Ohio State’s 2026-27 men’s basketball non-conference slate is loaded with chances to make noise before Big Ten play even begins.
Jake Diebler and the Buckeyes released the full 12-game schedule on August 19, and it brings plenty of early-season tests. Ohio State will face six teams that reached the NCAA Tournament last season, giving the Buckeyes a non-conference run that looks built for resume building and for getting sharpened before the league grind starts.
Diebler made the logic pretty clear when asked last month about scheduling this way.
"First off, I think we wanted to make sure that we were scheduling aggressively so that we were creating opportunities for resume-boosting wins," Diebler said. "The other part is, I think you have to play tough teams in the non-conference to get your squad ready for what's to come in Big Ten play."
"I mean this is the best and deepest league in the country, and if we go into league play and not having tested ourselves multiple times, we're not going to be ready", Diebler added. "We're going to have challenges in the exhibition games, we're going to have challenges in the non-conference, and part of the beginning of October to the beginning of November is getting ready for using these exhibitions to get ready for this challenging non-conference, which should help us get ready for Big Ten play."
Ohio State’s preseason starts with two exhibitions. The first comes against Cincinnati in the CareSource Invitational at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on Wednesday, October 7th. The second is at home against Butler on Sunday, October 25th.
Then the games start counting.
The Buckeyes open the regular season on Monday, November 2nd, on the road against BYU at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. That one should matter right away for both teams’ NCAA Tournament cases, and it also features a couple of matchups worth circling: John Mobley Jr. against BYU point guard Rob Wright, plus Anthony Thompson against Bruce Branch III in a battle of five-stars.
Ohio State’s home opener arrives on Friday, November 6th, against Youngstown State, followed by another home game against Marshall on November 9th.
From there, the schedule ramps back up. The Buckeyes travel to UConn on November 13th to begin a home-and-home with the Huskies. UConn, which reached the National Championship game this past season, is expected to be strong again under Dan Hurley, with Silas Demary Jr. and Braylen Mullins among the key returners.
The first major home test comes on November 24th against Vanderbilt. The Commodores bring back point guard Tyler Tanner, who is a potential National Player of the Year candidate entering the season.
Ohio State’s return trip in its series with Notre Dame is set for December 12th in South Bend, and the non-conference finishes with Kansas on December 19th in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden.
The final five non-conference opponents, previously unannounced, are Prairie View A&M, UMBC, Lipscomb, Stony Brook, and Mississippi Valley State, which closes out the slate before conference play.
It’s a demanding setup, and that’s exactly the point. Ohio State gets the kind of early stretch Diebler said he wanted, with enough high-end matchups to test the Buckeyes and enough variety to keep November and December packed with real interest.
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