IU basketball opens the 2026-27 season and the second season of the Darian DeVries era tonight against Eastern Illinois at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on B1G+.
Game information
Who: Indiana (0-0) vs. Eastern Illinois (0-0)
Where: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana
When: Monday, November 2, 2026. 7 p.m. EST
TV: B1G+, Ian Plaskoff (Play-By-Play), Ryan LaPedis (Analyst), Kelsea Wilson (Sideline)
Radio: Don Fischer (Play-By-Play), Errek Suhr (Analyst)
The line: Indiana -34.5, O/U 142.5 (DraftKings)
KenPom prediction: Indiana 87, Eastern Illinois 57 (99.6 percent chance of an IU win)
After an exhibition slate against two high-major opponents and a capable mid-major in Western Kentucky, IU basketball opens season two of the Darian DeVries era tonight against Eastern Illinois.
The Panthers, members of the Ohio Valley Conference, are one of four IU opponents ranked 301st or lower nationally by KenPom.com at the start of the season.
It will be the fourth all-time meeting between the programs and the Hoosiers won the last meeting 90-55 on November 10, 2024, in Bloomington.
How to watch tonight’s season opener on B1G+
Monday’s opener will stream exclusively on B1G+, the Big Ten’s streaming platform. In addition to the season opener, two more regular-season games will also be on B1G+: Jacksonville (Tuesday, November 24) and Farleigh Dickinson (Monday, December 22).
There are several options to watch Monday’s game:
• Monday’s game against EIU only: $8.99 (When you click the link, select subscribe, one-time passes and then scroll down to select 2026 Tip-off Monday Pass)
• Monthly subscription: $12.99 (would need for two months to cover Monday’s game and two additional regular season games)
• Annual subscription: Regularly $89.99 plus tax, but available for 50% off with promo code B1GPLUS50 at checkout. This covers all B1G+ content for the next 12 months.
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Meet the Panthers
Player retention has never been more difficult in college basketball and like most programs, EIU had significant roster turnover in the offseason.
EIU returns only four players from last season’s roster, which finished 13-20 and ranked No. 333 nationally in the final KenPom ratings. According to the game notes released by EIU, the Panthers have five transfers from NAIA or Division II schools, two junior college transfers and four freshmen.
Led by Marty Simmons, a name familiar to IU fans from his time as a Hoosier in the 80s and also his long tenure as Evansville’s head coach, the Panthers have won just 53 games over the last five seasons under his leadership.
The EIU backcourt is expected to be led by Markus Blackwell, the team’s leading returning scorer from last year, and Jaden Miller, a transfer from Division II East Central University.
The 6-foot-2 Blackwell, a sophomore, scored in double figures four times last season and averaged 4.7 points in 20 games.
The 6-foot-1 Miller, a senior, is a native of Pearland, Texas, and averaged 10.7 points, 8.3 assists and 3.3 rebounds last season. The 8.3 assists per game led Division II.
The three other projected starters for EIU are junior forward Daniel Ntambwe, senior forward Gavin Welch and senior forward Demar Burton.
The 6-foot-5 Ntambwe, a native of the DR of Congo, arrives from Coffeyville Community College. He averaged 12.8 points and 7.2 rebounds last season.
Welch, a 6-foot-6 native of New Castle, played last season at Lake Erie College, a Division II school. He made 78 3-pointers (40.2 percent) and averaged 11 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
Burton, a 6-foot-8 forward, transferred from Tiffin University, also a Division II program. Burton averaged 9.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots per game last season.
What to watch for
Monday’s opener shouldn’t be competitive given the talent discrepancy between the two programs. Here are three things to watch for from the IU perspective:
• Indiana’s dominance on the glass: The Panthers don’t have the size or athleticism to match Indiana on the glass. Offensive rebounding was a major strength for the Hoosiers in exhibition play and DeVries will be looking for that to continue on Monday night.
• Will IU cut down on its turnovers? Indiana went 3-0 in exhibition play, but DeVries said last week he’d like to see the Hoosiers cut down on turnovers now that the regular season is here. It’s easy to make sloppy plays and lose focus against inferior competition. DeVries wants his team to stay sharp and limit mistakes for 40 minutes.
“The thing that we got to get better at is the turnovers,” DeVries said last week. “We’re around a 17% turnover rate, and we got to get that closer to 12. That was what led the country last year, so you’re only talking, two, three turnovers a game to get that percentage, but that’s where we got to get to, and that’s one area right now that, we’re really, really focused on while continuing to make sure that the rebounding is just a number one priority.”
• Can Darren Harris get going from the perimeter? Indiana needs to have consistent perimeter shooters. Duke transfer Darren Harris was recruited to provide it for this team, but he struggled in exhibition play. Harris was only 6-for-21 on 3s and with a schedule that gets challenging in the back half of the month, it’s important to get Harris going sooner rather than later.
What it comes down to
The KenPom projection is Indiana by 30 with a 99.6 percent chance of a Hoosier victory. Bart Torvik favors Indiana by 33 points with a 99 percent chance of a season-opening win.
After a challenging exhibition slate, Indiana should get the opportunity to go deep into its bench against Eastern Illinois.
Monday’s opener is the first of three straight road games to open the season for EIU, and the Panthers are expected to lose by at least 26 in all three, per KenPom.com.
