UConn men’s basketball team will be battle-tested by the time it meets Ohio State in the 2026-27 season, having already faced defending champion Michigan.

And the Buckeyes will come into the game having played Youngstown State and Marshall, two teams that they have played to an 8-0 combined record.

UConn and Ohio State announced Wednesday that their previously announced home-and-home series will begin on Nov. 13 in Connecticut, with UConn traveling to Columbus, Ohio, for a Nov. 12, 2027, clash.

Ohio State holds a 4-3 all-time record against UConn, most recently meeting in the 2016-2017 season.

The Huskies arguably have the hardest nonconference schedule in the league, with the likes of Michigan, Duke and Illinois – the three teams that joined them in the Final Four last April.

And on the Huskies’ menu of nonconference games, the Buckeyes are merely an appetizer.

Ohio State finished last season with a 21-13 (12-8 Big Ten) record. A No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Buckeyes lost to No. 9 TCU in the first round, 66-64. It was their first tournament berth since 2023.

The Buckeyes will be led by starters John Mobley Jr. and Amare Bynum in the upcoming season, anchoring a team for head coach Jake Diebler that includes eight new players.

Mobley, a 6-foot-2 junior guard, is a sharpshooter who averaged 15.7 points and 2.8 assists per game last season. He also shot 41.4 % percent from 3-point range. He was third in the Big Ten in both 3-pointers made per game and 3-point percentage.

The 6-8 Bynum averaged 9.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. His 37 dunks led the team.

Among the new faces is that of Justin Pippen, a 6-4 guard who will be playing for his third team in three years, following stops at Cal and Michigan. His father is Basketball Hall of Fame member Scottie Pippen, a Chicago Bulls legend.

UConn head coach Dan Hurley wants to play the toughest nonconference schedule imaginable to prepare his team for March.

It doesn’t appear Diebler is at that level yet.

This season, before the Big East conference schedule gets in gear, the Huskies will face the aforementioned teams, plus Kansas and Arizona.

The Buckeyes nonconference schedule is made up of UConn, plus Power 4 programs BYU, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame and Kansas.

Their remaining non-Big Ten opponents, following Youngstown State and Marshall, are Prairie View A&M, UMBC, Lipscomb and Stony Brook.

Will that slate be strong enough to prepare them for the grueling Big Ten schedule to come?