Indiana men’s basketball’s offseason is well-documented. Nearly everything changed from the time the Hoosiers missed the NCAA Tournament in March until they began their 2025-26 season with a victory Wednesday.
A new head coach and an entirely new staff. Ten new transfers alongside three new freshmen. Even Branch McCracken Court inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall was refinished.
All the changes within Indiana’s program will meet its first true test against Marquette University at 1 p.m. Sunday inside the United Center in Chicago. The contest will be televised on ESPN.
The Hoosiers tipped off their maiden season under head coach Darian DeVries with a blowout win over Alabama A&M on Wednesday night. The Cream and Crimson built their largest halftime lead in nearly 14 years as they cruised throughout the second half.
Much like Indiana, Marquette has yet to be tested this season. The Golden Eagles enter the matchup with a 2-0 record, having won by 27 and 18 points over the University at Albany and Southern University, respectively.
However, comparing Indiana’s makeup to Marquette’s is like going from one extreme to another.
In the modern era of college basketball, each team typically brings in a handful of transfers each season. But not Marquette.
Golden Eagles head coach Shaka Smart hasn’t brought in a player from the transfer portal since the 2022 offseason, when just one joined the program. Ahead of his first season at the helm in 2021, he brought in three.
That’s all. Smart opts to promote from within, developing players throughout their four years.
In comparison, Indiana welcomed 22 transfers into its program within that timeframe. But Marquette has reached the NCAA Tournament in all four of Smart’s seasons while the Hoosiers made the Big Dance just twice in that span.
Smart notched his 100th victory at Marquette on Wednesday and tied former Golden Eagles head coach Tom Crean — who spent nine seasons at Indiana — for the second-fastest to reach the mark.
Who leads the Golden Eagles?
Marquette’s three leading scorers from last season — including Indiana Pacers guard Kam Jones — graduated. Now, the Golden Eagles are tasked with replacing them.
Through two games, Chase Ross paces the team in scoring with 19 points per game. The senior guard was named to the Preseason All-Big East First Team ahead of his first opportunity to be the Golden Eagles’ primary scorer.
Junior forward Zaide Lowery has notched 12.5 points and three rebounds per contest. He’s steadily improved throughout his three years in the program, as he scored 1.6 and 4.1 points during his freshman and sophomore seasons.
Two energy-filled programs
In late July and late September, Indiana made two of its practices open to reporters. Energy was evident. Players were constantly communicating while managers made noise.
As a result, the Hoosiers have togetherness, energy and enthusiasm, DeVries said in July. But the Cream and Crimson also share the ball unselfishly, passing up good shots for great ones — something evident throughout their win over Alabama A&M.
Marquette is also an energy-centric program, even generating its own statistic to track in practices and games.
The Golden Eagles define an energy generating behavior as an action that “creates energy and positively affects those around us.”
“EGB’s increase readiness and aggressiveness, they build momentum after positive plays, and they stem the tide during challenging stretches. Examples include floor slaps, daps, first to the floors, encouragement, acknowledgment, power claps, and chest bumps.”
Smart and his coaching staff also emphasize deflections. It’s just another statistic they track.
The Golden Eagles aim for 32 in each game, but this season, they’re averaging 42.5 per contest. Freshman guard Nigel James Jr. leads the team with 16, while junior guard Sean Jones’ 12 are good for second.
Indiana’s first test
The Hoosiers face their first real challenge of the season Sunday against the Golden Eagles. DeVries’ squad is an experienced one — 10 of 13 players have made at least 30 career starts — but at the mid-major level.
Redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries, redshirt senior guard Conor Enright and senior forward Sam Alexis are the lone Hoosiers to play at the power conference level (includes Big East).
And while there was much to like about Indiana’s 47-point season-opening victory, Sunday will give a true idea of where the new-look Hoosiers stand in the early stages of their nonconference schedule.
“We certainly understand that Sunday is going to be different than today (Wednesday), so we've got plenty to work on, plenty to continue to improve,” Darian DeVries said. “But I like this group in that regard. They're all eager to get better. They just want to win.”
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
