RUSTON, La. (AP) -- Bob Knight reflected back on his own playing days after his latest coaching milestone, summing up his thoughts as only Knight can.
The 66-year-old Knight tied legendary Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp for second place on the career victory list Wednesday night as Texas Tech beat Louisiana Tech 66-59. Knight's 876th victory also moved him within three of tying former North Carolina coach Dean Smith for the most in Division I history.
When asked about tying Rupp, who coached at Kentucky from 1930-1972, Knight talked about the years he played at Ohio State.
"The thing I remember about Adolph Rupp is that one time I scored seven points against the ornery son of a bitch to help beat him," Knight said, referring to Ohio State's 87-74 victory over the Wildcats in the 1961 NCAA tournament. "That's a lot bigger in my memory than this."
The coach and his players did all they could to play down the significance of the win.
When the final buzzer sounded, Knight quickly walked over to shake hands with Louisiana Tech coach Keith Richard then headed off the court with his head down. Except for one other salty comment from Knight, neither he nor his players acknowledged the milestone after the game.
Knight began his coaching career at Army in 1965. Six years later he moved to Indiana, where he won three national championships and coached for 29 seasons before being fired in 2000 for what school officials called a violation of a zero-tolerance behavior policy.
After a yearlong break, he took over at Texas Tech, which he has led to four straight 20-win seasons.
Knight has always generated controversy along with his victories, from his infamous chair-throwing tirade in 1985 to the long series of incidents that led to his acrimonious departure from Indiana.
He received criticism earlier this season when he aggressively lifted forward Michael Prince's chin to get his attention during a game.
The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday at home against Centenary.
On Wednesday night, Jarrius Jackson scored 21 points for Texas Tech (7-3) and Martin Zeno added 18.
Texas Tech scored the first six points of the game and never trailed. The Red Raiders led 33-27 at halftime and expanded that lead to 10 points in the early minutes of the second half.
A 10-2 run by Louisiana Tech narrowed the gap to 52-50 with 7:57 left. The Bulldogs twice got within a point but never tied the game.
With 1:56 to play, Louisiana Tech's Terry Parker tipped in a rebound to make it 60-59. Darryl Dora followed with a basket at the other end and Texas Tech scored the final six points of the game.
Freshman Kyle Gibson had 14 points for Louisiana Tech (1-6).
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