The expansion of the B1G conference has led to conference basketball schedules with only five home/away opponents a season. The greatest causality of this schedule is the loss of home and home rivalry serieses, and next year we are going only going to get to beat Indiana once, in Bloomington. Our proud rivalry has been reduced to a single game thrice in recent years, in 2008, 2009, and 2014. Hopefully, our great institution and that less great institution to the south can work out a deal that will set the world right and give us a second game. The only question is, where will they decide to play it?
Mackey Arena (non-conference)
It would only be fair to play a non-conference game in our arena, since the conference made IU the home team in the conference game.
Why it won't happen: If you get a chance to avoid playing at the loudest and most intimidating road environments in your conference, you take it. IU knows that the rivalry is important, but they are very unlikely to agree sacrifice a non-conference game to make a trip up here. Like many Power 5 teams, the Hoosiers played zero true road games in the non-conference this year, and have only played one such game in the last three years, at Syracuse in an B1G/ACC Challenge game.So don't expect this to happen without a requisite game in Assembly Hall in the future.
Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Crossroads Classic)
Both teams will already be in Indianapolis for a non-conference game on the same day, why not play then? Travis has been a big proponent of this solution since before next year's schedule was even announced, and it makes sense. The logistics are easy to figure out, you just switch the match-ups around and that's it. The schedule for the day and everything else stays the same.
Why it won't happen: While Notre Dame-Butler is an attractive match-up for most hardcore fans, neither of these teams had much of a fan presence the past few years. I'm sure the promoters are well aware of this and dread an half-empty arena for that game. Additionally, instead of getting two schools to agree, now you are having to get four schools to rewrite a contract that is already in place.
Lucas Oil Stadium
Back in the 2002-03 season, the first time the conference made this mistake, Purdue and Indiana came together to play a December non-conference game in the RCA Dome. It was dubbed "The Duel in the Dome" and it went well, with the exception of the fact that IU won. The RCA Dome is no longer an option, but Lucas Oil has replaced it beautifully and has hosted basketball games before, so it would seem like a great option.
Why it won't happen: It would be difficult to work out the schedules so that the game wouldn't conflict with any Colts' events. Secondly, one problem with all of these scenarios is that you have to get both athletic departments to feel they are getting something out of this deal that makes it worth giving up a home game against a cupcake.
The Moon
Not many people know this, but Purdue engineers have been working on a building a satellite campus/moon base and it is set to be fully operational by August. The best part is that it has athletic facilities and a complete replica of Mackey.
Why it won't happen: Nevermind, there is no secret Purdue moon base, and our Board of Trustees would never approve such a plan without telling NASA and the Feds. Also, the Moon would be such an obvious home court advantage for the Boilers that IU would never agree.
A Basketball Court in the Middle of a Cornfield
I'm going to need some of our readers' help, but I promise you:
If we build it, they will come.
Why it won't happen: Actually, they probably won't, and then we will have built a court and possibly stands in the middle of someone's farm that no one will use. Said farmer will not be happy, and they have access to a lot of different ways to kill us and hide the bodies. So we could all end up dead without a proper burial, all because we got over ambitious trying to attract two stubborn athletic departments to play a NCAA basketball game at our makeshift court.