Ohio State Releases 2016-17 Non-Conference Schedule

June 23, 2016

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s basketball team has released its non-conference schedule for the 2016-17 season. The 13-game non-conference schedule features nine homes games and matchups with perennial powers UConn and South Carolina.

The year will open at home on Nov. 14 with a rematch of last year’s season-opener with South Carolina. In a back-and-forth game, the Gamecocks were able to pull away late for an 88-80 victory in Columbia. Both teams are projected as top-10 teams heading into this season.

Two more home games against Cleveland State (Nov. 16) and LIU Brooklyn (Nov. 19) send the Buckeyes into the Thanksgiving Weekend where they will head to southern Florida for the previously announced Gulf Coast Showcase. Ohio State will open the event against the hometown team Florida Gulf Coast on Friday, Nov. 25. The rest of the bracket features Syracuse, DePaul, Baylor, George Washington, Kent State and Western Kentucky.

The ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup, which was also previously announced, will be at home against Miami. The Buckeyes are 2-0 all-time against the Hurricanes but the two teams have not met since 1986. Miami returns six of its top seven scorers from a team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season.

Cincinnati will make its return trip to Columbus on Dec. 4. The two teams met in Cincinnati last season and the Buckeyes came away with a 105-76 victory. Ohio State is 17-4 all-time against its in-state rival.

The Buckeyes will play just three times over the ensuing two and a half weeks as it will take time to focus on final exams. Those games, all at home, will be against Southern (Dec. 7), Canisius (Dec. 11) and Alabama State (Dec. 16). OSU is 3-0 all-time against Southern, 2-0 against Canisius and this will be the first meeting with ASU.

That will lead into a showdown with four-time defending national champion UConn. The game will be played on Dec. 19 in Hartford. UConn won the first game in the home-and-home series last year in Columbus on its way to an undefeated season.

The final non-conference game of the season will be a Dec. 21 tilt at home against Winthrop. OSU beat Winthrop in both previous meetings, topping the Eagles in 2011 and again in 2014.

The Big Ten slate, which gets started after Christmas, will drop back to a 16-game schedule after playing an 18-game schedule the last two seasons. Ohio State will have a home-and-home series with Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin and will face the rest of the league just once. Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan and Penn State will be at home and Indiana, Michigan State, Northwestern, Purdue and Rutgers will be on the road. Dates for the conference games will be announced later this summer.

Times and TV assignments for all games will be announced at a later date.

The Buckeyes’ exhibition game this season will be on Sunday, Nov. 6 against in-state foe Ashland.