Indiana Basketball could be in for a tough 2023-24 season. There’s still plenty of talent in Bloomington and the Hoosiers are never irrelevant, but some key players are gone from a year ago, including one of the greatest players in recent program memory.
This season, the team will have 11 chances to test its muster in non-conference play before entering into the loaded Big Ten meat of its schedule. If the Hoosiers are going to make the NCAA Tournament, performing well during the non-conference slate will be vital.
The team will start with a couple of exhibitions at Assembly Hall before welcoming one of the great Cinderella programs to Indiana. More on that later.
Let’s have a look at the non-conference schedule for one of the Big Ten’s most intriguing teams in 2023-24, the Indiana Hoosiers.
Indiana is staring down a future without Trayce Jackson-Davis. Before being drafted much later than expected by the Golden State Warriors, the big man was a constant for the Hoosiers, culminating in a consensus first-team All-American honor this past season. He’s been the heart and soul of the program for years, as evidenced by the delirium he inspired upon returning last season.
Jackson-Davis is the biggest loss, but far from the only. Other significant departures: Jalen Hood-Schifino, Miller Kopp, and Race Thompson come to mind.
Reinforcements are on the way, though. Kel’el Ware is coming in from the transfer portal, while Mackenzie Mgbako is one of the top recruits in the country. Xavier Johnson, Malik Reneau, and Trey Galloway return.
Let’s take a look at Indiana’s non-conference schedule, starting with the traditional regular season contests.
Regular Season Games
These are the regular season games that are the typical part of a team’s schedule. No exhibitions, in-season tournaments, named rivalry games, or challenges are included in this section.
November 7 vs. Florida Gulf Coast
Florida Gulf Coast is not to be confused with Florida Atlantic, but the Eagles have their own NCAA Tournament history, dating back to when “Dunk City” ruled the world. The central figures from those days are long gone, but FGCU is back on the rise. They are coached by former Penn State leader Pat Chambers and count a road win over USC last year in their ledger. They are led by former Purdue guard Isaiah Thompson (14.9 points per game last year) and should compete for an Atlantic Sun title this year, making them a tough out.
November 12 vs. Army
If the Hoosiers didn’t get their first win against Florida Gulf Coast, they should against Army, which should not be a good team this year. The Black Knights managed to eke out a winning record last year, but fell quickly in the Patriot League tournament. A fun fact: these teams have never played one another.
November 16 vs. Wright State
The Wright State Raiders have been a factor in the Horizon League on a regular basis and should be again this coming season. The team hasn’t posted an overall losing record since the 2014-15 season and brings back guard Trey Calvin, who finished in the top 25 in the country with 20.3 points per game last year. This is a team that beat Louisville on the road last year, though that obviously looked less impressive as the year went on.
November 26 vs. Harvard (in Indianapolis, IN)
For the first time in more than 50 years, Harvard and Indiana will meet, this time at a “neutral” site that will be anything but. After a run of dominance in the 2010s, Tommy Amaker’s team has been more pedestrian in recent years, finishing exactly .500 overall in each of the last two years, along with losing records in the Ivy League. This could be another difficult year after the team lost more than half of its minutes from a year ago. One player who is fighting for minutes is Matt Filipowski, Duke star Kyle’s twin brother.
December 9 vs. Auburn (in Atlanta, GA)
If the Harvard game is essentially at home, the Auburn game is essentially on the road, arguably the closest thing the Hoosiers have to a road tilt in their non-conference schedule. Maybe Mike Woodson will hook up with the local NBA team, which he coached in the 2000s. These teams appear to be relatively evenly matched, though most projects give the Tigers a slight edge headed into the season.
December 16 vs. Kansas
After Kansas beat the Hoosiers in Lawrence last year, the Jayhawks return the favor by traveling to Bloomington, giving Indiana a shot at a signature non-conference win. It will be the first true road game for Bill Self’s team, so the crowd could get involved a rattle Kansas a little bit. That being said, the Jayhawks are a consensus top team in the preseason rankings for a reason.
December 19 vs. Morehead State
The schedule easens up slightly when Morehead State comes to town for the second straight year. The Eagles made it to the NIT last year and are a perennial factor in the Ohio Valley Conference. But they’ve never beaten the Hoosiers and were destroyed in Bloomington last year, 88-53, the season opener for Indiana.
December 21 vs. North Alabama
North Alabama is another team that has visiting Assembly Hall in recent years. The Atlantic Sun team finished with a winning record last year and went to the CBI. It might be tough for them to repeat the feat. Jacari Lane is fun to watch though – he averaged 12.8 points per game last season, despite mostly coming off the bench as a freshman. North Alabama lost by 35 points to the Hoosiers in 2020.
December 29 vs. Kennesaw State
Indiana closes non-conference play with another intriguing mid-major. The Owls visited Indiana last year and gave them some problems, although they were without Jackson-Davis. The teams were actually tied headed into the half, though the Hoosiers ultimately won by 14. Kennesaw State made its first NCAA Tournament last year, leading to an exodus of some of its top talent, as well as its head coach.
Early-season tournaments
Indiana doesn’t have any challenges or specially-named contests on their non-conference schedule. What they do have is the Empire Classic, which will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York on November 19 and 20. The matchups aren’t set yet, but the Hoosiers are guaranteed to play two of the following three teams:
UConn
This is the worst-case scenario for the Hoosiers, the team they least want to face in this field. Frankly, nobody wants to face the defending national champions, even if they don’t return some of the stars of last year, including Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins, and Andre Jackson. The Huskies should still be elite with the return of Tristen Newton and the emergence of Donovan Clingan, which could create some interesting battles with Ware inside. There’s also a star freshman class to contend with, along with Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer.
Texas
The Longhorns are going to be a fascinating team to follow this season. Rodney Terry deserved the full-time job after keeping Texas on track following Chris Beard’s dismissal, but the Big 12 is changing around the Longhorns. Some of the team’s best players are gone, but Tyrese Hunter and Dillon Mitchell are back. Meanwhile, they landed one of the top transfers in the country, former Oral Roberts star Max Abmas.
Louisville
This is the best-case scenario for anyone in the field. There’s almost no way Louisville will be as terrible as they were last year, when they won four total games during Kenny Payne’s maiden season. But they may not be significantly better, as they’ll be relying largely on freshmen to help turn the tide. It’s a great class, but one that will likely need more seasoning than it will have by the time the Empire Classic is played.
Indiana will want to get out to a hot start in non-conference play and ride the momentum to another NCAA Tournament.