Texas Longhorns to Play Ohio State Buckeyes Next Season

AUSTIN -- The Texas Longhorns will face off against the Ohio State Buckeyes at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas next season, per reports from college basketball insider Jon Rothstein. The non-conference matchup will take place on Monday, Nov. 4.

The Buckeyes found themselves on the NCAA Tournament bubble at the end of the 2023-24 regular season, but then-interim coach Jake Diebler was a driving factor that got Ohio State to that point in the first place. He took over mid-season for Chris Holtmann, who was fired one day after the Buckeyes lost 62-54 to Wisconsin.

Mar 19, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Jake Diebler congratulates guard Roddy Gayle Jr. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

This will mark just the second all-time meeting between Texas and Ohio State.

Diebler and Texas coach Rodney Terry have found themselves on somewhat similar paths the past two seasons, as both took over for fired head coaches before leading their respective teams to success. The Buckeyes fired Holtmann on Feb. 14 before Diebler led Ohio State to a 73-69 win over then-No. 2 Purdue four days later.

Ohio State ended the season with an 8-3 record under Diebler after being 14-11 under Holtmann. The Buckeyes nearly beat Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals and but had to settle for a quarterfinals loss to Georgia in the NIT instead of an impressive late-season run to March Madness.