In his first season at the helm of the Indiana basketball program, Darian DeVries led the Hoosiers to a 9-2 record in the non-conference slate. Indiana won all the games it was supposed to through the relatively light out-of-conference schedule, and dropped the two toughest matchups against then-No. 6 Louisville and at Kentucky.
Looking ahead to the upcoming 2026-27 schedule, Indiana's non-conference schedule presents more challenges than last year. The Hoosiers will face a total of five high-major programs, and four NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago.
Indiana released the full non-conference schedule on Tuesday, which means the start of the new season is drawing nearer. Here is a look at the upcoming matchups, as well as a best and worst-case scenario for this part of the schedule.
Indiana's non-conference schedule comes with one big advantage
The Hoosiers will play 12 total games in the non-conference slate. Interestingly enough, IU has zero true road games on the non-conference docket. Nine games will take place at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, with three matchups coming at neutral sites. DeVries and company need to capitalize on that advantage.
Here is a look at Indiana's full list of matchups for the non-conference slate:
- Nov. 2: vs. Eastern Illinois
- Nov. 5: vs. Bellarmine
- Nov. 9: vs. Syracuse (Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis)
- Nov. 12: vs. Tennessee Tech
- Nov. 17: vs. Arkansas (Madison Square Garden in New York City)
- Nov. 20: vs. Kentucky (Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis)
- Nov. 24: vs. Jacksonville
- Nov. 27: vs. Bowling Green
- Dec. 3: vs. Western Illinois
- Dec. 12: vs. UCF
- Dec. 19: vs. Missouri
- Dec. 22: vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
Predicting Indiana's best and worst case non-conference records
Best case: 11-1
When looking at IU's non-conference schedule, there are a handful of games the Hoosiers should win with relative ease. Those include the matchups against Eastern Illinois, Bellarmine, Tennessee Tech, Jacksonville, Bowling Green, Western Illinois, and Fairleigh Dickinson. Losing any of those contests would be greatly disappointing.
The matchups against the five high-major programs all bring interesting dynamics to the table. The three neutral site games against Syracuse, Arkansas, and Kentucky all have their own set of challenges. At this point in time, going 2-1 in those games can be considered a big plus.
The UCF and Missouri games are both at home, and both are extremely winnable. Thus, going 11-1 in the non-conference slate would be a great sight to see for DeVries in Year 2.
Worst case: 8-5
The worst case scenario involves the transfer portal class not gelling together and failing to get on the same page in the early stages of the season. If that happens, DeVries would be in extremely hot water.
IU should still win the games against mid-major competition, but upsets happen every year. Dropping one of those games would be nightmare fuel. Furthermore, it's not crazy to see that the neutral site matchups against Syracuse, Arkansas, and Kentucky all end in losses. At that point, then going on to split the home matchups against UCF and Missouri would be a major letdown.
That would give Indiana an 8-5 record in the worst-case scenario for its non-conference schedule. It wouldn't be the end of the world and it wouldn't doom their March Madness hopes, but the Hoosiers would have to put in some serious work in the conference slate to make-up for it.
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