The Indiana Hoosiers are set to enter the 2026-27 season with high expectations. After an underwhelming first season in Bloomington, Darian DeVries has re-tooled Indiana's roster with high-major talent and experience, which has IU's roster in a much better spot right now than it was at this point last offseason.
A well-rounded transfer portal class as well as promising incoming freshmen have Indiana garnering plenty of praise this summer. The talent appears to be there, but now it's on DeVries and his staff to put it all together in an effective way.
With rising sophomore Trent Sisley serving as the only returning player from last year's team, building chemistry and getting a feel for rotations will be of the utmost importance for DeVries heading into his second season at the helm of the IU program. With that in mind, Indiana's newly-announced exhibition game serves a great purpose for the Hoosiers.
Indiana schedules exhibition game vs North Carolina for October 18
On Monday, it was announced that Indiana and North Carolina are set to meet in an exhibition game on Sunday, October 18.
The game will take place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. An official tip-off time and television scheduling has yet to be announced at this time.
📆 Mark your calendars!
— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) June 15, 2026
Hoosiers 🆚 Tar Heels in some October exhibition play. pic.twitter.com/jb1lBKxuVK
While it's just an exhibition game, this matchup between two of the most historic programs in college basketball is intriguing for several reasons.
Most notably, both the Hoosiers and Tar Hells went through great changes in their programs this offseason. Indiana essentially has a whole new roster, and will undoubtedly be looking to use this exhibition matchup as a way to gauge where the team chemistry is leading up to the regular season.
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On the other side, North Carolina is entering a new hear with first-year head coach Michael Malone taking over for Hubert Davis. The Tar Heels are returning a trio of players in Jarin Stevenson, Isaiah Denis, and Jaydon Young but none of them averaged double-digit points per game. Like Indiana, UNC also has plenty of new faces in the mix and will be looking to see how all their pieces gel together when this October 18 meeting rolls around.
Plus, with DeVries needing a better campaign in Year 2, going up against a team like UNC serves as a great measuring stick for the Hoosiers. Both Indiana and North Carolina are expected to be much-improved next season, so seeing how they fare in a head-to-head matchup will help IU fans see the direction DeVries is wanting to go this season.
North Carolina and Indiana are two of only six programs out there to have at least five national titles, as UNC has six and IU has five. Furthermore, both programs rank inside the Top-10 in college basketball history in Final Four appearances, NCAA Tournament appearances, and total March Madness wins.
In the 16 all-time meetings between the two programs, Indiana holds the series edge 10-6. This exhibition game won't count toward those records, but Indiana fans will want to see a solid performance from the Cream and Crimson.
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