Bobby Knight’s many accomplishments, he has won three national championships and led the Indian Hoosiers to a perfect 32-0 record in 1976. In his 41 seasons coaching Knight has been to 27 NCAA tournaments and led the U.S. to basketball gold at the 1984 Olympics.

At 66-years-of –age, Knight is expected to remain at Texas Tech for some time. He signed an extension at the beginning of the year that will keep him in place through 2010-11.