As college basketball fans, we all deserve to see more good games. While conference play is where it is at, having intriguing matchups in the non-conference can certainly entice hoops fans abound. On Wednesday morning, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports revealed that the Indiana Hoosiers will be taking on the Syracuse Orange in Gainbridge Fieldhouse next year. This neutral site game will be on Nov. 9.
This has Darian DeVries in his second year at IU facing Gerry McNamara, now leading his alma mater.
NEWS: Indiana and Syracuse will meet in a neutral site game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on November 9th, according to multiple sources.https://t.co/xEoruYn5i4
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 1, 2026
While Indiana failed to reach the NCAA Tournament in DeVries' first season at the helm of the program, McNamara had the No. 16 Siena Saints giving the tournament's top-seeded Duke Blue Devils all they could handle in the first round. Duke would later fall catastrophically in the Elite Eight, thanks to the greatest shot of Braylon Mullins' life. Syracuse has floundered over the last few years...
McNamara starred on the 2002-03 Syracuse team that won March Madness with Carmelo Anthony.
Darian DeVries cannot let Gerry McNamara get the best of him in 2026
It is not everything, but it most certainly is something. We have two of the game's traditional powers at hand squaring off in early November, trying to make some headway under their new regimes. There were moments last season where it looked like DeVries had found the secret sauce that makes Indiana basketball so great. Then, he and his IU team would unravel vs. Northwestern in Big Ten play...
McNamara will be given a grace period at Syracuse for a few reasons. Turning SU around will take time. Moreover, he is a legend on the hardwood in Upstate New York. He is one of the greatest players to ever star for Jim Boeheim. After having just taken Siena to the tournament, Syracuse fans may have lofty expectations for McNamara in year one. However, it has to happen for DeVries in 2027...
DeVries is entering year two at IU after leaving West Virginia in the dust after his lone season in Morgantown. With his successor at Drake in Ben McCollum having taken Iowa to the Elite Eight in his first season the conference, the amount of pressure DeVries is already facing ahead of next year cannot be understated. While beating Syracuse could serve as a stepping stone, a loss may sink him.
For now, Indiana needs to find an identity beyond being so portal-dependent that it capsizes them.