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Rothstein: Notre Dame men's basketball, Ohio State finalizing home-and-home

IMG_7504by:Jack Soble•05/02/25•

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micah shrewsberry-7
Notre Dame head men's basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry. (Mike Miller, Blue & Gold)

Notre Dame men’s basketball and Ohio State are finalizing a home-and-home for the next two seasons, according to CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein.

According to Rothstein, the Irish will visit Columbus, Ohio in 2025 and the Buckeyes will visit South Bend in 2026. Rothstein reported that there is no timetable for an official announcement and the dates are to be determined.

Ohio State was one of the first four teams out of the NCAA Tournament this past season, alongside West Virginia, Indiana and Boise State. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi picked the Buckeyes as a No. 5 seed in is initial 68-team projected field, after they added three transfers in power forward Brandon Noel (Wright State), center Chrisoph Tilly (Santa Clara) and point guard Gabe Cupps (Indiana).

Under head coach Jake Diebler, in his first full season leading the Buckeyes after taking over as interim head coach in February 2024, Ohio State went 17-15 (9-11 Big Ten). The Buckeyes will return leading scorer Bruce Thornton and second-leading scorer Devin Royal, who also led Ohio State in assists and rebounds, respectively.

Also returning the majority of its production is Notre Dame, who brought back Atlantic Coast Conference leading scorer Markus Burton for his junior season. Burton’s return and a talented freshman class led by top-25 prospect Jalen Haralson have the Irish in Lunardi’s “next four out,” despite a 15-18 (8-12 ACC) record in head coach Micah Shrewsberry’s second season.

Notre Dame set out to add two players in the transfer portal: A big man and a combo guard. The Irish secured a commitment from Northern Arizona transfer forward Carson Towt on April 13, checking box No. 1. It is to-be-determined if they check box No. 2 this offseason.

As far as transfers out, Notre Dame lost Tae Davis, its second-leading scorer, and reserve guard J.R. Konieczny. The rest of the roster, which includes three rising sophomores, two rising juniors and one rising senior, will remain intact.

Konieczny’s exit was anticipated. Davis was an extremely valuable defender who got votes for the ACC’s Most Improved Player award, but there was a feeling that his offensive game would be too similar to Haralson’s and negatively affect floor spacing. Retaining Burton was a larger priority.

Towt’s skill set is not without flaws — he’s a career 42 percent free throw shooter, he’s smaller than the Irish would like at 6-foot-8 and he’s never taken a three — but he was the nation’s leading rebounder at Northern Arizona this past season at 12.4 per game. The Irish believe his rebounding will translate and they love his ability to pass out of the post (3.4 assists per game in 2024-25).

Rothstein also reported that Notre Dame will host Evansville on Dec. 13 as part of its non-conference schedule. The rest of its non-conference games are to be determined.

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