In a span of three days, both the Ohio State men’s and women’s basketball teams got a taste of the competition they’ll face after the Big Ten Conference expands this offseason.
Both samples came in the form of UCLA, a program bolting from the Pac-12 to join the ranks of the Big Ten alongside USC, Oregon and Washington starting in the summer of 2024.
From the way both men’s coach Chris Holtmann and women’s coach Kevin McGuff have talked, there’s a lot of excitement around the increase in competition.
“I already think we have the best conference in women’s basketball (now) but there’s going to be no question who’s the best next year,” McGuff said. “It’s going to be tough, but that’s why these kids come to Ohio State, to compete against people like that. We’ll be ready.”
The Buckeye women, ranked 13th in the AP Poll, fell 77-71 against No. 2 UCLA Monday night despite a valiant comeback effort and 30-point performance from star guard Jacy Sheldon.
It’s not the first test from the expansion teams that the squad has faced, either. Ohio State matched up with No. 6 USC to open its season, also falling short in that game, 83-74. UCLA and USC have handed the Ohio State women their only two losses of the season to date.
“Two really good programs with a lot of talent and even more talent coming in,” McGuff said. “They both signed really good recruiting classes as well. They’re going to be great programs in the Big Ten.”
The Ohio State men were able to pull off a tightly contested 67-60 win over the Bruins – unranked, albeit still formidable, on that side of the sport – in their matchup in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday.
As much as the football side of conference expansion has been discussed, a look at the four basketball programs being added for both the men’s and women’s games is enticing. Not only are UCLA and USC both ranked in the top 10 in the women’s AP Poll at the moment, but Washington is No. 23 and undefeated on the year.
There are few men’s programs with the prestige and tradition of UCLA, which has won 11 national championships, more than any other school. Oregon went to the Final Four as recently as 2017 and Washington received votes in the latest AP poll.
“I think our league is positioned as well as any league in the country and I think all those schools bring a different element,” Holtmann said at Big Ten Media Days. "They’re all going to be really exciting places to play for our guys to go and experience playing at some of those venues that are as iconic as they are in college basketball.”
Of course, beyond the increase in competition, other changes will come to the Big Ten as a result of expansion. Scheduling is among the biggest, as the league might have to revamp its conference slate to include more games.
A tougher road through the league could also mean an easier path paved by coaches during the non-conference schedule-making process year-to-year.
“It might,” McGuff said. “We still have to make some decisions as a conference, how many (conference) games we’re going to play, and so forth. But it will obviously be an incredible gauntlet next year with the plethora of great players and great teams.”
Regardless, conference expansion is coming. And experience like that which Ohio State’s basketball outfits gained against UCLA over the past three days will only help prepare them for what’s next.
“They’re all programs that have experienced certainly highs and lows, but you look at a program like UCLA and they’ve had a phenomenal last couple years there with Mick (Cronin) so I think it’s a really good thing for our league,” Holtmann said. “I couldn’t be more excited, I think I speak for most coaches.”
