For the first time in the Chris Holtmann era, Ohio State will enter the season as a top-25 team.
The Buckeyes will open the season as the No. 18 team in the Associated Press Top-25 poll, which was released Monday afternoon.
Three other teams in the Big Ten were included in the top 25. No. 1 Michigan State, No. 7 Maryland and No. 23 Purdue made appearances in the ranking. Illinois got 14 votes, and Michigan earned two votes.
Ohio State will play seven games against teams in the preseason top-25 poll:
- Nov. 13: No. 10 Villanova (home)
- Dec. 4: No. 9 North Carolina (road)
- Dec. 21: No. 2 Kentucky (neutral)
- Jan. 7: No. 7 Maryland (home)
- Feb. 15: No. 23 Purdue (home)
- Feb. 23: No. 7 Maryland (road)
- March 8: No. 1 Michigan State (road)
On Sunday, the Buckeyes defeated Louisville, 80-69, in a closed-door exhibition. The Cardinals checked in at No. 5 in the poll.
Ohio State did not appear in the AP top-25 poll until Nov. 19 last season. The prior year, the Buckeyes made their first appearance in the poll on Jan. 15, 2018.
The Buckeyes open the season against Cincinnati at home on Nov. 6. They face Cedarville in an exhibition at the Schottenstein Center on Oct. 30.
| Rank | Team | Conference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan State | Big Ten | 1,619 (60) |
| 2 | Kentucky | SEC | 1,497 (2) |
| 3 | Kansas | Big 12 | 1,457 (3) |
| 4 | Duke | ACC | 1,399 |
| 5 | Louisville | ACC | 1,386 |
| 6 | Florida | SEC | 1,313 |
| 7 | Maryland | Big Ten | 1,134 |
| 8 | Gonzaga | West Coast | 1,096 |
| 9 | North Carolina | ACC | 1,060 |
| 10 | Villanova | Big East | 1,048 |
| 11 | Virginia | ACC | 1,007 |
| 12 | Seton Hall | Big East | 863 |
| 13 | Texas Tech | Big 12 | 837 |
| 14 | Memphis | AAC | 773 |
| 15 | Oregon | Pac-12 | 742 |
| 16 | Baylor | Big 12 | 523 |
| 17 | Utah State | Mountain West | 491 |
| 18 | Ohio State | Big Ten | 407 |
| 19 | Xavier | Big East | 356 |
| 20 | Saint Mary's | West Coast | 330 |
| 21 | Arizona | Pac-12 | 265 |
| 22 | LSU | SEC | 234 |
| 23 | Purdue | Big Ten | 230 |
| 24 | Auburn | SEC | 210 |
| 25 | VCU | Atlantic 10 | 193 |
