Ohio State women’s basketball announce full non-conference schedule
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The Buckeyes share the start to the season, with only one potentially ranked opponent.

College basketball season is fast approaching and Land-Grant Holy Land is getting you ready with a series of player previews. Before the season starts this fall, check back regularly for more player previews, schedule news, features, and more heading into the 2024-25 Ohio State women’s basketball season.

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It’s been quiet on the non-conference schedule front for Ohio State women’s basketball. Even as the rest of the college basketball world built the excitement with schedule announcements over the summer, the Buckeyes waited until all contracts were final before sharing who its playing outside of conference play.

Monday, Ohio State announced its 11-game non-conference schedule featuring a lot of in-state games, one ranked opponent, and a few off-court storylines.

The Buckeyes start the season on November 5, facing the first of four in-state opponents when the Cleveland State Vikings head to the Schottenstein Center. Of the four Ohio opponents, three take place in Columbus with Bowling Green and Youngstown State traveling to the capital city on Nov. 24 and Dec. 14, respectively.

Both Bowling Green and Youngstown bring a bit of family flair to the matchups. The Penguins of Youngstown feature Haley Thierry, the twin sister of Buckeyes guard/forward Taylor Thierry. Against the Falcons, McGuff will coach against his second oldest daughter Keiryn McGuff, a sophomore with Bowling Green.

Last season, McGuff coached against his oldest daughter Kilyn McGuff, who played for the Belmont Bruins. The Buckeyes travel to Nashville, Tennessee to face Belmont this season too, on Nov. 17, but McGuff transferred to Butler University in the offseason.

The other away game in the non-conference schedule not at a neutral site is Nov. 20 in Athens, Ohio. That’s when the Buckeyes face the Ohio University Bobcats for the third season in a row. Last season, in Columbus, Ohio State defeated Ohio 85-45. In the 2022-23 season, the Buckeyes defeated the Bobcats 86-56 in Athens.

Ohio State plays three neutral site games, the first two at the Daytona Beach Classic. On Thanksgiving, the Buckeyes face Old Dominion at 11 a.m. ET. Then, the next day, coach McGuff faces Utah State and their new head coach Wesley Brooks — McGuff’s former assistant coach.

Overall, the calendar doesn’t offer much in terms of on-court intrigue. Realistically, it should be no surprise if the Buckeyes start their non-conference schedule going 10-0 with Grand Valley State, Ball State, and Charlotte rounding out the rest of this season’s non-conference home games. It’s the last game that grabs attention, and the lone game to already get announced.

The marquee matchup before Big Ten play kicks into full gear is Dec. 20, in San Francisco, California, when the Scarlet and Gray face Stanford. In three previous games against the new ACC side, the Buckeyes are 2-1, last facing Stanford Ohio State announced the game on Aug 5, 2024.

Ohio State and Stanford have five previous games in their histories against each other, with the Buckeyes holding a 3-2 record. However, the official record books don’t include two of the wins, both vacated by Ohio State sanctions, both coming in November of 2017.

Their last game came on Dec. 18, 2019, when Ohio State lost to legendary coach Tara VanDerveer’s side 71-52 in California.

For game times and the full Big Ten schedule, visit the Buckeyes website here.

Last season, the Buckeyes faced three ranked teams in their non-conference schedule in the Tennessee Volunteers, UCLA Bruins, and USC Trojans. While this year’s edition doesn’t have the same level of on-court competition, that might help a younger, less experienced, Buckeyes team than last season.

Plus, both UCLA and USC are in the Big Ten, meaning the conference schedule gets more difficult.

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