The West Virginia and Ohio State men’s basketball programs have agreed to a neutral-site matchup on December 30 in Cleveland. The news was first reported by CBS Sports reporter Jon Rothstein before both programs released a statement on the game later on Wednesday.
It will be the 18th all-time matchup between the Mountaineers and Buckeyes, the Buckeyes hold a slight advantage in the series all-time at 9-8. The two teams last met in Cleveland in 2019 at Rocket Mortgage Field House, a 67-59 win for West Virginia. The Mountaineers have won each of the last three meetings between the two programs and eight of the last nine dating back to 1981.
Ohio State’s last win over West Virginia came in 1995, a 77-68 win in Columbus.
This past year, West Virginia is coming off a quality 19-15 overall record but struggled in Big 12 play with a 7-11 record. Nonetheless, they were good enough to earn a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament before losing to the Maryland Terrapins in the first round. The Mountaineers also recently added Syracuse transfer Jesse Edwards via the transfer portal, a major addition to the program. Last season, Edwards averaged 14.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists.
Ohio State, on the other hand, struggled going just 16-19 including 5-15 in conference play, finishing 13th in the Big Ten. Missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. For a program that has missed the tournament just four times since 2005, the Buckeyes will be expected to reload and make a run at the tournament next season.
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