Indiana to meet Syracuse at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for non-conference matchup
During the 2026-27 season, Indiana will face the Syracuse Orange for a non-conference matchup on Monday, November 9, per Jon Rothstein on Wednesday morning.
The matchup will be played inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, giving the Hoosiers two regular-season games in Indiana’s capital city, the other being a December 27 contest with Kentucky at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Indiana played two games in the Pacers’ home arena last season, one being an exhibition win over Baylor, and the other a regular season defeat to Louisville on December 6.
A home matchup against Bellarmine is the only other non-conference game to be reported, meaning that IU still has eight spots left to fill outside of its 20-game Big Ten schedule in Darian DeVries‘ second season in Bloomington.
The 2026 meeting will be the eighth all-time matchup between Indiana and Syracuse on the hardwood, with the Orange possessing a 6-1 series advantage. The lone win for the Hoosiers came in the 1987 National Championship Game, where Keith Smart hit the baseline jumper to give Bob Knight’s team the title in New Orleans.
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Other matchups include the 1990 Maui Invitational championship, a double-overtime thriller in the 2021 ACC-Big Ten Challenge, and the infamous 2013 Sweet 16 game that eliminated No. 1 Indiana.
But in 2026-27, the Orange will be under new leadership, as former Syracuse guard Gerry McNamara was named its new head coach following his stint at Siena, where he advanced to the 2026 NCAA tournament. McNamara coached at Assembly Hall last season with the Saints, falling to the Hoosiers on December 22, 2025.
Both Indiana and Syracuse’s rosters are expected to look very different than they did in 2025-26, as this matchup could shape up to be an important non-conference contest for both programs looking to return to national prominence.
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