Ohio State will continue to play in the annual CBS Sports Classic doubleheader and will get a new opponent next season.
The four-team event, launched in 2014, will now feature the Buckeyes playing alongside North Carolina, Kentucky and Kansas, and Ohio State will face the Jayhawks in the 2026 event. That doubleheader will be played Dec. 19 at Madison Square Garden and will mark the first game between Ohio State and Kansas since the 2012-13 season.
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That top-10 matchup saw No. 9 Kansas beat No. 7 Ohio State 74-66 at the Jerome Schottenstein Center, concluding a home-and-home series that sandwiched a 2012 Final Four appearance. Kansas won all three games.
The Jayhawks replace UCLA which, along with Ohio State, North Carolina and Kentucky, had been part of the inaugural field. The Bruins did not participate in the 2025 event, which was played at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, and were replaced by St. John’s.
Ohio State Buckeyes guard Aaron Craft (4) slips by Kansas Jayhawks forward Justin Wesley (4) for two in the first half of their NCAA men’s basketball game at the Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, December 10, 2011. (Dispatch photo by Neal C. Lauron)
The CBS Sports Classic has extended to 2029, with future locations still to be determined. The Buckeyes will play Kentucky on Dec. 18, 2027, North Carolina on Dec. 16, 2028 and Kansas again Dec. 15, 2029.
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Ohio State is 6-5 all-time in the event after a 71-70 loss to No. 12 North Carolina this season.
Ohio State men’s basketball beat writer Adam Jardy can be reached at ajardy@dispatch.com, on Bluesky at @cdadamjardy.bsky.social or on Twitter at @AdamJardy.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State will face Kansas as part of new CBS Sports Classic field
