Ohio State opens 126th basketball season Monday
Ohio State opens its 126th season of men’s basketball on Monday, Nov. 4, as the Buckeyes will play No. 19 Texas in the Hall of Fame Series event in Las Vegas, Nev.
Tip-off is set for 10 p.m. ET from T-Mobile Arena, and the game will be televised on TNT. The all-star crew of Spero Dedes, Grant Hill, Candace Parker and Taylor Rooks will call the action.
This is the earliest Ohio State has started a season in terms of date.
The matchup with No. 19 Texas marks just the third time that Ohio State has opened a season against a ranked team. The Buckeyes lost their previous two times, falling on the road at No. 12 Utah State on Dec. 1, 1970 and then lost to No. 15 Oklahoma on Nov. 25, 1988 in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.
Ohio State and Texas are meeting for just the second time on the hardwood. The Buckeyes won 71-65 on March 17, 1986 in the second round of the NIT in Columbus.
This is Ohio State’s fourth game in Las Vegas. The Buckeyes are 2-1 all-time with a win over Georgetown in 1990 in the Dual in the Desert and a win over Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic in 2019. The lone loss also came in the CBS Sports Classic to UCLA in 2016.
Ohio State welcomes in nine newcomers to pair with seven returners and just two returning starters from last year’s team that finished 22-14 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT.
Head coach Jake Diebler begins his first full season as head coach. He was the interim coach and later named the head coach at the end of last season and led the team to an 8-3 record down the stretch.
Of the nine newcomers, five are transfers, including Meechie Johnson Jr., who is returning to Ohio State to finish his career where it started. Aaron Bradshaw from Kentucky and Sean Stewart from Duke are both sophomores who were highly rated out of high school and have an opportunity to show their skills with the Buckeyes.
Micah Parrish (SDSU) and Ques Glover (Kansas State) are both in their fifth years and bring a wealth of experience and veteran leadership. Parrish played in the national championship in 2023 with San Diego State.
Freshman Colin White is the reigning Mr. Basketball in the state of Ohio, while John Mobley Jr. was considered one of the top shooters in the 2024 class.
Texas is coming off a 21-13 season that saw the Longhorns reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Tre Johnson and Tramon Mark were both named to the preseason All-SEC Team.
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