Ohio State Reportedly Agrees To Nonconference Game With Virginia On Valentine’s Day 2026

Ohio State has added a late nonconference game to its 2025-26 schedule, as CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander reported on Monday that the Buckeyes have agreed to match up with Virginia on Valentine’s Day. The game, which will be organized by the sporting goods company Intersport, will be played at a neutral site, with Nashville being suggested as a possible destination. 

Ohio State’s matchup with the Cavaliers offers college basketball fans with a unique nonconference game in the middle of the season, something that has not been consistently done since the days of the midseason inter-conference challenges. The Buckeyes have not played a nonconference game after New Year’s Day since the 2009-10 season, when they squared off with West Virginia at the WVU Coliseum on Jan. 23, 2010 (L 71-65). Their last nonconference game in February occurred on Feb. 17, 2001 they traveled to Alabama (L, 85-67). 

Ohio State will play Virginia for just the seventh time in program history, with the series currently knotted up at 3-all. Virginia won the last meeting on Nov. 30, 2016, when they handed the Buckeyes a 63-61 loss in Charlottesville, Va. 

Virginia will be led next season by first-year head coach Ryan Odom, who the program snagged from VCU after he led the Rams to a 52-21 record and an Atlantic-10 regular season and tournament championship (both in 2024-25) in his two seasons as head coach. The Cavaliers, who went 15-17 and 8-12 with interim head coach Ron Sanchez leading the program after longtime head coach Tony Bennett abruptly retired last October, welcome 10 newcomers to the team this season, including guards Malik Thomas (San Francisco) and Dallin Hall (BYU).