Three takeaways from IU basketball’s non-conference schedule release

Photos from IU's exhibition win at Assembly Hall.

Indiana released its 2026-27 men’s basketball non-conference schedule Tuesday morning. The Hoosiers will play three neutral-site contests and nine games at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Here are three takeaways from IU’s non-conference schedule release:

The five high-major opponents will provide early-season tests

A glance at Bart Torvik’s preseason projections for the 2026-27 season shows that none of IU’s five high-major opponents are considered elite entering the season.

The highest-ranked of the five high-major opponents that the Hoosiers will face is Arkansas, currently No. 22 nationally in Torvik’s projections.

While there might not be a Final Four contender on the non-conference schedule, the competition from the five high-major opponents should be strong.

All five are currently ranked No. 57 or better in Torvik’s projections, which is in range for NCAA tournament consideration entering the season given the expanded field in 2027.

After Arkansas at No. 22, Kentucky is No. 25, two spots ahead of Indiana at No. 27. The Hoosiers will also face Missouri (No. 41), UCF (No. 50) and Syracuse (No. 57).

Given the Big Ten’s overall strength and the opportunity to get quality wins there, this slate, on paper, appears adequate for a couple of signature wins before league play.

Indiana should have no problem with its buy-game opponents

Like it or not, buy or guarantee games make up a fair portion of the non-conference schedules of major conference teams.

The Hoosiers have seven such contests this season and it’s unlikely that any of them will be needle-movers in building a resume for March Madness.

Besides Bowling Green, which is No. 167 in Torvik’s rankings, none of the other six opponents are currently ranked higher than No. 220.

Here are the current T-Rank projections entering the season for IU’s seven buy game opponents:

Bowling Green – 167
Jacksonville – 221
Tennessee Tech – 222
Bellarmine – 303
Western Illinois – 332
Eastern Illinois – 333
Fairleigh Dickinson – 340

Expect plenty of blowouts from this portion of the schedule, but also an opportunity to boost the metrics if IU can take care of business.

The most intriguing games are all being played away from Bloomington

IU basketball season ticket holders have a strong slate of opponents to look forward to in the Big Ten portion of the 2026-27 schedule.

The Hoosiers host Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA and USC in Bloomington this season.

That is as good a home Big Ten schedule as Indiana has had in a long time.

But a glance at the non-conference home schedule shows a lot of filler and very little to look forward to in terms of intriguing matchups.

Missouri, an SEC opponent, and UCF, a Big 12 opponent, are comparable in quality to the top home opponents from the last two seasons, South Carolina (2024) and Kansas State (2025).

The reality is, without an offer of a return contest, this is about as good as it gets for landing a power conference team in your arena.

Many programs prefer to play neutral-court games in the non-conference for NIL reasons, so home-and-home matchups aren’t happening as frequently.

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