CBS Sports Classic to take place in Atlanta next season
COLUMBUS — At least one Ohio State team is headed back to Atlanta in December next year.
While the Buckeyes on the gridiron are hoping to steer clear of the Peach Bowl and instead return to the College Football Playoff (Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl next season), the Buckeyes on the hardwood will travel south for the annual CBS Sports Classic, sources confirmed to Lettermen Row Tuesday.
The four-team non-conference event — which has been around since 2014 and has included Kentucky, North Carolina, UCLA and Ohio State every year since its inception — will take place on Dec. 16.
College hoops writer Rocco Miller was the first to report the news.
This year’s matchups haven’t been officially announced. But it’s worth noting that Kentucky head coach John Calipari tweeted last year that the Wildcats would be squaring off against UNC this time around. That, of course, would pit Ohio State against UCLA on the other end of the doubleheader.
But, again, opponents can change during the scheduling process. So, for now, Ohio State’s opponent in Atlanta is still to be determined.
Ohio State is 4-4 all-time in the CBS Sports Classic. It is 2-0 against Kentucky, 2-1 against UCLA and 0-3 against UNC. Last year, the Buckeyes staked themselves to a double-digit lead against the Tar Heels in the first half before UNC came all the way back, forced overtime at the buzzer and pulled away in the extra frame. That meeting occurred in New York’s Madison Square Garden.
Las Vegas, Cleveland, Chicago, New Orleans and Brooklyn have also played host to the CBS Sports Classic. Now, Atlanta will be added to that list.
Here’s what else we know about Ohio State’s 2023-24 non-conference schedule.
The Buckeyes will reportedly open the year against Oakland on Nov. 6. Then they will host Texas A&M, which is expected to be a top-20 team next season, on Nov. 10. Remember, the Buckeyes didn’t have a non-conference home game against a Power Five opponent last year.
Ohio State is also scheduled to play a neutral site game against West Virginia in Cleveland on Dec. 30. Before that, however, the program will participate in the Emerald Coast Classic over Thanksgiving weekend. That early-season, non-conference event in Niceville, Florida, will feature Alabama, Oregon, Santa Clara and Ohio State.
As for the league slate, the Big Ten released the Buckeyes’ conference home and away opponents in April.
Ohio State is coming off a 16-19 season, during which it went 5-15 in conference play. Despite finishing with a losing record for the first time since 2003-04, the final year of the Jim O’Brien era, and placing second-to-last in the regular season Big Ten standings, the Buckeyes ended on a high note.
While they missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time in head coach Chris Holtmann’s six-year career (not including 2020), they did become the lowest seed in Big Ten Tournament history to reach the semifinals.
Ohio State returns three major contributors from a top-15 2022 recruiting class and welcomes in another top-15 recruiting class from the 2023 cycle.
