The Buckeyes enter the 2019-20 season with what looks like their most talented roster since Chris Holtmann arrived in Columbus. That's a good thing, because they're also facing their most daunting schedule since his arrival.
Ohio State announced a road trip to North Carolina as part of the 2019 Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Thursday, adding another premier opponent to an already-loaded non-conference slate.
The Buckeyes add the game against North Carolina to a schedule that already features a home matchup with Villanova, a neutral-site game against Kentucky in Las Vegas, a game against West Virginia in Cleveland, and a home matchup with Cincinnati.
And then there's the Big Ten slate.
Ohio State's conference schedule is highlighted by one-off games at Michigan State and Iowa, and home-and-home games against Michigan, Maryland and Wisconsin.
All in all, of the Buckeyes' 25 known games in 2019, six of them include teams currently in ESPN's way-too-early top-10 rankings, 19 come against teams that finished in the KenPom top-50, and all 25 are against teams that finished in the KenPom top-100 last year (H/T Kyle Lamb).
It's a daunting slate, but Ohio State is getting some reinforcements and figures to have one of its most talented rosters in years.
The Buckeyes signed three top-50 commits – four-star point guard D.J. Carton and a pair of four-star forwards in E.J. Liddell and Alonzo Gaffney – as well as three-star seven-footer Ibrahima Diallo, and have Florida State transfer C.J. Walker eligible now eligible.
It's a talented Buckeye team, but they're going to have to earn every win they get.
