The Ohio State men's hoops season is still more than four months away, but it's safe to start getting excited about the Buckeyes' non-conference schedule.
Although most matchups had previously been reported, the scarlet and gray program officially announced its upcoming out-of-league slate in a release on Tuesday.
Mark your calendars!
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) June 20, 2023
Our 2023-24 Non-Conference schedule is officially set.
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Ohio State opens the season with a Nov. 6 clash against Oakland at the Schottenstein Center, with subsequent home contests to follow versus Texas A&M (Nov. 10), Merrimack (Nov. 15) and Western Michigan (Nov. 19).
The Buckeyes will then travel to Niceville, Florida, to partake in the Emerald Coast Classic, where Ohio State will take on Alabama on Nov. 24 and either Oregon or Santa Clara the following day. After that, Ohio State returns home to host Central Michigan on Nov. 30 before its first Big Ten matchup during the following weekend.
Ohio State also has Miami (Ohio) on the schedule, but a final date won't be announced until the Buckeyes know when their first conference contest will take place. The Miami matchup will either tip off on Dec. 5 or 6.
The Buckeyes are set to participate in the CBS Sports Classic once again in 2023 as part of a field that includes Kentucky, North Carolina and UCLA on Dec. 16. A location for the event and official opponent for Ohio State are yet to be locked in, but the Bruins are rumored to be the most likely adversary for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State's final two non-conference matchups include a Dec. 21 game against New Orleans in Columbus and a Dec. 30 meeting with West Virginia in Cleveland.
“This is the best and most challenging overall schedule we have put together in a few years,” said Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann in the release. “We have a preseason top 15 opponent coming to the Schottenstein Center in the early part of the year, a couple of preseason top 25 teams away from home and several good regional mid-major programs in the nonconference."
