Right now, it’s a good time to be a Hoosier. Scratch that - it might be the best time ever to be a Hoosier.
Indiana fans are riding high, with both football and basketball delivering in ways that haven’t been seen in tandem like this before. On the gridiron, Curt Cignetti has led his squad all the way to the Big Ten title game, where they’ll face powerhouse Ohio State in a showdown between the top two teams in the country.
And on the hardwood, Darian DeVries has his team locked in, undefeated, and looking like a real threat as the early part of the college basketball season unfolds.
Between the two programs, Indiana is a perfect 19-0. That’s not a typo.
Nineteen wins. Zero losses.
But while the football team is gearing up for its biggest test of the season, the basketball team is just starting to enter the proving ground portion of its schedule. So far, they’ve taken care of business - and done it convincingly - against the two high-major opponents they’ve faced: Marquette and Kansas State.
Both of those wins came by double digits, the kind of statement victories that catch the attention of metrics like the NCAA’s NET Rankings.
And catch attention they did. Despite not yet facing a top-25 opponent and without a single Quad One game under their belt, Indiana debuted at No. 11 in the first NET Rankings of the season.
⏮️ Rewind our W over the Wildcats. pic.twitter.com/aHwGErFOOy
— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) November 26, 2025
That’s significant. The NET - short for NCAA Evaluation Tool - is one of the most influential metrics when it comes to NCAA Tournament seeding and selection.
It doesn’t just look at wins and losses; it breaks every game down into quadrants based on opponent strength and game location.
Here’s how it works: Quad One games are the gold standard - home games vs. top-30 teams, neutral-site games vs. top-50 teams, and road games vs. top-75 teams. Just playing in Quad One games, win or lose, can boost a team’s resume.
That’s why Indiana’s No. 11 ranking is so impressive - they haven’t even played one of those yet. Among all the teams in the country that haven’t faced a Quad One opponent, Indiana is the highest-ranked.
They do, however, have a Quad Two win under their belt - a victory over Kansas State, who currently sits at No. 55 in the NET. That game, played at a neutral site, qualifies as Quad Two. They also logged a Quad Three win against Marquette in Chicago earlier in November.
But now, things are about to get real.
Indiana opens Big Ten play this week with a road trip to Minnesota, and then comes their first true test - a Saturday clash with Louisville, who sits at No. 9 in the NET Rankings. That matchup will be Indiana’s first Quad One opportunity of the season, and it’s a big one. A win there wouldn’t just validate their early success - it would solidify their standing as a legitimate national contender.
Through the first month of the season, Indiana has done everything asked of them. They’ve dominated their schedule, earned respect in the metrics, and set themselves up for a strong NCAA Tournament resume.
But now comes the next step: capitalizing on the chances ahead. The Big Ten is always a grind, but it’s also full of resume-building opportunities.
And if Indiana can keep this momentum rolling into conference play, we may be talking about this team for a long time to come.