Indiana men’s basketball will compete in the 2023 Empire Classic on Nov. 19-20 in Madison Square Garden next season, according to an IU Athletics release.
The tournament, the first nonconference games Indiana has scheduled for next season, also includes the University of Texas, the University of Louisville and 2023 NCAA Tournament champion University of Connecticut.
This is the second time Indiana will compete in the Empire Classic following 2013, when Indiana lost to UConn in the championship game. The Hoosiers are 14-12 all-time in Madison Square Garden.
The tournament will be a homecoming for head coach Mike Woodson, who was selected 12th overall by the New York Knicks in the 1980 NBA Draft. He played for the Knicks for two years before being named as an assistant coach in 2011. In 2012, Woodson was named the head coach of the Knicks and won 109 games before being fired in 2014. He was again named an assistant coach in 2020 and worked for the Knicks until being hired by Indiana.
