Buckeyes Announce Complete 2025-26 Non-Conference Schedule
8/13/2025 11:59:00 AM | Men's Basketball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State has set its 2025-26 non-conference schedule which includes the first six games of the season at home and five games against high-major opponents. The season opens on Monday, Nov. 3 against IU Indy.
Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online by clicking here. Single-game, group and mine plans will be available when the full schedule is announced next month. To sign up for more information on single-game, group and mini plans, click here. Official fan travel packages for the CBS Sports Classic can purchased by visiting www.cbssportsclassic.com/travel.
The Buckeyes return three starters in in senior Bruce Thornton, junior Devin Royal and sophomore John Mobley Jr. Thornton is coming off an All-Big Ten season where he averaged a career-best 17.7 points and 4.6 assists per game. Royal made 27 starts a year ago, averaging 13.7 points and 6.9 rebounds. Mobley Jr. made 77 three-pointers last season as a freshman, which were second-most of any Big Ten player.
IU Indy – Nov. 3 in Columbus
Ohio State is officially 2-0 all-time against IU Indy (formally IUPUI). The Buckeyes had to vacate a win during the 2001-02 and then also won games in Columbus in 2010 and 2022. The teams met in an exhibition game prior to the 2021-22 season. This will be the DI coaching debut for IU Indy coach and Ohio native Ben Howlett.
Purdue Fort Wayne – Nov. 7 in Columbus
This will be the third all-time meeting between the teams. The Buckeyes won home games at the start of the 2018-19 season as well as the following year in 2019-20. C.J. Jackson and Duane Washington combined for 45 points and 10 three-pointers in the 2018 victory.
Appalachian State – Nov. 11 in Columbus
The Buckeyes are officially 1-0 against Appalachian State, winning 80-67 on Dec. 16, 2017, in Columbus. Jae'Sean Tate led four Buckeyes in double figures with 19 points. Ohio State also had an NCAA Tournament win vacated during the 2000 season. Scoonie Penn made five three-pointers and finished with 23 points in that game.
Notre Dame – Nov. 16 in Columbus
The start of a home-and-home series, this game will be the 14th meeting all-time between the programs. Ohio State holds a 9-4 edge in the series and has won each of the last three meetings. The most recent Notre Dame win came back in 1973. Ohio State is 3-2 against the Irish in Columbus.
Western Michigan – Nov. 20 in Columbus
Ohio State is 4-0 all-time against Western Michigan. The teams met in three consecutive seasons from 1986-88, with the Buckeyes winning twice at home and once in Kalamazoo. The most recent meeting was on Nov. 19, 2023, when the Buckeyes raced to a 20-point halftime lead en route to a 73-56 victory. Bruce Thornton and Devin Royal were the only two current Buckeyes to play in that game just two years ago.
Mount St. Mary’s – Nov. 25 in Columbus
This will be just the third meeting between Ohio State and Mount St. Mary’s. Jim Jackson scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in his second game as a Buckeye in Ohio State’s 102-63 route of The Mount in 1989. Then in the 76-54 season-opening win in 2015, Buckeyes Keita Bates-Diop and Marc Loving each recorded their own double-doubles.
at Pitt – Nov. 28 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
This year’s game, which will be the return of the home-and-home series, will be the 27th meeting all-time between the two teams, but just the fourth since 1962. Ohio State officially leads the series 15-11. Last year’s game in Columbus was a great one as Pitt’s Zack Austin hit a three-pointer with less than a second to play in overtime to give the Panthers a 91-90 victory.
vs. West Virginia – Dec. 13 in Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio State and West Virginia will be meeting on the hardwood for the 19th time and the third time in Cleveland in the last six seasons. This will be part of two games at the Cleveland Hoops Showdown at Rocket Arena. Ohio and St. Bonaventure will square-off in the other contest. The Buckeyes lead the all-time series 10-8 but West Virginia has had the upper hand as of late, winning eight of the last 10 meetings. The teams split the previous two games in Cleveland as the Mountaineers won 67-59 on Dec. 29, 2019, and then the Buckeyes won an overtime thriller 78-75 on Dec. 20, 2023.
vs. North Carolina – Dec. 20 in Atlanta, Ga.
The teams will meet as part of the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta. The Buckeyes are 6-4 over their 10 appearances in the event, winning five of their last six contests. However, they are 0-3 vs. North Carolina in the event and 3-13 overall against the Tar Heels. Ohio State and North Carolina last met in 2022 in Madison Square Garden and the Tar Heels came away with an 89-84 overtime victory in what was a tremendous game.
Grambling State – Dec. 23 in Columbus
This will be just the second meeting between the teams. The previous meeting was the second game of the 2015-16 season where the Buckeyes got 22 points from Kam Williams in an 82-55 victory. That game followed the opening win against Mount St. Mary’s, another one of this year’s non-conference opponents.
vs. Virginia – Feb. 14 in Nashville, Tenn.
The Buckeyes will be playing a non-conference game in the middle of the Big Ten season for just the second time since 2010 when they meet Virginia in mid-February. Ohio State and Virginia will be playing for just the seventh time with the series knotted up at 3-3. The Buckeyes won the first three games in the series in 1931, 1932 and 1980 while the Cavaliers have won the most recent meetings in 1981, 2015 and 2016. The last two games both came as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
The Big Ten schedule will be announced in the coming weeks. Conference games will start in the first week of December and will resume in earnest around the start of the new year.
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