Four thoughts following IU basketball’s 2026-27 schedule release

Darian DeVries at IU basketball practice.

Indiana’s 2026-27 men’s basketball schedule was completed with the release of the Big Ten schedule this evening.

Note: The complete 2026-27 IU basketball schedule page is available here.

Here are four thoughts after examining the full 2026-27 slate for the Hoosiers:

A favorable Big Ten home opener

Indiana should be a heavy favorite in its first Big Ten home game.

The Hoosiers will host Rutgers to begin conference play on Tuesday, December 1. The Scarlet Knights finished last season 14-20 overall and expectations are low for Rutgers entering the 2026-27 season.

Rutgers is currently the fourth-lowest among the 18 Big Ten teams in Bart Torvik’s preseason ratings for next season. And that might be generous.

The Scarlet Knights haven’t reached the NCAA tournament since the 2021-22 season and have been trending downward in recent seasons.

Since the Big Ten added early December conference games in the 2017-18 season, Indiana is a perfect 8-0 at home in those contests.

Hoosiers head West in early January

The 2026-27 season is the third for the Big Ten with Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington as members of the conference.

Each season has brought a change in the timing of IU’s West Coast road swing.

In the 2024-25 season, Indiana played at Washington and Oregon to open March, splitting a pair of contests against the Huskies and Ducks.

Last season, the Hoosiers went west to close out January, beating UCLA in double overtime on January 31 before falling to USC on February 3.

IU’s trip to the West Coast in 2027 will come just after the new year. After hosting USC on Saturday, January 2, the Hoosiers will travel to Eugene to play Oregon on Wednesday, January 6, then head to Seattle to play Washington on Saturday, January 9.

Torvik projects Oregon to finish 10th in the league and Washington 14th next season.

Given the lack of roster continuity for both Oregon and Washington, playing those teams early in league play could benefit Indiana. The timing could also help, since Indiana has a long holiday break and only one league game in the new year before the trip.

Indiana’s home weekend slate in January is full of intriguing matchups

If Indiana can get off to a hot start and build momentum with the fanbase, it should be able to capitalize on favorable home environments in January.

The Hoosiers have five January home games and four are on the weekend.

Indiana plays USC (Jan. 2), Michigan (Jan. 16), Illinois (Jan. 24) and UCLA (Jan. 30) at home and has a Tuesday home game against Maryland on Jan. 12.

Last season, Indiana failed to capitalize on January home games against Iowa and Nebraska, which played a big part in the program missing the NCAA tournament for a third straight season.

Indiana can’t afford to do the same again this winter with all of those opportunities against likely NCAA tournament teams in January.

The final five games are the most difficult stretch of the schedule

Indiana faces its most difficult five-game stretch of Big Ten play to close the regular season.

The Hoosiers will play Purdue, at Wisconsin, Michigan State, Ohio State and at Purdue in their final five contests.

It’s no secret that the Kohl Center has been a puzzle the program hasn’t been able to solve and Mackey Arena is one of the country’s best home environments.

And the three home games are formidable tests, with each opponent currently projected to finish ahead of the Hoosiers in the league standings in Torvik’s rankings.

Last season, Indiana floundered to the finish in February, which ultimately resulted in a March Madness miss. The Hoosiers will need a far more formidable finish in year two of the Darian DeVries era.

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

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