Indiana basketball great Isiah Thomas will serve as the guest picker when ESPN’s College GameDay broadcasts from Bloomington on Saturday, putting a Bob Knight-era icon in front of the defending national champion football team.

College GameDay’s account announced the choice Friday, noting Thomas won two NBA titles, made the Hall of Fame and led Indiana to the 1981 national championship. The show airs from Showalter Fountain from 9 a.m. to noon ET before Minnesota (5-2) visits No. 4 Indiana (7-1).

Isiah Thomas compares Cignetti to Knight

Thomas played two seasons for Knight and won Most Outstanding Player honors at the 1981 NCAA Tournament before the Detroit Pistons drafted him No. 2 overall. The Chicago native spent all 14 of his NBA seasons in Detroit and won titles in 1989 and 1990.

He has also kept an eye on the football turnaround. On Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff in September, Thomas said he sees “a lot of similarities” between Knight and Indiana coach Curt Cignetti.

“They stress not turning the ball over, so they don’t turn the ball over,” Thomas said. “And when I look at Indiana right now from a football perspective, they don’t turn it over. They block, they tackle, they do all the things you’re supposed to do fundamentally and the other team makes mistakes and they capitalize on it.”

Indiana has won each of its last four GameDay appearances, and Cignetti will join the set live Saturday morning.

Why is Indiana’s offense sputtering?

Indiana’s ball security slipped in its first loss since 2024. The No. 4 Ohio State 19 vs. No. 5 Indiana 15 result on Oct. 17 ended a 22-game winning streak, and the Buckeyes forced Indiana’s first lost fumble in 1,437 plays from scrimmage.

The Hoosiers bounced back at Michigan, where quarterback Josh Hoover played banged up and scored on a 4-yard overtime run. The No. 6 Indiana 13 vs. Michigan 6 finish was the program’s first win at Michigan Stadium since 1967, and Cignetti called it “gritty as hell.”

“We didn’t separate at receiver in this game, and we obviously didn’t throw the ball very well or very often,” Cignetti said Monday. “Quite frankly, in practice last week the pass game wasn’t very good. I expect it to be better this week.”

Minnesota arrives with upset credentials

Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck’s team has beaten three ranked opponents, most recently No. 15 Iowa on Luke Drzewiecki’s 46-yard field goal as time expired last Saturday. That win put the Floyd of Rosedale, the Little Brown Jug and Paul Bunyan’s Axe in Minneapolis at the same time for the first time since 1978.

“They’ve beaten three ranked teams,” Cignetti said. “Washington was ranked, Michigan was ranked, Iowa was ranked.”

SP+ still gives Indiana a 92% chance to win, but the Hoosiers’ 4-1 record in the Big Ten race leaves little margin for a second conference loss.

Minnesota and Indiana kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS from Memorial Stadium, a few hours after Thomas makes his picks at Showalter Fountain.