Fans of Indiana basketball are starving to see the Hoosiers win big games on the national stage once again. Year 1 of the Darian DeVries era ended with Indiana finishing 10th in the Big Ten and missing the NCAA Tournament once again. With the Hoosiers now having missed out on March Madness in eight of the last 10 years, DeVries needs to get IU back to national relevance in Year 2.
The one game that will tell us everything about Indiana under Darian DeVries
Things could be looking up. DeVries has landed a top-5 transfer portal class and a top-25 incoming recruiting class according to 247Sports, and he now has a year of Big Ten experience under his belt.
The Hoosiers are widely-considered to be among the biggest winners of the offseason, but now fans are ready to see that translate to wins on the hardwood. As the Hoosier hype continues to build, the latest Big Ten basketball power rankings have the Hoosiers making some real noise this fall.
Big Ten power rankings have Indiana as a top-5 team in the league
In the latest Big Ten power rankings from Busting Brackets, Indiana comes in at the No. 5 spot. Unsurprisingly, the defending National Champion Michigan Wolverines occupy the top spot, while Illinois owns the No. 2 spot coming off a trip to the Final Four this past season. Then, the Michigan State Spartans claim the No. 3 spot while the Nebraska Cornhuskers come in at No. 4.
Writer Tristan Freeman notes Indiana's vastly-improved frontcourt with Aiden Sherrell and Samet Yigitoglu, as well as the addition of a proven leading scorer at the high-major level in Notre Dame transfer Markus Burton. Freeman also credits DeVries for finding depth with Bryce Lindsay and Jaeden Mustaf, while noting that Duke transfer Darren Harris could be on breakout watch after seeing limited playing time over the last two seasons in Durham.
The roster moves that DeVries has made this offseason certainly raise IU's floor, but the ceiling may still be a bit limited with teams like Michigan, Illinois, and Michigan State as national title contenders. Thus, at this point in time, Indiana's best-case scenario could be considered as a 4th-6th place finish in the Big Ten. After finishing 10th in the league this past season, that would be a great improvement. In that scenario, the Hoosiers would be a surefire NCAA Tournament team in the new 76-team field.
Offseason hype continues to roll in for Darian DeVries and Indiana
Indiana's No. 5 ranking in the Busting Brackets Big Ten power rankings is just the latest praise to come in for the Hoosiers this offseason.
Last month, ESPN released its Men's NCAA basketball 2026-27 Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings. Indiana basketball fans are fired up to see the Hoosiers come in at the No. 25 spot. Furthermore, CBS college basketball analyst Jon Rothstein also has the Hoosiers pegged as a top-25 team entering the 2026-27 season.
When it comes to NCAA Tournament expectations, ESPN's Joe Lunardi sees IU's three-year streak without a March Madness appearance coming to an end. Earlier this month, Lunardi released his first predictions for the 2027 NCAA Tournament, and has Indiana slated as a No. 7 seed.
The talent on paper appears to be there, but now it's up to DeVries to put it all together and produce the results Hoosier fans are longing to see.
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