How adding USC, UCLA affects Ohio State basketball

The Ohio State basketball program is going to end up playing two new conference foes in 2024. They will have to face USC and UCLA as new members of the Big Ten Conference. A lot has been talked about how the new move affects the football team, but not the basketball team.

In terms of strength of schedule, the Buckeyes should have an easier time making the NCAA Tournament if they beat both of those teams. UCLA is definitely more of a basketball brand than USC is. UCLA is usually good almost every single year, including making the Final Four just last season.

This also means that the Ohio State basketball program will likely start scheduling a little easier when it comes to non-conference matchups. It will be harder to beat two quality teams like USC and UCLA in conference play, so Chris Holtmann will look to get more wins on the schedule.

Ohio State doesn’t have to play either of these opponents until 2024, although the Buckeyes might play UCLA in 2023 in the CBS Sports Classic. Until then Ohio State will likely schedule like they have been the past few seasons, which is pretty hard.

The bottom line is that adding UCLA and USC adds more money to the conference and that helps with facilities and recruiting. This also adds southern California as a recruiting ground for basketball, which has a great basketball scene. That helps the Buckeyes too.

It’s going to be interesting to see future Big Ten matchups against these two programs. I’m fascinated to see how they handle the logistics of travel and things of that nature once conference play does start.