Ohio State will open Big Ten play at Northwestern, host four weekend conference games and conclude league play with a senior day showdown against Indiana.
The full league schedule was announced Sept. 18, minus broadcast details and tip times, which are still pending.
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After coach Jake Diebler publicly expressed his displeasure at a lack of home weekend games for the Buckeyes in 2024-25, the Big Ten has given them four during the upcoming season, three in the final two months.
In between a Dec. 6 road game against the Wildcats and the regular-season finale at home on Saturday, March 7, against the Hoosiers, Ohio State will host UCLA on a Saturday (Jan. 17), Michigan on a Sunday (Feb. 8) and Purdue on a Sunday (March 1).
The Buckeyes will play rival Michigan twice after both Diebler and Wolverines coach Dusty May lobbied for the two programs to play each other twice a year. In April, the Big Ten unveiled which teams will play each other how many times under the league’s unbalanced format, while Ohio State announced its full nonconference schedule in August.
Ohio State will make its West Coast road trip relatively early, starting with a Jan. 8 game at Oregon, followed by a tipoff at Washington on Jan. 11. They will then return home and enjoy nearly a week of rest before hosting UCLA on the 17th.
The Big Ten has unveiled the 2025-26 conference schedule for forward Devin Royal and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes will play four weekend road games: at Northwestern on a Saturday (Dec. 6), at Washington on a Sunday (as previously mentioned, Jan. 11), at Wisconsin on a Saturday (Jan. 31) and at Michigan State on a Sunday (Feb. 22).
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There are also two Friday games on the road: at Rutgers (Jan. 2) and at Michigan (Jan. 23).
January is an especially busy month for the Buckeyes, who will play nine games, including their trip to Oregon and Washington. February will feature a previously announced nonconference game with Virginia in Nashville on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14. That sandwiches a Feb. 11 home game against USC and a Feb. 17 home game with Wisconsin.
The season will unofficially get underway with an Oct. 26 exhibition game against Ohio University at Value City Arena.
In a change from last year, the men’s Big Ten tournament will expand to include all 18 teams. In 2024-25, the first year with 18 teams, the bottom three teams in the standings did not qualify for the conference tournament.
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Here is the full Ohio State men’s basketball schedule for the 2025-26 season.
Ohio State men’s basketball 2025-26 schedule
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October 26 – Ohio University (exhibition)
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November 7 – Purdue Fort Wayne
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November 11 – Appalachian State
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November 20 – Western Michigan
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November 25 – Mount St. Mary’s
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December 6 – at Northwestern
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December 13 – vs. West Virginia (Cleveland Hoops Showdown, Cleveland)
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December 20 – vs. North Carolina (CBS Sports Classic, Atlanta)
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December 23 – Grambling State
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January 11 – at Washington
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January 31 – at Wisconsin
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February 14 – vs. Virginia (Nashville Hoops Showdown, Nashville)
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February 22 – at Michigan State
Ohio State men’s basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State basketball adds more Big Ten weekend home games in 2025-26
