My Two Cents: 3 Things to Like About Indiana's 2021-22 Basketball Schedule
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – They made us wait a couple of extra weeks, but the Big Ten finally rolled out its basketball schedule on Wednesday. Now we know exactly what Mike Woodson's first season looks like, from start – Indiana hosting Eastern Michigan on Nov. 9 – to finish, at Purdue on March 5.
There are 20 Big Ten games and 11 nonconference games, plus the Big Ten Tournament at the end, of course, in Indianapolis on March 9-13. And there are big hopes this year for an NCAA Tournament appearance as well, something that hasn't happened at Indiana since 2016.
Here's the complete schedule: CLICK HERE
And now that we know what lies ahead in 62 days, here are three things that I like about the 2021-22 schedule:
A manageable nonconference schedule
I'm usually that guy who likes to see teams play tougher nonconference schedules with a few good trips thrown in, but Indiana isn't doing that this year. There's a full tray of cupcakes in the early part of the schedule, but for one year only, that's fine with me.
Manageable is the nice word in the headline. Easy is more appropriate.
Outside of a road trip to Syracuse on Nov. 30 as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Indiana never leaves the state during the 11-game nonconference portion of their schedule. And outside of Notre Dame in the Crossroads Classic (Dec. 18) in Indianapolis and St. John's in the Gavitt Tipoff Games (Nov. 17) in Bloomington, the rest of the schedule is pretty easy.
With a new coach on board along with six new players, being able to ease into the season is probably a good thing. Getting to play two exhibition games in the Bahamas last month certainly helps speeding up the process, but getting wins – especially after last year's brutal 12-15 season – is a good thing.
Favorable start to Big Ten season
When the Big Ten went to a 20-game schedule four years ago, it dictated playing two games in December each year. This year Indiana gets Nebraska on Saturday, Dec. 4 and then travels to Wisconsin on Wednesday, Dec. 8.
I know it's way too early for rolling out Big Ten power rankings, but if I had to divide the league into thirds, both Nebraska and Wisconsin would be in my bottom five. That means if the Hoosiers play well, they can grab a couple of Big Ten wins before the new year arrives.
There are no guarantees to that, of course, but it beats starting out against the big boys in the Big Ten – and there are a lot of them.
Full disclosure: I'd have Indiana in that middle of the pack group right now, with Purdue, Michigan, Ohio State and Illinois making up the top four. And if the Hoosiers can put things together quickly, I could see them joining that top tier by the end of the year, too.
Getting Purdue in Bloomington first
The black-and-gold clad neighbors to the north are quick to remind everyone that it's been more than 2,000 days since Indiana last beat Purdue in basketball. The exact number is 2,026 days now as of Wednesday and it will grow another 135 days until the two teams finally get together again on Jan. 20, 2022 in Bloomington.
I'm really glad that first game is in Bloomington. For Woodson and the Hoosiers – especially the players that have been around for a while – they want this streak over. It's not going to be easy, because Purdue is loaded and will surely be a top-10 team when the first national polls come out, but at least the first meeting will be at home, where a raucous crowd awaits after missing an entire season in their seats a year ago.
We always say that a rivalry isn't a rivalry unless both teams win on a regular basis, but the Hoosiers have lost nine straight games in this series. Archie Miller went winless in his four years as the head coach at Indiana, and Woodson would love to end that streak on his first try.
It's certainly the first date I circled on the calendar.
