Indiana men’s basketball exited this past offseason having remade its roster and schedule.
The Hoosiers had spent the previous few years playing the likes of Kansas, Arizona and UConn in the opening months of the season. This year’s schedule included just one marquee matchup, the Battle 4 Atlantis, which gave Indiana a potential shot at teams like Gonzaga and, well, Arizona.
After that? The schedule was mostly fluff. Sub-100 KenPom teams played at home without the customary game in Indianapolis that has become tradition in recent years for Indy-area alumni.
The move with this schedule and how to capitalize on it was obvious: blow out the lesser opponents and win a good game or two in The Bahamas to exit the nonconference slate with favorable metrics.