Indiana announces teams and dates for the Hoosier Tipoff Classic

A season after a non-conference slate that was deemed to easy, Indiana has stepped the quality of opponents that will play at Assembly Hall during the Hoosier Tipoff Classic.

Over the course of 12 days IU will play Howard (338th in Kenpom rankings last season), South Florida (292nd), Arkansas State (124th), and Eastern Michigan (148th). Ironically, new South Florida head coach Brian Gregory was who Archie Miller replaced when he was hired at Dayton in 2011.

To showcase the overall improvement in non-conference scheduling compared to last year, consider this: if IU had played Arkansas St. last year, it would have been the Hoosiers fifth best non-conference opponent, according to Kenpom.

These four games add to a slew of stronger non-conference opponents for next year. With 8 non-con games accounted for, here’s how the current schedule stands:

11/12 - Howard (Hoosier Classic)

11/15 - at Seton Hall (Gavitt Games)

11/19 - South Florida (Hoosier Classic)

11/22 - Arkansas State (Hoosier Classic)

11/24 - Eastern Michigan (Hoosier Classic)

11/29 - Duke (ACC/Big Ten Challenge)

12/9 - at Louisville

12/16 - vs. Notre Dame (Crossroads Classic)

In addition to these non-conference games, the Big Ten plans to schedule two games per team in early December, to account for the B1G Tournament being held a week earlier than normal.