The date and location of the 2024 CBS Sports Classic has reportedly been decided, with Ohio State likely set to face off against Kentucky in late December at one of America’s most recognizable arenas.
According to a report by The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman, the Buckeyes’ CBS Sports Classic bout against the Wildcats will likely take place on Dec. 21 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
This would mark the second time in three years where Ohio State will play a basketball blue blood at “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” as part of the CBS Sports Classic. The Buckeyes also traveled to New York to take on North Carolina in 2022 in an 89-84 overtime loss.
Ohio State is set to participate in the annual early-season basketball showcase — which also features North Carolina and UCLA — for the 10th time in its 11-year existence, with the only time it did not play occurring in 2021 when its matchup with UCLA was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. The Buckeyes own a 5-4 record in the CBS Sports Classic, with their most recent win coming last December against UCLA.
Ohio State is 2-0 against Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic, with its two wins coming in 2015 (74-67 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York) and 2019 (71-65 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas).
The Buckeyes are set to take on a Wildcats team that has experienced some significant program upheaval since the two programs last met. Longtime Kentucky head coach John Calipari left the program to serve in the same role at Arkansas in March, leading the blue blood program to hire former BYU head coach and Kentucky alum Mark Pope, who served as team captain of Kentucky’s 1996 National Championship team.
Pope and the Wildcats have brought in nine transfers after seeing seven players from last year’s squad enter the portal after the coaching change, including current Ohio State center Aaron Bradshaw, who committed to the Buckeyes on April 15 after just one season in Lexington, Kentucky.
The television time for Ohio State’s matchup with Kentucky will be released at a later date.
