Now that some of college basketball’s best players have made their stay-or-go NBA Draft decisions, we can talk too-early top-25s with a straight face.
On Monday, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello published his edition of a 2026-27 top-25, with Indiana just outside the picture.
Borzello listed IU as the second of his “next five,” placing them effectively as No. 27.
Ahead of IU from the Big Ten are Michigan (3), Illinois (4), Michigan State (8), USC (12), Nebraska (21) and Purdue (24).
The Hoosiers appear to be a consensus team in the No. 20 to 30 range. And some other outlets do have IU in their preseason top-25 after making updates following the NBA Draft early withdrawal deadline:
– The Athletic lists the Hoosiers at No. 22
– Jon Rothstein has Indiana ranked No. 25.
– Andy Katz has the Hoosiers at No. 23.
– CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish has IU at No. 21.
IU has not finished a season ranked in the AP top-25 since 2023. And Indiana is a bit of a tough read at this point. The Hoosiers return just one contributor from a year ago — sophomore forward Trent Sisley.
So as has been the case in several recent years, Indiana is a major rebuild project.
But IU has a national top-10 transfer portal class, and a top-20 high school class. Six of their portal additions have significant experience at the high major level.
The new-look Hoosiers have talent, but how will they play as a team? Head coach Darian DeVries’ second IU team will get a chance to bond and build chemistry during a team trip to Peru next month.
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