Rodney Terry and No. 19 Texas Basketball will open their season tonight in Las Vegas against the Ohio State Buckeyes at T-Mobile Arena . The game, being billed as the Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas Opening Night, will serve as the first meeting between the two teams since 1986. The Buckeyes got the better of the Longhorns in the lone previous matchup, 71-65 in Columbus.
Texas traditionally plays great basketball in season openers, with wins in 21 of their 22 last season-opening games. Tonight’s matchup will be the first neutral-site season opener since 2015 when Washington defeated the ‘Horns 77-71 in Shanghai. China.
The Longhorns return six players from last season’s roster and will debut six players from the transfer portal along with four freshmen. Heralded shooting guard and true freshman Tre Johnson is expected to start, along with guard Jordan Pope (Oregon State transfer) and forwards Arthur Kaluma (Kansas State transfer) and Kadin Shedrick. Arkansas guard transfer Tramon Mark is battling an ankle injury and if he is unable to start, expect junior Chendall Weaver to get the nod.
Ohio State returns seven from their 2023-2024 roster, including two starters as well as nine newcomers. The Buckeyes finished last season with a 22-14 record and an appearance in the quarterfinals of the NIT. Jake Diebler will begin his first season as head coach in Columbus after serving as interim coach last year.
Texas finished last season with a 21-13 record and an appearance in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.
The game tips off at 9:00 pm CST and will be televised nationally on TNT and truTV.
