Ohio State’s 2026-27 season opener is set.
According to a report by The Field of 68’s Rocco Miller, Ohio State will face BYU in its first game next season. The game will be played in Salt Lake City at the Delta Center, the home of the Utah Jazz, with a return game between the Buckeyes and Cougars expected to be played in Ohio in a future season.
NEWS: BYU and Ohio State will meet in the 2026-27 College Basketball season opener on Monday, November 2nd at the Delta Center, per multiple sources.
— Rocco Miller (@RoccoMiller8) April 9, 2026
The game counts as a neutral-site contest with a likely return game coming to Ohio in a future season.#Big12#B1G pic.twitter.com/W3FJLj7as0
The matchup will pit a pair of teams that lost in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. BYU went 23-12 in 2025-26, earning a No. 6 seed in the Big Dance, but fell to No. 11 Texas in its first-round game.
The Cougars will have a very different roster next season than the one that led them to the tournament this past season. Star freshman AJ Dybantsa is expected to enter the 2026 NBA draft as a potential No. 1 overall pick. The Cougars’ No. 2 and No. 4 scorers from this past season, Robert Wright III and Kennard Davis Jr., have both entered the transfer portal. Richie Saunders, BYU’s third-leading scorer this past season, is out of eligibility.
Next year’s season opener will be just the second meeting ever between Ohio State and BYU on the basketball court. BYU won the previous matchup, defeating Ohio State 72-65 on Dec. 30, 1997.
