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The Ohio State men's basketball program announced their non-conference schedule Monday afternoon.
After a Nov. 9 exhibition against Walsh University, Coach Thad Matta's 11th year in Columbus officially begins with a Nov. 14 home contest against University of Massachusetts-Lowell. The marquee non-conference game played at Value City Arena is set to be a Nov. 18 contest against Marquette, completing a home-and-home series with the Golden Eagles, Ohio State beat Marquette 52-35, Nov. 16, 2013 in Milwaukee.
Between Nov. 23 and Nov. 28 the Buckeyes will take on three opponents in the Buckeye Classic. On Nov.23 Ohio State welcomes Sacred Heart to campus, three days later the Camels of Campbell invade Columbus. Ohio State closes the month of November games with a Nov. 28 visit from James Madison.
After five games at home, the Buckeyes take to the road for the first time on Dec. 2, traveling to Louisville in an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game against the Cardinals. Ohio State will take on the first year Atlantic Coast Conference program with a 6-6 record in past Challenge games, 4-3 all-time against Louisville.
The Buckeye Classic concludes with the Buckeyes taking on Colgate, Dec. 6.
Ohio State is set to face High Point on Dec. 10 and Morehead State on Dec. 13, before staying in Columbus but traveling to Nationwide Arena for a Dec. 17 meeting with North Carolina A&T. Nationwide Arena will host second and third round games of the 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament March 20 and 22 as Ohio State the hosting institute. The NCAA requires a host institute to play a minimum of one game at the site set to host the tournament.
The Buckeye stay away from Value City Arena for their next game, heading out of state on Dec. 20 when the Buckeyes and Tar Heels of North Carolina clash in the CBS Sports Classic, held in Chicago's United Center. What figures to be one of college basketball's top neutral site events, Ohio State and North Carolina will be joined by Kentucky and UCLA in the Windy City, a doubleheader featuring four blue bloods of college basketball.
In-state foes Miami University and Wright State conclude the non-conference schedule with respective trips to Columbus on Dec. 22 and Dec. 27.
The 18-game Big Ten Conference schedule will be released at a later date.