There have been rumors circulating this offseason that the Big Ten Conference would finally offer protected rivalries. With the recent announcement of the new 20-game conference schedule starting during the 2018-19, which would allow teams to have 7 home-and-home series each season against conference foes (compared to 5 currently), we had a feeling this announcement would be coming as it would give more flexibility for protected rivalries.
And sure enough, today at Big Ten Basketball Media Days, it was confirmed: Purdue and Indiana would become a protected basketball rivalry, and the schools will play each other twice every season starting during the 2018-19 season.