​Ohio State Buckeyes guard Jaloni Cambridge (22) celebrates during the first round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament against the Howard Bison at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus on March 21, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co As summer comes to a close, the college basketball season looms over the changing of the seasons. The last time Ohio State women’s basketball stood on the court for a competitive game of basketball, the Buckeyes sat on the wrong side of the scoreline at the sound of the final buzzer. A third season in a row where head coach Kevin McGuff’s side fizzled out in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, all at home. While there are six months until the Buckeyes have a chance at moving past its recently constructed postseason wall, on Wednesday the Big Ten and Ohio State announced the road the side will take to get there with the release of the 2026-27 regular season schedule.After two seasons of less than stacked non-conference schedules, McGuff’s chosen slate of games shows that Ohio State is looking for a challenge. In the 31-game schedule, the Buckeyes face four power conference schools, and two inside the Schottenstein Center.Ohio State’s season begins with the first of three mid-major matchups when the University of Illinois-Chicago travels to Columbus for the season tipoff on Monday, November 2. Then, 10 days later, comes arguably the toughest matchup of the non-conference season when Sarah Strong and the UConn Huskies finish the home-and-home series against the Buckeyes, this time in Central Ohio. Last season, in Ohio State’s third game of the year, the Huskies humbled the young Scarlet and Gray side to the tune of a 100-68 victory. While guard Azzi Fudd is no longer on the roster, now playing with the Dallas Wings of the WNBA, Strong had a then career-high 29 points alongside 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks in the lopsided victory.Less than a week later, Ohio State welcomes the Ole Miss Rebels of the SEC on Wednesday, Nov. 18. With former Ohio State forward Cotie McMahon on the Rebels for the 25-26 season, Ole Miss went 24-12 with a second round exit of their own. While McMahon is now making a name for herself with the Washington Mystics of the WNBA, Ole Miss’ rise in the last five years is due in part to head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s ability to attract talent in the transfer portal. Each season, Coach Phee’s Rebels bring her strong defensive focus to the top level of college basketball. Ole Miss is on a five-year run of making the NCAA Tournament, the program’s second-longest streak in program history. It comes after 14 years without any March Madness games to their name.Not all of the Buckeyes’ biggest non-conference games are at home. On Nov. 22, Ohio State takes on the Texas Longhorns for the first time since the 2022 Sweet Sixteen, where the Longhorns defeated the Buckeyes to end their surprise comeback season. That is part of a doubleheader where TCU and