Four quick thoughts following Indiana’s 2024-25 schedule release
Indiana’s 2024-25 men’s basketball schedule was completed with the release of the Big Ten schedule on Thursday afternoon.
Here are four quick thoughts after examining the full 2024-25 slate for the Hoosiers:
The Battle 4 Atlantis looms large
If Indiana is to record notable non-conference wins, it must do so at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.
The Hoosiers have eight home non-conference games in November and December and just one is against a high-major team. That opponent is South Carolina, an NCAA tournament team last March that appears to be entering a transition season with meager expectations. The Blue Ribbon college basketball yearbook recently picked the Gamecocks to finish last in the 16-team SEC.
The light home non-conference schedule means Indiana needs to perform well on Paradise Island. The Hoosiers have Louisville in the opener in the Battle 4 Atlantis, which has NCAA tournament aspirations after a coaching change and a solid transfer portal haul under Pat Kelsey.
Indiana has two potential marquee opponents in the Bahamas, but must get past the Cardinals to earn a shot at Gonzaga or Arizona. While the NCAA tournament selection committee looks at the totality of the resume in March, the Hoosiers would be well served to get a few resume wins before conference play begins. The Battle 4 Atlantis is the opportunity to do that.
Four new conference opponents to get familiar with
The Big Ten’s expansion to 18 teams brings four new conference foes to get familiar with.
The first of the four former Pac-12 teams Indiana will face is USC, which comes to Bloomington on Wednesday, Jan. 8. The Trojans had a coaching change in the offseason as Andy Enfield left for SMU and Eric Musselman was hired from Arkansas.
On Valentine’s Day, the Hoosiers will welcome UCLA to Bloomington for the first time since 1956. The Bruins and Hoosiers have never faced off in Assembly Hall and the all-time series is knotted at 6-6.
Indiana’s final road trip of the season will be a west coast swing. The Huskies will play Washington on Saturday, March 1, before moving on to Eugene to play Oregon on Tuesday, March 4. The Huskies have a new coach in Danny Sprinkle, while the Ducks return a solid nucleus from last season’s NCAA tournament team.
Indiana’s first road game will be telling
Indiana opted not to play a road game in the non-conference, so its first road contest is in Lincoln against Nebraska.
Pinnacle Bank Arena always draws a strong showing of Husker fans and Indiana being in town will produce a raucous crowd. The Huskers are currently projected to be a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team, but Fred Hoiberg turned a corner last season and guided the program to the NCAA tournament.
Nebraska beat the Hoosiers three times last season and returns a solid nucleus that includes Brice Williams and Juwan Gary.
Given how difficult Big Ten road wins are to come by, winning in Lincoln in mid-December would be a signal that this Hoosier team is one to watch in the conference title race.
Hoosiers have a stretch of 7 of 11 games on the road
From Jan. 5 through Feb. 11, Indiana plays 11 games and seven will be away from Assembly Hall.
The stretch is incredibly difficult:
Jan. 5 – at Penn State
Jan. 8 – vs. USC
Jan. 11 – at Iowa
Jan. 14 – vs. Illinois
Jan. 17 – at Ohio State
Jan. 22 – at Northwestern
Jan. 26 – vs. Maryland
Jan. 31 – at Purdue
Feb. 4 – at Wisconsin
Feb. 8 – vs. Michigan
Feb. 11 – at Michigan State
This could be a season-defining set of games for the Hoosiers. Indiana caught a bad break having to play Penn State at the Palestra. The Nittany Lions beat Michigan there last season before things fell apart for the Wolverines. All of the other venues outside of Ohio State regularly produce intimidating environments. If Indiana is going to contend for the Big Ten title, it’ll have to go better than .500 in this stretch, which is a tall task.
Filed to: 2024-25 schedule