Pitt Announces Non-Conference Game with Ohio State

As the Pitt men’s basketball team comes close to finalizing their roster, the next step is putting together the all-important non-conference schedule.

Although it wasn’t able to be used as a factor in becoming an at-large NCAA tournament team, Jeff Capel and Pitt made a concerted effort to improve their non-conference opponents.

This morning, the Pitt athletic department officially announced their first non-conference opponent for the 2025-26 season.

The Ohio State Buckeyes will travel to the Petersen Events Center on November 28th to take on Pitt. This will be Ohio State’s first trip to Pittsburgh since 2002.

Last season, these two teams squared off as Pitt came away with a 91-90 overtime win as Zack Austin hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Ohio State leads the all-time series 15-12 but Pitt has won the past 3 matchups.

The Buckeyes finished the 2024-25 season with a record of 17-15 and 9-11 in the Big 10 Conference and didn’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

Ohio State’s top three returning players will be Bruce Thornton, Devin Royal and John Mobley Jr. As a junior, Thornton led Ohio State in scoring with 17.7 points per game, 3-point shooting (42.4%) and assists per game (4.6). Royal led the team in rebounding (6.9) and was second in scoring with 13.7 points per game. Mobley, a freshman, shot 38.5% from 3-point-range and had six games of 20-plus points, finishing the season averaging 13.0 points per game.

Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler also added Santa Clara center Christopher Tilly, Wright State forward Brandon Noel and Indiana guard Gabe Cupps through the transfer portal.