Ohio State will open NCAA Tournament against Iowa State late on Friday

For the second year in a row, the Ohio State Buckeyes are in the NCAA Tournament. On Selection Sunday, it was revealed that the No. 11 Buckeyes will take on the No. 6 Iowa State Cyclones in the first round of the tournament, but they’re gonna have to wait for that tipoff.

The OSU vs. ISU game will be the nightcap from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. The contest is schedule to begin 25 minutes after the conclusion of the No. 3 Houston vs. No. 14 Georgia State game, which is slated to tip at 7:20 p.m. ET/6:20 p.m. ET on Friday.

That will put Ohio State’s start time at roughly 10:15 p.m. ET/9:15 p.m. CT, the second latest projected tipoff of the tournament’s second full day.

The Buckeyes and the Cyclones’ game will be broadcast on TBS, and will feature a broadcast team that includes Brad Nessler, former Purdue and UCLA coach Steve Lavin, and Ohio State legend Jim Jackson at the broadcast table, with Evan Washburn on the sidelines.

Also in the Tulsa pod will be No. 3 Texas Tech, No. 6 Buffalo, No. 14 Northern Kentucky, and the winner of the First Four game between St. John’s and Arizona State. The winner of SJU-ASU becoming another No. 11 seed.

While Buckeye Nation will be looking forward to the action in Tulsa, there will be a ton of basketball in Ohio leading up to the late tip on Friday to keep us occupied until then. In addition to Dayton hosting the First Four as it always does, Columbus’ Nationwide Arena will also be the site for games on Friday.

The Arena District will play host to an incredible group of basketball teams on Friday; No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 7 Cincinnati, No. 8 Utah State, No. 9 Washington, No. 10 Iowa, No. 15 Colgate, and No. 16 Iona.

Check out the schedule for the entire first week of the NCAA Tournament: