Ohio Supreme Court keeps two dozen college basketball players eligible days before the season

The Ohio Supreme Court filed an order Thursday that keeps about two dozen college basketball players eligible to play this season, with games starting next week.

The order keeps in place the court's ruling from earlier this month, when it stayed a lower-court decision that would have made the players ineligible, the Associated Press reported. Xavier's Filip Borovicanin is the lead plaintiff against the NCAA, and Xavier opens its season Monday. Gonzaga's Javon Bennett, Cincinnati's MJ Collins and Auburn's Kolby King are also in the case.

The players' court filing earlier this month described them as 23 Division I players who graduated high school in 2022 and are asking for a fifth season. They argued the 2026-27 season is the last one they can play, and that without court action "the calendar will decide this case." Their motion said the relief would require no school to roster, pay or play any of them.

The NCAA's legal office sent members a memo late Thursday saying it was "deeply disappointed," according to the AP.

"Every minute played by an ineligible player is an opportunity deprived to an eligible student-athlete, sometimes in the pinnacle events of a season," the memo said. "And it provides a significant competitive advantage to schools rostering experienced players who exhausted their eligibility."

The fight comes from a rule the NCAA passed this year. It moved to five seasons of eligibility but left out the high school class of 2022, which set off dozens of lawsuits around the country. In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine issued an executive order this month granting 2022 graduates in the state a fifth year. The NCAA responded by suing DeWine in federal court, arguing the order made it "impossible for all schools to compete on a level playing field."

For now, Borovicanin, Bennett, Collins, King and the rest can play when their teams open next week. The NCAA's memo shows it still views them as players who have used up their eligibility, and the case is one of dozens still in court.