Ohio State
North Carolina
Buckeyes Head to Atlanta Saturday for Matchup with No. 12 Tar Heels
12/18/2025 12:43:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Ohio State vs. #12 North Carolina
Date: December 20, 2025
Time: 3 p.m.
Venue: State Farm Arena – Atlanta, Ga.
TV: CBS
Listen: Ohio State Radio Network from Learfield
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Rosters: Ohio State | North Carolina
Season Stats: Ohio State | North Carolina
Game Notes: Ohio State Media Center
TICKETS: Season, single-game, group and mini plans are available for all men’s basketball games this season. Visit OhioStateBuckeyes.com or call the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office in the Schottenstein Center at 1-800-GOBUCKS.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Coming off a thrilling victory last Saturday and with final exams in the rear-view mirror, Ohio State heads to Atlanta this weekend to take on No. 12 North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on CBS. Brad Nessler, Bill Raftery, Bruce Pearl, Jenny Dell will call the action.
The game can also be heard on the Ohio State Radio Network from Learfield. Paul Keels and former Buckeye captain Ron Stokes are on the call.
- Ohio State is 6-4 all-time in the CBS Sports Classic, which is the second-best record among the competing teams. The Buckeyes have won five of the last six games in the classic with the lone loss coming at Madison Square Garden in 2022 in an overtime thriller against North Carolina.
- Ohio State and North Carolina are meeting for the forth time in the CBS Sports Classic. The Buckeyes are looking for their first win against the Tar Heels in the classic.
- Overall, this will be the 17th meeting all-time between Ohio State and North Carolina with the Tar Heels holding a 13-3 advantage in the series.
- Last Saturday, Bruce Thornton hit a game-winning jumper in the paint with just over three seconds remaining to give the Buckeyes an 89-88 double-overtime victory over West Virginia in the Cleveland Hoops Showcase at Rocket Arena. Thornton finished with 23 points while freshman Amare Bynum posted a season-high 17 points to go along with nine rebounds. Christoph Tilly and Devin Royal each added double-doubles in the win.
- Thornton topped 1,700 career points last time out and is ninth in program history on the career scoring chart. Next up is Jay Burson (1986-89) who is just 51 points ahead of Thornton.
- Thornton, a Fairburn, Ga., native, is playing in his hometown for the third consecutive season. He and the Buckeyes beat UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic in 2023 and then the Buckeye fell to Auburn last season in the Holiday Hoopsgiving event.
- This is a special week for Thornton as he will not only play in front of friends and family on Saturday, but he also had his jersey retired at Milton High School on Tuesday night.
- Bynum is coming off the best game of his short 10-game career. His 17-point effort was highlighted by a stretch of nine-consecutive points for the Buckeyes in the second half comeback effort.
- Sophomore John Mobley Jr. has played in 42 career games and has made a three-point in all but one of those games. He’s hit a three in each of the 10 games this season and is tied for second on the team at 13.8 ppg.
- North Carolina has opened the season at 10-1 with wins over Kansas and Kentucky. The lone loss came to Michigan State in the championship game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off last month. Freshman Caleb Wilson leads the team at 19.5 points per game.
#GoBucks
