Ohio State, West Virginia set for late December clash in Cleveland

IMG_7408by:Andy Backstrom•04/19/23•

andybackstrom

COLUMBUS — Ohio State is headed to Cleveland for a neutral site game against West Virginia next season. The storied programs will face off on Dec. 30 in what will be their 18th meeting all-time.

Although a venue hasn’t been announced yet for the event, set up by Intersport, the last time the Buckeyes and Mountaineers played was also in Cleveland. That December 2019 matchup was at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Back then, WVU upset No. 2 Ohio State, 67-59, in part thanks to a strong second half from Miles McBride, a Cincinnati native who came off the bench for the Mountaineers and poured in 11 points.

Ohio State came into that game with wins over Villanova, Kentucky and North Carolina, taking down its three previous ranked foes by 18.7 points per game. But head coach Chris Holtmann’s Buckeyes suffered a setback, shooting just 31.3% in the Cleveland Classic loss.

That game drew 16,781 attendees.

It’s worth noting that, in 2008-09, Ohio State-WVU was one of four sellouts at the Schottenstein Center (19,049 fans). Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, No. 15 at the time, they wound up losing, 76-48.

Series history

Ohio State has lost eight of its last nine games against the Mountaineers yet still leads the series, 9-8, all-time.

The teams have played just three times since the turn of the century, and just once since WVU joined the Big 12 in 2012. The Buckeyes and Mountaineers squared off every season from 1992-93 to 1995-96 and, before that, every season from 1977-78 to 1982-83.

Ohio State won the first eight games in the series, including a double-overtime affair on Dec. 30, 1980. But the Mountaineers avenged that defeat with a double-overtime win of their own when the teams met on Dec. 11, 1982.

The Buckeyes first played WVU in 1940-41. They took care of business, 58-44, in Columbus. Ohio State’s nine wins over the Mountaineers are its most against any Big 12 foe. That said, the Buckeyes are notably 7-0 against Iowa State.

Results of past Ohio State-WVU games

DATESEASONLOCATIONSCORE
Dec. 29, 20192019-20Cleveland67-59 WVU
Jan. 23. 20102009-10Morgantown71-65 WVU
Dec. 27, 20082008-09Columbus76-48 WVU
Nov. 28, 19951995-96Columbus77-68 OSU
Dec. 30, 19941994-95Morgantown79-69 WVU
Dec. 30, 19931993-94Columbus87-82 WVU
Dec. 12, 19921992-93Morgantown78-69 WVU
Dec. 11, 19821982-83Columbus69-67 2OT WVU
Dec. 12, 19811981-82Morgantown73-68 WVU
Dec. 30, 19801980-81Columbus70-67 2OT OSU
Dec. 10, 19791979-80Morgantown72-55 OSU
Dec. 2, 19781978-79Morgantown69-64 OSU
Dec. 21, 19771977-78Columbus89-80 OSU
Jan. 13, 19711970-71Morgantown83-74 OSU
Jan. 19, 19701969-70Columbus84-70 OSU
Dec. 8, 19621962-63Columbus76-69 OSU
Dec. 10, 19401940-41Columbus58-44 OSU

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