Ohio State Buckeyes, Stanford Cardinal to Battle in Winter Showcase

Kevin McGuff will get a chance to play the Cardinal for the first time post-Tara VanDerveer.

Mar 24, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes forward Cotie McMahon (32) walks to the bench during the first half of the women’s NCAA Tournament second round against the Duke Blue Devils at Value City Arena. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Buckeyes are headed to the Bay.

Ohio State will travel to San Francisco to play Stanford in a Big Ten-Atlantic Coast Conference showdown Dec. 20, the Buckeyes announced on Monday.

🗓️🗓️ The Buckeyes are headed to the Invisalign Bay Area Women's Classic on December 20 to face Stanford in the Chase Center ‼️

🔗: https://t.co/4rR87pk44i#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/S0ZKpetGoo

— Ohio State Women’s Basketball (@OhioStateWBB) August 5, 2024

The teams will be participating in the Invisalign Bay Area Women's Classic and will participate in a doubleheader also featuring a Creighton-UCLA duel.

Although the Cardinal play under 40 miles from the home of the NBA's Golden State Warriors, they will be returning to Chase Center for the first time since 2019.

Stanford will have several tough challenges ahead of them this season — not only with the Hall-of-Fame winningest NCAA basketball coach ever Tara VanDerveer retiring, but also with the Cardinal joining the ACC this season with the likes of Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Duke, Louisville and North Carolina State.

The Cardinal also lost 2024 conference Most Improved Player and Associated Press All-America honorable mention Kiki Iriafen to USC and reigning Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and AP First Team All-American Cameron Brink to the WNBA.

May 3, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Jacy Sheldon (4) controls the ball during the second half against the Indiana Fever at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

That's not to say the Buckeyes haven't gone through challenges of their own — former standouts Jacy Sheldon and Celeste Taylor both went pro, and Kevin McGuff saw three more of his former players enter the transfer portal. Ohio State did add Oregon guard Chance Gray and Kentucky big Ajae Petty, however.

The Buckeyes lead the all-time series against the Cardinal, 3-2.

Both games featuring Big Ten schools will be streamed on FOX Sports, with game times to be announced at a later date.