How Should Indiana Basketball Finish Its Non-Conference Schedule?

Indiana basketball has five known dates for the non-conference season set, but who should the Hoosiers try and add to make the ideal pre-Big Ten slate?

Jan 27, 2026; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Indiana Hoosiers head coach Darian DeVries claps his hands against the Purdue Boilermakers during the first half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Robert Goddin-Imagn Images | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

Indiana basketball is looking to take a big step in 2026-27 as its the second season under head coach Darian DeVries.

How do the Hoosiers get prepped early in the year for ultimate Big Ten success, though?

With five non-conference games already official, let's discuss what Indiana's ideal non-conference schedule would look like once completed.

A Mixed Bag: The Games We Currently Know

• Eastern Illinois in Bloomington

• Bellarmine in Bloomington

• Bowling Green in Bloomington

• Syracuse at Gainbridge Fieldhouse - Nov. 9

• Kentucky at Lucas Oil Stadium - Nov. 20

The neutral site games against Kentucky and Syracuse are very solid tests and make perfect sense for the rebuilt Hoosiers while Bowling Green is an ideal "buy game" opponent. The Falcons were ranked #144 in Ken Pomeroy's ratings and were #153 on Torvik last season, placing them right in the "sweet spot" in between spots 100 and 250.

Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope reacts to a play during the first half against the Iowa State Cyclones during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Indiana's Most Wanted: Power Conference Home Game

Indiana has Big Ten home games against Illinois, Michigan, MSU, OSU, UCLA and Purdue but season-ticket holders and fans deserve to have a marquee non-conference opponent visiting Assembly Hall. That could be tricky to lock in though because it is highly likely the opponent would want a return trip and a “home and home” series and IU is already slated to play at Kentucky in 2027 (with the Wildcats playing in Assembly Hall in December of 2028). Would IU sign up for two true elite road games in the 2027? That would probably be necessary in order to get a really strong opponent to Bloomington this November or December.

That written, look around at the schedules for program that Indiana's fans and administrators would consider as equals: Kansas is hosting Villanova and they have neutral site games against Kentucky, Missouri and UConn while traveling for a road game against UConn. Purdue will welcome Tennessee to Mackey Arena and has games away from home against Gonzaga, DePaul, Oklahoma and Iowa State.

The Louisville Cardinals host Texas on December 1, play at Kentucky and are participating in the Players Era Tournament. With a strong incoming transfer class and coming off a disappointing season that also lacked a marquee non-conference home game, what realistic opponents might make sense as the Hoosiers search for foes that can both excite ticket holders and potentially strengthen an NCAA Tournament resume?

The Clemson Tigers could be a match. No one would confuse Brad Brownell’s crew for a blueblood, but they have a strong roster and routinely make the NCAA Tournament. Brownell has assembled a group that could be a borderline top 25 squad and there are rumors that the Indiana native is angling to retire after this coming season.

Clemson has a trip to the Maui Invitational lined up in addition to a road game against rival South Carolina but the clash in Columbia is the only road game on their slate with four open slots left. This would project as, at worst, a Quad Two game and it would at least be a recognizable opponent to welcome to Assembly Hall.

Piecing Together the Puzzle

Regardless of which exact power conference foe IU manages to line up, they would play any additional games away from Assembly Hall given the difficulty of the Big Ten slate. Darian DeVries and Scott Dolson should be aiming to avoid teams that are consistently ranked below 250 in the metrics. Those contests do precious little to boost your resume, even if you win in dominant fashion.

Liberty Flames

General Manager Ryan Carr’s son is a student manager for the Flames and Carr knows head coach Ritchie McKay (Liberty should be a top 125 opponent)

Wright State Raiders

The Raiders just made the NCAA Tournament as a 14-seed and have a few former Indiana high school on their roste

Kennesaw State Owls

The school IU President Pamela Whitten used to lead has turned into a solid Conference USA program and were ranked 149th last season as they made the NCAA Tournamen

Kent State Golden Flashes

Former IU assistant coach Rob Senderoff was a member of Kelvin Sampson’s staff and the Hoosiers owe him a beating. The Flashes were a top-175 team last season

Penn Quakers

Penn won the Ivy League Tournament last season and wouldn’t it be fun to bring former Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey back to Assembly Hall for a night

Indiana State Sycamores

Former Butler star Matthew Graves is now leading Indiana State. They had a rough 2025 but are expected to improve a bit in 2026 should be a top 200 opponent.

With projected doormats Bellarmine and Eastern Illinois already on the schedule, the Hoosiers need to finish the slate with some smart selections to provide themselves with some challenges ahead of the Big Ten season while also improving their resume metrics.