Butler travels to Ohio State for the Bulldogs' third and final exhibition leading into the 2026-27 regular season. Thad Matta will be recognized at halftime of Sunday's exhibition. He retired following the 2025-26 campaign with 502 career victories. His head coaching career included five seasons at Butler (his alma mater), 13 seasons at Ohio State, and three head coaching seasons with whereabouts unknown.
 
Butler Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) at rv/rv Ohio State Buckeyes (0-0, 0-0 B1G)
Sunday, October 25 | 2PM | Exhibition
Schottenstein Center // Columbus, Ohio
TV/Stream: B1G+ • Gabe Eaker, Joey Brunk, Evan Mlachak & Danielle Joseph
Radio/Audio: Fuego 92.7FM, Butler Sports App & ButlerSports.com • @MarkMinner & Nick Gardner (@n_gardner)
 
The Series: Ohio State leads, 31-11
Streak: Butler, W2
First Meeting: Dec. 31, 1924; OSU, 34-25
Last Meeting: Nov. 26, 2017; Butler, 67-66 (OT) - PK80; Portland, Ore.
 
NOT TO BE 'IG-NORED'
• Butler assistant coach Jon Diebler scored 1,536 career points at Ohio State (2007-11), playing for Matta. His 374 career three-pointers are second in Big Ten history (Jon is too humble to mention this, but Iowa's Jordan Bohannon utilized five full seasons -- and part of a sixth -- to break his record).
• Jon's brother, Jake, is currently the head coach at Ohio State.
• Butler and Ohio State last played as part of the PK80 event in 2017 with the Bulldogs taking a 67-66 win in overtime, erasing a 15-point deficit over the final 3:46 of regulation. Kelan Martin led the Bulldogs with 24 points. Chris Holtmann, who had led Butler to the 2017 Sweet 16, was in his first season as the head coach at Ohio State.
• The last time Butler and Ohio State played on campus was Dec. 12, 2009 at Hinkle Fieldhouse with the Bulldogs taking a 74-66 win. Current Butler head coach Ronald Nored had eight points in the contest for the Bulldogs, one better than Diebler's seven-point game for the Buckeyes. The Bulldogs would make the first of back-to-back runs to the national championship game later that season; Ohio State was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament in a 29-8 season that ended in the Sweet 16.
• Butler enters Sunday's exhibition off an 81-74 win over Indiana State, which is coached by Butler alum Matthew Graves.
• The Bulldogs held a 46-20 advantage in points in the paint and out-rebounded the visiting Sycamores, 44-29.  
• Jalen Jackson led Butler with 19 points and seven assists in the exhibition win over Indiana State; he has led the Bulldogs in scoring in both of the team's exhibitions.
• Jackson left the game in the final minutes due to a left leg injury. He is considered day-to-day and is questionable for the Ohio State exhibition.
• Samu Adler has been fully cleared for all practice activities after dealing with a broken finger on his left hand. He did not play in Butler's first two exhibitions and is questionable for the Ohio State match-up.
• In Butler's first exhibition Oct. 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse, visiting Indiana pulled away in the second half, taking a 96-68 exhibition win over the Bulldogs.
• A decisive 24-3 run midway through the second half turned a 54-53 game into a 78-56 Indiana lead with 7:29 remaining in the contest.
• No Butler starter played after the 8:30 mark of the second half.
• Jackson led Butler with 17 points and Jordan Ellerbee added 16 points for the Bulldogs against Indiana.
• Nored was hired in March at his alma mater after spending the last decade on NBA coaching staffs.
• Butler's roster has four players from Indiana, five players from five other states, and a total of six international players from five different countries.
• The Bulldogs return five players from last season's roster, headlined by Drayton Jones and Jackson.
• Butler's 10 newcomers include five NCAA transfers, three international players who have yet to play NCAA basketball, and two domestic freshmen.
• Butler's non-conference regular season schedule includes five power conference opponents: on the road at North Carolina and Boise State, on a neutral court against Nebraska and Georgia Tech, and at home against Pittsburgh.
• Butler's regular season schedule currently includes 10 games against teams in the AP Top 25 or receiving votes in the poll (in addition to exhibition opponents Ohio State and Indiana, who are both receiving votes)
• Butler is 88-6 in their last 94 home games against non-conference teams. 
• Butler will play 20 BIG EAST games, facing all 10 conference opponents both at Hinkle Fieldhouse and on the road.
• Jones was one of two Bulldogs to start all 32 games during the 2025-26 season. He led the team by shooting 59 percent from the field last season.
• Jackson led the Bulldogs to a 5-1 start in 2025-26 before his season was ended due to surgery on his left ankle.
• Asim Djulovic starred for Mega Superbet in the AdmiralBet ABA and KLS leagues in his native Serbia. He averaged 12.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
• Adler led his Salon Vilpas team to the Korisliiga league title in his native Finland, earning Player of the Year honors while also being named Finals MVP. He averaged 16.3 points per game during the season.
• Adler played on the Finland National Team in both Feb./March and July, 2026 in qualifying rounds for the 2027 FIBA World Cup.
• Three of the team's incoming transfers averaged double figures last season: Treyson Anderson at North Dakota State, Jordan Ellerbee at Florida Gulf Coast, and Christian Moore at The Citadel; the other two transfers arrive from power conference programs: Eduardo Klafke (Ole Miss) and Samis Calderon (Kansas).
• Anderson shot 36 percent from three-point range and was third in the Summit League in blocked shots during the 2025-26 campaign at NDSU.
• Ellerbee set the freshman season scoring record at FGCU (446 points), which included a 42-point game against Kennesaw State Nov. 26, 2025.
 
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs will open the 2026-27 regular season at home, hosting Lafayette Monday, Nov. 2 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. That tip is part of a three-game week that also includes a home game against FDU Wednesday, Nov. 4 and a road contest at Boise State Sunday, Nov. 8.