INDIANA BEGINS 2026-27 TRYING TO TURN THE CORNER BY ENDING 3-YEAR NCAA TOURNAMENT DROUGHT
Indiana (18-14, 9-11 Big Ten)
Coach Darian DeVries begins his second season hopeful of making the NCAA Tournament after his last two teams — one at Indiana, one at West Virginia — were among the last schools left out. While tournament expansion could help end the drought, a few more wins wouldn’t hurt. The Hoosiers have undergone yet another major roster overhaul — nothing new in today’s college basketball landscape — and it’s unclear how long it will take to get everyone in sync.
Players to watch
Fourth-year guard Markus Burton was Indiana’s 2023 Mr. Basketball Award winner and an all-ACC choice at Notre Dame who played 10 games last season because of an ankle injury. In three seasons with the Irish he had 1,315 points, 232 rebounds, 259 assists, and 123 steals. … The Hoosiers also added 7-foot forward Aiden Sherrell, a McDonald’s All-American who had 11.1 points and 6.2 rebounds in 34 starts last season at Alabama. … Third-year guard Darren Harris is in line for more action this year than the 9.6 minutes he had last year at Duke.
Departures and arrivals
DeVries lost his top three scorers — Lamar Wilkerson (20.9 points), his son Tucker (13.7 points) and Tayton Conerway (9.5 points). … The Hoosiers still could have No. 4 scorer Sam Alexis. He’s fighting for another year of eligibility in court. … Other newcomers include 6-6 shooting guard Jaeden Mustaf, a two-year starter at Georgia Tech; guard Bryce Lindsay, a 2024-25 all-Sun Belt pick at James Madison who scored 12.1 points for Villanova last season and 7-2 center Samet Yigitoglu, who averaged 10.7 points and 7.9 rebounds as a starter at SMU in 2025-26.
Top games
The Hoosiers played two exhibition games in Indianapolis, at Butler and against North Carolina in Gainbridge Fieldhouse before opening Nov. 2 against Eastern Illinois. Indiana has two more games in Indy — Nov. 9 against Syracuse, the schools that met for the 1987 NCAA title, and Nov. 20 against Kentucky at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indiana also faces Arkansas in New York on Nov. 17 and hosts Missouri on Dec. 18. Defending national champion Michigan visits Assembly Hall on Jan. 16 and they face rival Purdue twice — Feb. 16 in Bloomington and March 5 in West Lafayette.
Facts and figures
Indiana didn’t just add from the transfer portal. Their incoming high school class — forwards Trevor Manhertz and Vaughn Karvala, guard Prince Alexander Moody and center Clemens Sokolov — was ranked No. 21. … Indiana has only two NCAA Tournament appearances in nine years. … Kentucky and Indiana meet for the second straight year after agreeing to a four-game deal. The next two games will be played on the respective campuses rather than neutral courts.
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