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Ohio State adds game against Notre Dame to hoops schedule

Spencer-Holbrookby: Spencer Holbrook05/02/25SpencerHolbrook
Bruce Thornton
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

COLUMBUS — Ohio State has reportedly added another marquee matchup to its nonconference hoops slate for the upcoming season.

According to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, the Buckeyes will face Notre Dame in the Schottenstein Center this winter — with a return trip to South Bend slated for the 2026-2027 nonconference schedule.

Notre Dame is the third confirmed nonconference game on the schedule for the second year of the Jake Diebler era at Ohio State. The Buckeyes are 3-1 all-time against Notre Dame, the last matchup being a 90-85 win in December 2020. Ohio State has never hosted the Fighting Irish for a basketball game.

The Fighting Irish went 15-18 last season. They are 28-38 in two seasons under head coach Micah Shrewsberry, the former head coach at Penn State.

The Buckeyes will also face North Carolina as part of the four-team CBS Sports Classic this upcoming winter. The other game in the four-team classic will feature Kentucky vs. St. Johns. UCLA used to be in the classic but will be replaced by St. Johns.

Ohio State is also expected to play at Pittsburgh this upcoming season in the nonconference slate as a return trip from Pitt’s game in Columbus this past season.

The last time the Buckeyes and Tar Heels played, North Carolina beat Ohio State 89-84 in New York City during the CBS Sports Classic back in 2022. Ohio State has never beaten North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic.

Of course, last year’s CBS Sports Classic featured a startling 20-point Ohio State win over then-No. 4 Kentucky on the same day as the Buckeyes football team beat Tennessee in the College Football Playoff.

These announcement comes during the same week the Big Ten announced its matchups for the upcoming conference slate.

This season, Ohio State will have home games against Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Purdue, UCLA and USC. The Buckeyes will go on the road for games at Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern, Rutgers, Washington and Oregon. Three opponents will see the Buckeyes twice for home-and-home conference games: Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin.

Jake Diebler enters his second season with plenty of pressure after missing the NCAA Tournament in his first season at the helm of the program. The Buckeyes were expected to make the tournament but lost pivotal games down the stretch last year, finishing 17-15 overall and 9-11 in conference play, including being bounced from the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Next season needs to be better, and the Buckeyes have semi-overhauled the roster with transfers they expect to help them out a great bit.

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