Ohio State women’s basketball release 25-26 schedule

At the end of April, the Big Ten announced home and away matchups for all 18 women’s basketball teams. On Thursday, those games received dates on the calendar when the conference released the full Big Ten slate. Ohio State women’s basketball’s schedule features potentially the last chance to see the biggest name, and player, in the conference, a rivalry return to Columbus against the Michigan Wolverines and more.

The marquee matchups of the conference are against teams who joined only last year but already made an impact. Ohio State begins its home conference schedule on December 28 against Lauren Betts and the UCLA Bruins.

Head coach Kevin McGuff’s side lost the last three games against the Bruins across regular season and postseason. It’s the first time Ohio State welcomes UCLA to Columbus since a 77-71 defeat on Dec. 18, 2023, before the Los Angeles, CA side officially joined the conference. The Buckeyes are 2-1 all-time against the Bruins in Columbus.

Across town from the Bruins are the USC Trojans, the other matchup fans hoped to see last season in the Buckeye state. Unfortunately, this season likely still won’t feature JuJu Watkins playing at the Schottenstein Center after the star guard tore her ACL in the NCAA Tournament on March 24, 2025.

Ohio State welcomes Kennedy Smith and No. 1 overall high school recruit Jazzy Davidson to the capital city on Feb. 22, 2026.

In the last home game of the season, three days after the Trojans come to town, the Buckeyes welcome the Michigan Wolverines. Ohio State is 5-1 in the last six games against the Wolverines. The last time the two sides played in Columbus, a 67-51 lopsided win for the Scarlet & Gray locked up the program’s 23-24 Big Ten Regular Season championship.

Instead of facing the Wolverines twice in the regular season, the Big Ten paired up the Buckeyes and Maryland Terrapins for the lone two-game in-conference series. On Jan. 11, Ohio State travels to College Park for the first time since the final day of last season when it took overtime, a late game-winner by the Terps and a middle finger from former Buckeye Cotie McMahon to crown a victor.

The return matchup takes place in Columbus on Feb. 15. The home team won both editions of the rivalry game last season.

Another notable home game includes Jan. 14 when a retooled Penn State tries to recreate their lone Big Ten win last season when the Nittany Lions defeated the Buckeyes 62-59. Now head coach Carolyn Kieger has former Rutgers standout guard Kiyomi McMiller who left the fellow Big Ten school after difficulties between herself and head coach Coquese Washington.

On the road, the Buckeyes head to the west coast for games against the Washington Huskies and Oregon Ducks on Feb. 5 and 8, respectively. Elsewhere on the away schedule is a trip to Iowa City on Jan. 25 to face the Iowa Hawkeyes, a matchup that has created excitement over the past few seasons and even after the departure of former program star Caitlin Clark.

The season ends on the road for the second season in a row, this time in East Lansing, MI against the Michigan State Spartans.

Here is the Ohio State schedule, with times for most matchups still pending (all times EST):

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