Big Ten announces 2020-21 men’s basketball schedule
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Big Ten Conference announced the 2020-21 men's basketball schedule Thursday night.
The Ohio State Buckeyes, ranked No. 23 by the Associated Press, will begin Big Ten play on Wednesday, Dec. 16 at Purdue.
The Buckeyes will play 20 conference games this season. Each school may also play up to seven non-conference games. Ohio State's biggest non-conference games include a road game against Notre Dame on Dec. 8 and a game against North Carolina in Cleveland on Dec. 19.
Fans and family members will not be permitted for 28 days starting Wednesday, Nov. 18.
The Ohio State University Department of Athletics determined that family members of the players and coaching staffs of teams competing this fall will no longer be permitted into any university sporting event.
The decision by the department to not allow any fans aligns with the Columbus Department of Health’s stay at home advisory, which was issued Wednesday. The advisory starts at 6 p.m. Friday and will remain in place for the next 28 days.
The Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament will be played March 10-14 at the United Center in Chicago. The NCAA announced on Monday that the entire men's basketball tournament could be played in Indianapolis to mitigate the risks of COVID-19.
Ohio State men's basketball schedule
- Nov. 25 Illinois State at Ohio State
- Nov. 29 UMass-Lowell at Ohio State
- Dec. 2 Morehead State at Ohio State
- Dec. 5 Alabama A&M at Ohio State
- Dec. 8 Ohio State at Notre Dame
- Dec. 16 Ohio State at Purdue
- Dec. 19 North Carolina versus Ohio State (Cleveland)
- Dec. 23 Rutgers at Ohio State
- Dec. 26 Ohio State at Northwestern
- Dec. 30 Nebraska at Ohio State
- Jan. 3 Ohio State at Minnesota
- Jan. 6 Penn State at Ohio State
- Jan. 9 Ohio State at Rutgers
- Jan. 13 Northwestern at Ohio State
- Jan. 16 Ohio State at Illinois
- Jan. 23 Ohio State at Wisconsin
- Jan. 27 Purdue at Ohio State
- Jan. 31 Michigan State at Ohio State
- Feb. 4 Ohio State at Iowa
- Feb. 8 Ohio State at Maryland
- Feb. 13 Indiana at Ohio State
- Feb. 18 Ohio State at Penn State
- Feb. 21 Michigan at Ohio State
- Feb. 25 Ohio State at Michigan State
- Feb. 28 Iowa at Ohio State
- March 6 Illinois at Ohio State
Ohio State finished the 2019-20 season with a 21-10 record overall and a record of 11-9 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes season ended before the Big Ten Tournament due to the pandemic.
To allow for maximum flexibility in the potential rescheduling of games, this year’s schedule is built with two sets of collapsible byes during the weeks of Jan. 18-21 and Jan. 25-28, and the weeks of Feb. 22-25 and March 1-5.
Big Ten men’s basketball teams will follow the same medical protocols that were developed by the Big Ten Return to Competition Task Force and announced on Sept. 16, 2020. These protocols include daily antigen testing, enhanced cardiac screening and an enhanced data-driven approach when making decisions about practice/competition.