Northwestern's Men's Basketball team announced its Big Ten home and road opponents for the 2026-27 season on Tuesday via a post to X.
In the modern Big Ten, each team plays every other team in the conference at least once, and three of them twice. Northwestern always plays its cross-state rival Illinois twice, and, next year, it will match up with Minnesota and Indiana both at home and on the road.
Because the 'Cats always play the Illini twice, it's difficult for them to get an awesome draw. Illinois is always good, and beating them on the road is an especially difficult challenge.
With that being said, Indiana is coming off an underwhelming season in which it choked away its spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers were in a solid position entering March, but they struggled down the stretch and lost early in the conference tourney to NU.
Despite a frustrating season under first-year head coach Darian DeVries, Indiana is still Indiana. It's a tough place to play, and they typically give teams a run for their money on the road. Drawing the Hoosiers twice is no picnic, but it still isn't the program most have become accustomed to watching in Bloomington.
Minnesota, on the other hand, is definitely a good draw for the Wildcats. The Gophers have been towards the bottom of the conference for many years now, and Northwestern should have a good chance in both of those games.
The reality is, though, that the Big Ten is an incredibly difficult conference to predict year-to-year. Compounding that problem for Northwestern faithful is that they have no idea how good the 'Cats are going to be next season.
The roster has undergone an unprecedented amount of turnover this offseason, suffering from a mass-exodus in the transfer portal. Head coach Chris Collins picked up new talent through the portal as well, but how the roster gels is, obviously, very much up-in-the-air.
Overall, though, with the information we do have, an Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota draw feels like a middle-of-the-pack situation. The Illini will be really tough, guaranteed. Indiana is Indiana. And the Gophers, while it would be surprising if Northwestern was outclassed against them, could be better than expected.
The Big Ten has yet to announce when these games will take place. When that does drop, we'll learn what kind of travel situation the 'Cats will have to contend with. On its inevitable West Coast swing, it will take on Washington and Oregon. The Purdue game is also on the road, which isn't ideal.
Northwestern would likely prefer to see some of the better Big Ten teams, like Illinois, a bit later in the season. With an unproven roster that won't have shared the floor for very long, early-season tests, especially conference games before New Year's, might be rough.