Ohio State released its full non-conference schedule for the 2017–18 season Wednesday afternoon. The Buckeyes' 18-game Big Ten schedule along with tip times and television networks will be released at a later date.
Ohio State will open its first season under new head coach Chris Holtmann with a home game against Robert Morris on Friday, Nov. 10.
Marquee matchups for the Buckeyes in the nonconference include a Nov. 23 game against Gonzaga in Portland as part of the PK80 Invitational. Ohio State will play two additional games in that tournament including one against either Florida or Stanford.
Additionally, the Buckeyes have their annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge game scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 29. This year's matchup is in Columbus as Ohio State hosts Clemson.
The Buckeyes' final big-time non-conference matchup of the 2017–18 season is Saturday, Dec. 23 in New Orleans against North Carolina as part of the CBS Sports Classic.
Gonzaga and North Carolina met for last season's national championship. Ohio State plays both during its 2017–18 non-conference slate.
Other non-conference games on the Buckeyes' schedule include Radford (Nov. 12), Texas Southern (Nov. 16), Northeastern (Nov. 19), William and Mary (Dec. 9), Appalachian State (Dec. 16), The Citadel (Dec. 19) and Miami of Ohio (Dec. 30).
The full slate can be seen below. Home games are in bold:
| Date | Opponent | location |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Nov. 10 | ROBERT MORRIS | Columbus, Ohio |
| Sun., Nov. 12 | RADFORD | Columbus, Ohio |
| Thurs., Nov. 16 | TEXAS SOUTHERN | Columbus, Ohio |
| Sun., Nov. 19 | NORTHEASTERN | Columbus, Ohio |
| Thurs., Nov. 23 | GONZAGA | Portland, Ore. |
| Fri., Nov. 24 | FLORIDA/STANFORD | Portland, Ore. |
| Sun., Nov. 26 | TBA | Portland, Ore. |
| Wed., Nov. 29 | CLEMSON | Columbus, Ohio |
| Sat., Dec. 9 | WILLIAM and MARY | Columbus, Ohio |
| Sat., Dec. 16 | APPALACHIAN STATE | Columbus, Ohio |
| Tues., Dec. 19 | THE CITADEL | Columbus, Ohio |
| Sat., Dec. 23 | NORTH CAROLINA | New Orleans, La. |
| Sat., Dec. 30 | MIAMI (OHIO) | Columbus, Ohio |
At his introductory press conference, Holtmann said he wanted to play a difficult non-conference schedule. Because he was hired in June and it was so late in the process, Holtmann likely didn't have much influence on this 2017–18 slate. That won't be seen until next season.
“We want to put a really challenging non-conference schedule together. That’s something that I believe in," he said. "There’s probably some risk associated with that but I’m OK with that. We want to play a really challenging non-conference schedule. Our players want that and we want that. We want to test ourselves because we know we’re playing in one of the best conferences in the country and we want to test ourselves for that. That’s the direction I anticipate going.”
While Ohio State does play neutral site games against North Carolina, Gonzaga and either Florida or Stanford, the Buckeyes do not play a single true road game in the nonconference. Additionally, eight of Ohio State's nine home games on the non-conference slate come against mid-major opponents.
