Ohio State basketball drops 2026-27 non-conference schedule

While football may be just around the corner, basketball never sleeps. Earlier today, Jake Diebler and the Ohio State basketball team released the full 12-game non-conference schedule for the 2026-27 season, and it is no joke.

This is a very strong non-conference for Ohio State. The Buckeyes will play six programs that made the NCAA Tournament last season. Last month, I asked Jake Diebler about his approach to building the non-conference this way.

"First off, I think we wanted to make sure that we were scheduling aggressively so that we were creating opportunities for resume-boosting wins," Diebler said. "The other part is, I think you have to play tough teams in the non-conference to get your squad ready for what's to come in Big Ten play."

"I mean this is the best and deepest league in the country, and if we go into league play and not having tested ourselves multiple times, we're not going to be ready", Diebler added. "We're going to have challenges in the exhibition games, we're going to have challenges in the non-conference, and part of the beginning of October to the beginning of November is getting ready for using these exhibitions to get ready for this challenging non-conference, which should help us get ready for Big Ten play."

It's a tough non-conference schedule, there is no doubt about that. Let's dive into the different matchups and when they are.

It starts out with the two exhibition games: Cincinnati in the CareSource Invitational at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on Wednesday, October 7th, and at home against Butler on Sunday, October 25th. Both of those exhibitions will give Ohio State solid tests in the build-up to the start of the regular season.

The Buckeye basketball team will start the season on Monday, November 2nd, on the road as they meet BYU at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. That matchup presents a big opportunity for both programs to add a significant win to their NCAA Tournament resumes early in the season.

On the court, it'll be a good challenge for Ohio State with a couple of in-game matchups to watch with John Mobley Jr. against BYU star point guard Rob Wright, and a clash between five-stars with Anthony Thompson squaring off with Bruce Branch III.

The home opener for the Scarlet and Gray will be on Friday, November 6th, against Youngstown State, followed by another home game against Marshall on November 9th.

Ohio State will then hit the road again to take on UConn in Storrs on November 13th to start off a home-and-home series with the Huskies. After making the National Championship game this past season, Dan Hurley is expected to have another strong squad. Key returners for UConn are point guard Silas Demary Jr., and you might remember Braylen Mullins after his March heroics last season.

The Buckeyes' first major home game will be on November 24th against Vanderbilt. The Commodores returned point guard Tyler Tanner, who is a potential National Player of the Year candidate entering the season.

Plus, the return game in Ohio State's series with Notre Dame will be on December 12th in South Bend. The Buckeyes will finish their high-major opponents with Kansas on December 19th in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden.

There were five other non-conference games that were not available until now. Those games are Prairie View A&M, UMBC, Lipscomb, Stony Brook, and then Mississippi Valley State will wrap up the slate before conference play.

The non-conference schedule is going to help Ohio State get prepared for the Big Ten like Jake Diebler wants. It also gives some very intriguing matchups that can allow fans to lock in on Buckeye Basketball in November and December, and that's a fun aspect to it all.

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