2017-18 Indiana Basketball: Top five games to watch

Indiana basketball released their full 2017-18 schedule on Wednesday on Twitter and the Big Ten Network. Hoosier Hysteria will open the season on October 21, Big Ten play will begin on December 2, and the Hoosiers’ final regular season game will be on February 23. You can thank the ridiculously early B1G Tournament for that early end to the regular season.

Now that we know the entire Indiana basketball schedule, let’s take a look at some of the more interesting matchups of the season:

5. Home vs Indiana State, November 10

The Indiana Basketball team will be resuming their biggest in-state rivalry this season after a decade off with the last men’s basketball game between the two schools being played during the 2006-07 season, a 73-66 Hoosier win. This will also be the first official game of the Archie Miller era. This matchup isn’t one that should be overlooked, as last year they upset Butler in Terre Haute.

4. Home vs Purdue, January 28

The Hoosiers will take on Purdue just once this season, though the rivalry could become protected as a home-and-home series soon. Last season Purdue swept the two game series between the two schools, but in the 2015-16 season Indiana won the lone matchup. No matter who wins, hopefully we won’t see anymore of those ridiculous double foul calls in the next edition of IU vs Purdue.

3. Away vs Michigan State, January 19

This will be Indiana’s first of two matchups with the Spartans, who have been picked by many as the top team in the Big Ten. Michigan State brought in one of the top recruiting classes in the country and managed to keep highly touted NBA prospect Miles Bridges in East Lansing for his sophomore year, which is the cause of the Spartans’ high expectations. The Juwan Morgan vs Miles Bridges matchup alone should make this a very interesting game.

2. Away vs Louisville, December 9

Last season these two teams played in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. It was bad, to say the least. The Cardinals lost star Donovan Mitchell to the NBA Draft, but they signed 5-star small forward Brian Bowen, who should be another intriguing matchup for Juwan Morgan.

1. Home vs Duke, November 29

The Hoosiers will take on a team that looks to be a national championship contender as a part of the B1G/ACC Challenge. With Duke’s roster that consists of multiple NBA-level talents, the Hoosiers will have their hands full in this one and it will be the biggest early test for Archie Miller’s squad. Top recruit Marvin Bagley’s recent commitment to play for the Blue Devils next season only heightens the hype around this game, and one thing to watch for will be how hard Grayson Allen is booed during pre-game introductions.