“Guarantee” games are a staple of college basketball.
Also known as “buy games,” power conference schools pay schools from the mid or low-major level for a home game with no return game as part of the agreement.
For the power conference school, it’s an opportunity to fill out the home non-conference schedule with forecasted wins. And for the smaller schools, the check attached to the game provides a significant funding boost to the program.
For the most part, Indiana has avoided losing “guarantee” games.
Back in 2017-18, Archie Miller’s first season, the Hoosiers lost a buy game to Indiana State 90-69 to open Miller’s tenure.