Ohio State Men's Basketball Announces 2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule

The Ohio State Buckeyes have unveiled their non-conference schedule for the upcoming basketball season. Two games are confirmed to be played at neutral sites.

Dec 21, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes forward Devin Royal (21) looks to pass as New Orleans Privateers guard Jamond Vincent (13) defends during the second half at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports / Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

The Ohio State Buckeyes will begin their 2024-25 men's basketball campaign in November. This will be the first season for Jake Diebler as the head coach and his squad will be full of transfers. With a significantly revamped group set to hit the floor this year, there are some big opening matchups to look for on the schedule. The officially set non-conference schedule was released on Monday.

Between November 4th and December 29th, the Buckeyes will play a total of 10 non-conference games. Seven of those games will be played at home, while two are at neutral sites and only one is on the road.

The non conference schedule is here 🌰

We’ll have ✌️ neutral site games this season with a potential third game to be announced later 👀

Secure your spot in the Schott to support #Team126 now ➡️ https://t.co/cWfzdYeknK pic.twitter.com/hEMNt401Vd

— Ohio State Hoops 🌰 (@OhioStateHoops) July 22, 2024

Let's take a closer look at several of those bigger matchups to start the year.

Ohio State vs Texas

The regular season opener for the Buckeyes will be taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada. T-Mobile Arena will be the host of the Hall of Fame Series where Michigan and South Carolina will square off in a women's basketball showdown, along with the Buckeyes and Longhorns facing off on the men's side.

Last season, Texas went 21-13 and made it to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 7 seed. They defeated No. 10 seed Colorado State 56-44 in the first round, but then fell to No. 2 seed Tennessee 62-58 in the second round. Despite a short run in March Madness, Texas was able to get in while the Ohio State Buckeyes just missed the tournament. The Buckeyes instead went on a little run of thier own in the NIT before falling in a close game to the Georgia Bulldogs.

On a neutral site to open the season, this will make for an exciting first matchup. Last year, the Buckeyes were 5-1 in games at neutral sites, while Texas was 3-3. The Longhorns will be returning one of their top three scorers in guard Tyrese Hunter.

Ohio State at Texas A&M

The lone true road trip of the non-conference schedule for the Buckeyes is this game on November 15th. After facing Texas to open the season and returning to Columbus for the home opener against Youngstown State, the Buckeyes go on the road to face Texas A&M. This is the final game of a home-and-home stand on the schedule with the Aggies. Last season, Texas A&M narrowly beat Ohio State at the Schottenstein Center 73-66.

The Aggies then went on to finish the year with a 21-15 overall record and like the Longhorns, were selected for the NCAA Tournament. The No. 9 seed Aggies beat the No. 8 seed Nebraska Cornhuskers 98-83, prior to giving the No. 1 seed Houston Cougars a run for their money in the second round. The Aggies lost 100-95 in overtime to conclude the season.

Last year the Aggies went 10-5 at home, while the Buckeyes had a bunch of struggles on the road, only going 2-8. This new Ohio State group will look to change those fortunes and avenge the previous loss to the Aggies.

Nov 10, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes guard Bruce Thornton (2) brings the ball up court toward Texas A&M Aggies guard Wade Taylor IV (4) during the first half of the NCAA basketball game at Value City Arena. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

Ohio State vs Pittsburgh

The last game of November for Ohio State could be decent test before a few presumed conference games in December. On the current schedule, there is a big gap between the Pittsburgh Panthers game on November 29th to hosting Valparaiso on December 17th.

With Pittsburgh coming to town, the Buckeyes get to face a team that went 22-11 last year. In addition to the strong record overall, they were 7-4 on the road. Without Carlton Carrington, who was drafted No. 14 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, this Panthers team may take a step back. That being said, they should have enough good players to make things interesting.

Ohio State vs Kentucky

The CBS Sports Classic will once again feature the Ohio State Buckeyes, Kentucky Wildcats, UCLA Bruins and North Carolina Tar Heels on December 21st. The classic college doubleheader will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City. UCLA and North Carolina are scheduled to tip-off at 3 PM ET with the Buckeyes and Wildcats set to tip-off following the conclusion of game one.

Last year the Buckeyes defeated the UCLA Bruins 67-60 in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta, Georgia. Kentucky narrowly beat North Carolina 87-83. The Wildcats finished the season with a record of 23-10 overall but were upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by Oakland.

Mark Pope is the new head coach of Kentucky, coming over from BYU following John Calipari stepping down from his role with the Wildcats. Calipari has since gone to Arkansas to be the head coach of the Razorbacks and Pope is looking to make a deep tournament run with a talented Kentucky team. This will be a big game for the Kentucky transfer Aaron Bradshaw, who just joined the Buckeyes this offseason. The winner of this clash will feel good about their future in the heart of conference play headed into January.

This is a big year for the Ohio State Buckeyes. They have an opportunity to get off to a strong start in non-conference play and even overcome a few tough tests early on the schedule. The last two seasons, Ohio State has not been able to carry that non-conference momentum into conference play though. Now is the opportunity to change that narrative with a new coaching staff and numerous new faces on the roster.