The next installment in Indiana men’s basketball’s ongoing series with Kentucky, originally scheduled for December 20th, 2026, has now been moved to November 20th. After an away game at Rupp Arena last year, this game will be at an Indiana-friendly neutral site, Lucas Oil Stadium.
Seemingly the most significant part of this announcement is that the game moved from a Sunday to Friday, signifying a move to a primetime slot. This could make for a big revenge opportunity for Darian DeVries, who lost by 12 points at Kentucky last year, his first season as Indiana’s head coach.
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Both teams will look significantly different than the groups that saw each other last year, a product of heavy attrition and rebuilding via the transfer portal.
The Wildcats lost seven players to the portal this past offseason, adding five, most notably Zoom Diallo and Frank Kepnang, who both came from Washington. Indiana has six newcomers, replacing the six players it lost to the portal following 2025-26.
Now that things have settled, Indiana’s transfer class finished fourth in 247’s rankings, while Kentucky’s came in at 12th.
Last year’s results aside, this could be a chance for DeVries to earn the first statement non-conference win of his Indiana tenure. Indiana played four power conference opponents last year before Big Ten play, going 2-2 with wins over Kansas State and Marquette, two teams that combined to go 24-40 last year.
