Indiana fans do not have to wait long to start circling dates. The full 2026-27 regular season schedule is out, and with the Hoosiers set to open on Monday, November 2 at home against Eastern Illinois, the biggest draws on the calendar are already easy to spot.
Before the games count, Indiana will get three exhibition tune-ups in October against Butler, North Carolina, and Western Kentucky. Then comes a non-conference stretch that looks anything but soft, followed by the usual grind of the Big Ten.
A few matchups jump off the page immediately, starting with a trip to Madison Square Garden on Nov. 17 to face Arkansas. That one brings John Calipari back into the picture, and it will be his first regular season game against Indiana since the Wat Shot in 2011.
Calipari famously never went back to Assembly Hall after that game, and the annual series with Kentucky ended there. Now at Arkansas, he arrives with the No. 1 recruiting class in the country for 2026-27.
ESPN has the Razorbacks at No. 11 in its way-too-early Top-25, which makes them a real Final Four threat and a major early test for Indiana.
Three days later, the Hoosiers stay in the spotlight with a Nov. 20 meeting against Kentucky at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. That rivalry was put on ice after the Wat Shot, with the teams only seeing each other in the NCAA Tournament in 2012 and 2016 before a regular season game finally returned last year. Kentucky won that meeting 72-60 at Rupp Arena, so DeVries and Indiana will have a chance to answer back when this one rolls around.
The Big Ten slate has its own headline games, and Michigan is right near the top of the list. The Wolverines come to Assembly Hall on Jan. 16 after a National Championship-winning season.
Dusty May’s move to the Dallas Mavericks head coaching job made plenty of noise in the offseason, but Michigan still looks like a title contender under new head coach Mike Boynton Jr., who kept some key pieces in place. Indiana saw Michigan once last season and got handled from the opening tip, falling 86-72 in Ann Arbor.
This time, the defending champs come to Bloomington, and it should say plenty about where the Hoosiers stand in Year 2 of the DeVries era.
Another January game worth watching comes on Jan. 24 against Illinois. Brad Underwood has made the Fighting Illini one of the steadiest winners in the league, reaching the NCAA Tournament in six straight seasons and coming off an impressive Final Four run.
Several top playmakers are back in Champaign, and Indiana will be looking for a better result than last year’s 71-51 loss on Feb. 15.
Then there’s Purdue, because of course there’s Purdue. The rivals will meet twice again, with Indiana hosting on Feb. 16 and heading to West Lafayette on March 5 for the regular season finale.
They split last season, with the Hoosiers taking a 72-67 win at Assembly Hall on Jan. 27 before Purdue answered with a 93-64 blowout at Mackey Arena on Feb. 20.
This year, the Boilermakers also have some retooling to do, with Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, and Trey Kaufman-Renn all graduated and Matt Painter left to replace plenty of proven production.
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Curt Cignetti has already pointed to Wilson as a valuable team player, and it is easy to see why the Hoosiers value him. He is not carrying the offense from the sideline, but he gives Indiana a trusted option behind the starter and a presence in the room who can help younger players navigate the position. In a sport where backup quarterbacks are often one snap away from a much larger job, that kind of reliability is hard to find. [Read more 🡒]