Eric Boggs
The 2025-26 season will be a pivotal one for Ohio State basketball as Jake Diebler enters his second year at the helm, and now the full path to March is official. With the Big Ten releasing its conference schedule on Thursday, Buckeye fans can circle the dates and start planning for what should be an exciting campaign.
Ohio State will open the season at Value City Arena on November 3 against IU Indy before a challenging nonconference slate that includes Notre Dame at home on November 16 and a road battle at Pitt on November 28. The Buckeyes’ Big Ten schedule begins in December, hosting Illinois on December 9 after a December 6 trip to Northwestern.
One of the highlights of the year comes in January when Ohio State heads west to take on Oregon and Washington on January 8 and 11, respectively. The rivalry with Michigan is always circled in red, and this season the Buckeyes will meet the Wolverines twice: first in Ann Arbor on January 23 and then in Columbus on February 8. Ohio State will also face Penn State twice, on January 26 and March 4, as well as Wisconsin on January 31 and February 17.
The Buckeyes draw a tough single-play slate against some of the league’s top competition, including road trips to Michigan State and Maryland, both of whom finished atop the standings last season. They’ll also travel to Iowa, Oregon, Northwestern, and Washington for one-time matchups. Home-only games include Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue, UCLA, and USC, giving fans plenty of marquee opponents to see in Columbus.
Adding to the anticipation, the Big Ten has expanded its men’s basketball tournament to include all 18 teams after limiting the field to 15 last year when Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington joined the conference. The 2026 tournament, set for March 10-15 at the United Center in Chicago, will introduce a new structure with triple byes for the top four seeds. Seeds 15 through 18 will square off on the opening Tuesday, while seeds 9 through 14 receive a single bye, seeds 5 through 8 a double bye, and the top four wait until the quarterfinals on Friday.
Ohio State’s early exit as the 10 seed in last season’s tournament still stings, but with a full offseason of development under Diebler and a schedule that will test the Buckeyes in every possible way, this season provides an opportunity to take a significant step forward. The women’s Big Ten tournament, meanwhile, will remain at 15 teams and take place March 4-8 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
For Buckeye Nation, the countdown is officially on. The stage is set, the rivalries are marked, and the chance to prove that Diebler’s squad is ready to rise among the Big Ten’s elite awaits.
