Texas Longhorns Officially Reveal Season-Opening Matchup

The Texas Longhorns now know who they'll be facing to begin the 2024-25 season.

Feb 27, 2024; Lubbock, Texas, USA; UT Longhorns head coach Rodney Terry / Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

AUSTIN -- The Texas Longhorns will officially be tipping off the 2024-25 season in the Sin City.

Per an announcement on social media, Texas men's basketball will begin its season in Las Vegas against the Ohio State Buckeyes for the Hall of Fame Series on Monday, Nov. 4. The matchup was announced earlier this offseason, but now we know the first game on Texas' schedule.

The Longhorns have typically started off the regular-season non-conference slate against smaller-market opponents. Take UTEP and Incarnate Word for example, as both in-state programs traveled to the Moody Center in Austin to begin the past two regular seasons.

March 23, 2024, Charlotte, NC, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Chendall Weaver (2) / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

But as Texas enters the SEC, the spotlight is getting even brighter than it already was, and look no further than a marquee matchup vs. Ohio State as evidence.

This will mark just the second all-time meeting between Texas and Ohio State.

The Buckeyes found themselves on the NCAA Tournament bubble at the end of the 2023-24 regular season, but then-interim coach Jake Diebler was a driving factor that got Ohio State to that point in the first place. He took over mid-season for Chris Holtmann, who was fired one day after the Buckeyes lost 62-54 to Wisconsin.

Diebler and Texas coach Rodney Terry have found themselves on somewhat similar paths the past two seasons, as both took over for fired head coaches before leading their respective teams to success. The Buckeyes fired Holtmann on Feb. 14 before Diebler led Ohio State to a 73-69 win over
then-No. 2 Purdue four days later.

Ohio State ended the season with an 8-3 record under Diebler after being 14-11 under Holtmann. The Buckeyes nearly beat Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals and but had to settle for a quarterfinals loss to Georgia in the NIT instead of an impressive late-season run to March
Madness.