CLEVELAND 鈥 The West Virginia University men's basketball team, under new head coach Ross Hodge, will be matched up against Ohio State in the Cleveland Hoops Showdown, a college basketball doubleheader聽organized by聽Intersport, a Chicago-based sports marketing and events agency, on Saturday, Dec. 13 at Rocket Arena.
The two storied programs participated in the 2023 Legends of Basketball Showcase at Rocket Arena. The Buckeyes took down the Mountaineers, 78-75, in a dramatic overtime contest.
The Buckeyes own a 10-8 all-time mark over the Mountaineers, with the teams鈥 most recent meeting coming in that 2023 overtime contest, won by the Buckeyes.
West Virginia enters the year under the leadership of Hodge, who in seven seasons as a head coach owns a 192-48 (.800) record. Hodge spent the last eight years at North Texas, including the last two as head coach, and led the program to the NIT semifinals in 2025.
鈥淭his is another exciting early-season matchup that we are looking forward to playing against a really solid team from the Big Ten Conference," Hodge said about the game with the Buckeyes.
"This will be the third time that 性视界传媒 and Ohio State have played in Cleveland since 2019, and I know it鈥檚 a border game that our fans enjoy. It also gives our team the opportunity to play in an NBA arena with the likelihood of playing on national television in December.鈥
The Mountaineers welcome an entirely new roster to Morgantown this year, including two players, Brenen Lorient and Jasper Floyd, who were part of Hodge鈥檚 North Texas roster last year. Lorient earned all-conference honors (first team, American) last season, as did fellow transfers Treysen Eaglestaff (second team, Summit) and Honor Huff (first team, SoCon).
Ohio State boasts a rich basketball tradition that includes 11 Final Four appearances, 20 Big Ten championships and four Big Ten tournament titles.
The Buckeyes are led by head coach Jake Diebler, who is entering his second full season with the program. Diebler's squad is led by All-Big Ten second team member Bruce Thornton, who averaged 17.7 points and 4.6 assists per game last season.
The Buckeyes will also welcome back returning starters Devin Royal and John Mobley Jr., who were second (13.7) and fourth (13.0), respectively, on the team in points per game last year.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited for our program to participate in the game against West Virginia," Diebler said. "We look forward to the stage and atmosphere this game provides and want to continue to reach our fans across our great state and beyond.鈥
Also participating in the four-team event will be Ohio University and St. Bonaventure.
Game times and television designations will be announced at a later date. Tickets for the event are set to go on sale on Oct. 9, with a 24-hour presale confirmed for Oct. 8. Fans are encouraged to register at聽聽to receive email alerts regarding the event and to also be eligible to receive ticket presale access for Oct. 8.
To receive the latest event news, ticket information and more, follow Intersport Basketball on X and Instagram at @IntersportHoops.
