How to Watch No. 13 Nebraska Basketball at Ohio State with Preview, Breakdown, TV Channel

In what was heralded as one of the biggest games in the history of Nebraska Men’s Basketball, the 2025-2026 Huskers dipped into their toolbox to win a game in a new style this season, taking down No. 9 Michigan State in a 58-56 slugfest to stay unbeaten at 14-0 with a likely top-ten rating coming on Monday.

The current No. 13 Cornhuskers held the Spartans to only one field goal in the last three minutes of the game, grinding through defensively to hold out for a two-point win. Rienk Mast poured in a game-high 19 points with seven rebounds while Pryce Sandfort (13) and Jamarques Lawrence (12) provided support in double figures. Despite losing the rebounding battle 45-31, but NU forced Michigan State into 19 turnovers compared to eight for the Huskers.

Taking the college basketball world by storm, the red-hot Huskers don’t have time to linger with a road trip to Ohio State and Schottenstein Center on Monday — a venue that saw NU drop a 116-114 double overtime thriller last year in what was the final dagger for their NCAA Tournament hopes.

Here’s all you need to know as Nebraska takes on the Buckeyes in a trap door road game.

How to Follow Along 

• Matchup: No. 13 Nebraska (14-0, 3-0 B1G) at Ohio State (10-3, 2-1 B1G).
• When: Monday, January 5.
• Where: Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio. 
• Time: 5:30 p.m. CST 
• Watch: FS1
• Listen: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

Ohio State Scout

Head Coach

• Jake Diebler | 3rd season at Ohio State & as HC.
• 35-21 (.625) at OSU & Career Record.
• Previous assistant at Ohio State, Vanderbilt, and Valparaiso.

2024-2025 Record & Awards

• 17-15 (9-11 B1G, 10th).
• All-B1G: 1x Second Team.

All-Time Series

• Ohio State leads 22-8.
• March 4, 2025, last matchup, 116-114 (2OT) Ohio State.

Key Returners

• Bruce Thornton | G | Sr. | Named All-Big Ten Second Team last season and has followed up with 20.9 PPG and a team-high 52 assists (4.0 APG) in his senior season.
• Devin Royal | F | Jr. | Returning starter who has put up similar numbers to last season with over 14 points per game while adding 5.5 rebounds.
• John Mobley Jr. | Started 22 of 32 games last year as a true freshman and is matching Royal with over 14 points per game while shooting over 40% from three as the team’s sharpshooter.
• Ivan Njegovan | C | Soph. | 7-foot-2 Croatian averaging over three points and 2.6 rebounds per game off the bench.

Key Departures

• Micah Parrish | G | Graduated | Former two-time transfer from San Diego State and Oakland, who scored 13.3 PPG as a full-time starter in his final collegiate season.
• Meechie Johnson Jr. | G | Graduated | Transfer from South Carolina, who stepped away from basketball after playing in his first 10 games with Ohio State last season.
• Aaron Bradshaw | F | Transfer | Former five-star that transferred to his third career school (Memphis) after starting in five of his 22 appearances last season in Columbus.
• Sean Stewart | F | Transfer | 6-foot-9 starting forward for Ohio State last season (5.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG), but transferred to Oregon over the offseason.
• Ques Glover | G | Graduated | Veteran reserve that added over four points per game.
• Evan Mahaffy | G | Transfer | Transferred down to MAC contender Akron following a junior campaign averaging over three points and rebounds in 32 appearances.

Impact Transfers/Newcomers

• Christoph Tilly | C | Sr. | Seven-foot center transfer from Santa Clara who’s entered the starting lineup to produce 13 points and nearly six rebounds per game in his first 13 contests for OSU.
• Amare Bynum | F | Fr. | Omaha native who played three seasons at Bryan High School before transferring to Link Academy, where he finished as a top 50 recruit in the country.
• Brandon Noel | F | Gr. | Veteran transfer from Wright State who’s played in over 100 college games and is averaging eight points and four rebounds in starting 10 of his first 13 games for OSU.
• Gabe Cupps | G | R-Soph. | Played in parts of two seasons at Indiana before returning to his home state, where he played 14.5 minutes per game as a reserve.

Outlook

Fielding a team in his first full season as Ohio State head coach, Jake Diebler and the Buckeyes fell on the bad side of the NCAA Tournament bubble after going 17-15 and 9-11 in the Big Ten. Despite the disappointment, Diebler kept together a nice collection of talent in three primary starters.

2025 All-Big Ten Second Team pick Bruce Thornton leads OSU as a 20-point-per-game starter as one of the most dynamic guards in the Big Ten. Homegrown recruit Devin Royal has slightly improved his on-court production, adding over 14 points and five rebounds. Sophomore sharpshooter nearly equals those numbers with 14.1 PPG while hitting a team-high 34 three-pointers.

Starting guard Micah Parrish (13.3 PPG) graduated, and Sean Stewart transferred to Oregon as two key departures, but the Buckeyes dipped into the portal for replacements. Appearing in 86 games over three seasons at Santa Clara, seven-foot transfer Christoph Tilly has poured in over 13 points and nearly six rebounds per game. Veteran Brandon Noel (Wright State) puts up eight points and four rebounds, while true freshman and Omaha native Amare Bynum matches him with 8.9 PPG and 4.8 RPG.

Standing at 10-3, the Buckeyes have had many close calls in the first half of the season, sneaking past Notre Dame (64-63), Northwestern (86-82), West Virginia (89-88), and Rutgers (80-73) while losing to Pittsburgh (67-66), No. 13 Illinois (88-80) and No. 12 North Carolina (71-70).

Carrying a dynamic offense at over 85 points per game, the Buckeyes bring plenty of scoring and size that will heavily challenge the Huskers just two days after their rock fight against MSU. I’m riding Nebraska until they lose, but this one gives me worry for its short turnaround and being on the road rather than NU being outmatched in talent.

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