Football season is just around the corner, but here’s a bit of basketball news in the middle of August. Jake Diebler will take his Ohio State Buckeye basketball team to Nashville on February 14, 2026, to face the Virginia Cavaliers in the Nashville Hoops Showdown.
The Buckeyes and Wahoos will meet on the hardwood for just the seventh time in program history. The game will be a rubber match of sorts as each team has won three of the six previous meetings. Ohio State won the first three matchups, which came in 1931, 1932, and 1980. Virginia holds a three-game win streak over the Bucks with victories in 1981, 2015, and 2016. The most recent games were part of the now-defunct ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
The Cavaliers were 15-17 in the 2024-25 season and finished as a middle-of-the-pack ACC team at 8-12 in conference play. Virginia will be led by first-year head coach Ryan Odom, who comes to Charlottesville after spending the past two seasons at VCU.
Tickets for the event will go on sale December 10, with a 24-hour presale set for December 9. Fans interested in the presale opportunity can register now. Make your plans now to see your Buckeyes play in Music City.
The Nashville Hoops Showdown is part of Intersport’s expanding lineup of neutral-site college basketball showcases hosted in destination cities.