A three-game homestand in mid-January, a season-finale home date with Michigan and a road opener against Nebraska highlight Ohio State’s full 2026-27 Big Ten men’s schedule.
The Big Ten released full schedules and dates for all 18 teams on Sept. 16. Television broadcast and streaming details, as well as tip times, are still to be announced, but the Buckeyes now know their league slate will begin Dec. 2 at Nebraska and conclude March 7 against Michigan at the Schottenstein Center.
In between, Ohio State will play two late-February games in Los Angeles, enjoy consecutive home games against Penn State, Michigan State and Iowa in January and begin its home slate of Big Ten games with a Dec. 6 game against Maryland.
The full nonconference schedule was
released in mid-August and features 12 games headlined by the likes of Connecticut, Kansas, BYU and others.
Weekend games highlight Ohio State slate
Five of Ohio State’s conference home games will be played on weekends: Maryland (Sunday), Penn State (Sunday, Jan. 17), Michigan State (Saturday, Jan. 23), Washington (Sunday, Feb. 14) and Michigan (Sunday). The game against the Huskies will be played the same day as the Super Bowl.
Ohio State will also play five Big Ten road games during the weekend, starting with a Saturday, Jan. 2 game at Iowa. One week later, the Buckeyes will play at Illinois before eventually closing the month with a Saturday, Jan. 30 game at Michigan.
Three of Ohio State’s four February road games will be during the weekend. The Buckeyes will go to Penn State on Saturday, Feb. 6, USC two weeks later and finish up at Indiana on Sunday, Feb. 28.
Ohio State has late West Coast trip
The Buckeyes will make their one trip to the West Coast in late February. After hosting Washington on Valentine’s Day, Ohio State will head to California to play against UCLA and USC on Feb. 17 and 20, respectively. After facing the Trojans, the Buckeyes will have five days before resuming the season against Rutgers on Feb. 25.
Ohio State went to Los Angeles during the 2024-25 season, playing at UCLA and USC on Feb. 23 and 26, respectively.
December Big Ten games add to high-major challenges
When the Buckeyes open league play at Nebraska and at home against Maryland, the games will add to a critical slate of early-season games.
After the two-game foray into league play, Ohio State will close its home-and-home series with Notre Dame when it visits the Fighting Irish on Saturday, Dec. 12. The month will also feature a Dec. 19 game against Kansas in the CBS Sports Classic inside Madison Square Garden and a Dec. 30 resumption of Big Ten play against Oregon.
Two home games against mid-major teams fit into the gaps in December: Dec. 15 against Stony Brook and Dec. 22 against Mississippi Valley State.
Ohio State men's basketball 2026-27 schedule
- Oct. 7 - vs. Cincinnati (exhibition, Mason, Ohio)
- Oct. 28 - Butler (exhibition )
- Nov. 2 - vs. BYU (Delta Center, Salt Lake City)
- Nov. 6 - Youngstown State
- Nov. 9 - Marshall
- Nov. 13 - at Connecticut
- Nov. 16 - Prairie View A&M
- Nov. 19 - UMBC
- Nov. 24 - Vanderbilt
- Nov. 29 - Lipscomb
- Dec. 2 - at Nebraska
- Dec. 6 - Maryland
- Dec. 12 - at Notre Dame
- Dec. 15 - Stony Brook
- Dec. 19 - vs. Kansas (CBS Sports Classic; Madison Square Garden, New York City)
- Dec. 22 - Mississippi Valley State
- Dec. 30 - Oregon
- Jan. 2 - at Iowa
- Jan. 6 - Northwestern
- Jan. 9 - at Illinois
- Jan. 12 - at Purdue
- Jan. 17 - Penn State
- Jan. 23 - Michigan State
- Jan. 26 - Iowa
- Jan. 30 - at Michigan
- Feb. 6 - at Penn State
- Feb. 9 - Wisconsin
- Feb. 14 - Washington
- Feb. 17 - at UCLA
- Feb. 20 - at USC
- Feb. 25 - Rutgers
- Feb. 28 - at Indiana
- March 4 - at Minnesota
- March 7 - Michigan
Ohio State men's basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social, on Instagram at @cdadamjardyor on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State men's hoops will close 2026-27 Big Ten slate with Michigan
