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IU basketball will play Baylor in an exhibition on Sunday, October 26, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Tip-off time and a TV designation for the exhibition will be announced at a later date. Tickets go on sale to the public for the “Indy Showdown” on August 29 at 10 a.m. ET at Ticketmaster.com.
The Bears, coached by Indiana native Scott Drew, are coming off a 20-15 season and a No. 9 seed in the 2025 NCAA tournament. Baylor beat Mississippi State 75-72 in the first round of the tournament before falling 89-66 to Duke.
Baylor won the 2021 NCAA championship, finishing its title run with an 86-70 win against Gonzaga at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Like Indiana, Baylor had a total roster reboot in the offseason. The Bears don’t return a single contributor from last season.
Rob Wright, a standout freshman last season for Baylor, transferred to BYU. VJ Edgecombe was the No. 3 pick in June’s NBA draft by Philadelphia. Senior guard Jeremy Roach graduated, as did senior forward Norchad Omier.
The new-look Baylor roster is expected to be led by McDonald’s All-American freshman guard Tounde Yessoufou, fifth-year senior guard Obi Agbim (Wyoming), senior wing Daniel Skillings Jr. (Cincinnati), senior wing Michael Rataj (Oregon State) and junior big man Juslin Bodo Bodo (High Point).
The two programs have met just once and that contest was an 83-47 IU win on December 13, 1980, in Bloomington.
IU’s other exhibition game will be against Marian University on Friday, October 17, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
The announcement of the Baylor exhibition completes the IU basketball non-conference schedule for the 2025-26 season, which is listed below:
Friday, October 17: vs. Marian University (exhibition)Sunday, October 26: vs. Baylor at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (exhibition)Wednesday, November 5: vs. Alabama A&MSunday, November 9: vs. Marquette at the United Center in ChicagoWednesday, November 12: vs. MilwaukeeSunday, November 16: vs. Incarnate WordThursday, November 20: vs. LindenwoodTuesday, November 25: vs. Kansas StateSaturday, November 29: vs. Bethune-CookmanSaturday, December 6: vs. Louisville at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in IndianapolisSaturday, December 13: at KentuckySaturday, December 20: vs. Chicago StateMonday, December 22: vs. Siena
Hoosiers & Bears in Indy for some more October exhibition play.
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— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) August 22, 2025
Here’s the full release on the exhibition from BDG Sports:
INDIANAPOLIS – With new rules permitting NCAA Division I schools to compete against each other in exhibition games, the Indiana men’s basketball team has scheduled an exhibition game against powerhouse-Big 12 opponent Baylor at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday, Oct. 26. The Indy Showdown will be managed by veteran event promoter bdG Sports, which made the announcement Friday.
Previously, NCAA rules only permitted Division I institutions to meet in an exhibition if the game was played for charity. But the rules were changed this year providing the schools this opportunity as long as no class time was missed.
“Adding Baylor to our exhibition schedule was an important piece to our non-conference slate,” Indiana head men’s basketball coach Darian DeVries said. “Baylor is always a talented, well-coached team that will help prepare us for our season. We are excited to showcase this game in front of Hoosier Nation in Indianapolis.”
For IU, this will be the first of two games played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse this season. The Hoosiers will play Louisville there in a nationally televised CBS game on Saturday, Dec. 6.
DeVries, who tips off his first season as the head coach at IU, will have a top-10 portal class, per 247 Sports, led by Tucker DeVries (West Virginia), Lamar Wilkerson (Sam Houston State) and forward Reed Bailey (Davidson).
Circle City holds special significance in the history of the Baylor men’s basketball program as the Bears won the 2021 national championship there during the pandemic-impacted season. Baylor ranks as one of only five schools to be listed inside the top 10 in each of the last six seasons. Head coach Scott Drew led the Bears to their program-best sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance a year ago and has retooled his roster for the coming season with a Top-25 class from the portal according to 247 Sports. Michael Rataj (Oregon State), Obi Agbim (Oklahoma State), Dan Skillings (Cincinnati) and JJ White (Omaha) headline the list of portal newcomers.
“We are excited about returning to Indianapolis in October, a city that holds fond memories for the Baylor Family,” Drew said. “Playing against an opponent like Indiana in its home state is a great chance for our team to experience what it will be like playing on the road in the Big 12 Conference. We are grateful to bdG Sports for providing this unique opportunity to compete in an NBA arena against one of the nation’s most storied programs.”
Game time and television information for the exhibition will be announced later.
Tickets go on sale to the public on August 29 at 10 a.m. ET at Ticketmaster.com.
The two teams met once before, in a regular-season game on Dec. 13, 1980, which IU won, 83-47.
Records and statistics accumulated in the exhibition matchup will not count toward regular-season totals.
See More: Schedule, Baylor Bears
