Indiana fielded its first men's basketball team in the 1900–01 season, posting a 1–4 ledger under coach James H. Horne. In their first game the Hoosiers traveled to Indianapolis and lost to Butler 17–20. Indiana's first victory was a 26–17 win over Wabash College that same year.

Indiana's first basketball home was the original Assembly Hall, and at the time it was known simply as the Men's Gymnasium. As a multi-purpose building it also hosted a number of other indoor sports and campus activities.

The Hoosiers won a minimum of 19 games and played in the NCAA tournament each year. However, 1993 would be Knight's last conference championship and 1994 would be his last trip to the Sweet Sixteen.

In March 1911 the gym hosted the first ever Indiana high school basketball tournament and was hosted by the IU Booster Club instead of the IHSAA. As basketball began to outgrow the facility, students went so far as to characterize the gym as a public menace and health risk.