Indiana men’s basketball exhibition slate before the 2026-27 season has come into clear view, as the Hoosiers announced Friday a home-and-home exhibition series with Butler University. Indiana will travel to Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Oct. 11 before the Bulldogs come to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in 2027.
The two Indiana programs have a storied history against each other, having played 55 regular season games dating back to 1901. The Hoosiers own a 40-15 series advantage and have won the last two games.
The two teams last played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse during the 2020-21 season, when then-sophomore forward Trayce Jackson-Davis' 21 points led Indiana to a 68-60 victory.
The last time the Hoosiers and Bulldogs did not play at Assembly Hall or a neutral site was in 1993. Indiana lost the contest 75-71 but has 14 historical wins inside Hinkle Fieldhouse. The venue opened in 1928, and Indiana has played 20 previous games there.
Butler will be under first-year head coach Ronald Nored next season. Nored played for the Bulldogs from 2008 to 2012.
Former Butler head coach Thad Matta retired after last season. Matta spent the last four seasons of his 21-season coaching career at Butler. He also served as the associate athletic director for basketball administration at Indiana under Mike Woodson during the 2021-22 season.
Due to the coaching change, Butler lost key contributors from last season.
Senior guard Finley Bizjack averaged a team-high 17.1 points per game last season but transferred to West Virginia University. Redshirt-junior forward Jamie Kaiser (9.5 points per game) left for the University of Richmond. While graduate forward Michael Ajayi (16.4 points per game) exhausted his eligibility.
In their place, Nored’s program has brought in five players from the transfer portal. The 76th-best transfer portal class, per On3, was headlined by former Citadel Military College of South Carolina redshirt-junior guard Christian Moore. The Bulldogs also brought in former University of Mississippi junior guard Eduardo Klafke and former University of Kansas sophomore forward Samis Calderon.
Four-star recruit Herly Brutus will also join Butler’s program next season. Brutus played his senior season at the Villages Charter School in The Villages, Florida. He is ranked as the No. 119 player in the nation and the 18th-best player out of Florida in the Rivals Industry rankings.
Indiana also has exhibition contests against Western Kentucky University and the University of North Carolina on the calendar. The North Carolina game will take place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Oct. 18, while the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, will hold the Western Kentucky matchup on Oct. 25.
The Hoosiers finished the 2025-26 season with an 18-14 overall record and a 9-11 mark in Big Ten play, missing the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season. Indiana's season concluded with a 74-61 defeat to Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament on March 11.
