With the start of college basketball season on the horizon, we’ll look at the conference at large and Indiana’s roster over the next month.
Today, our team previews continue with Ohio State.
Previously: Northwestern, Nebraska, Penn State, Maryland, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin
Aside from the 2019-20 season, which was cut short due to COVID-19, Ohio State’s Chris Holtmann has led the Buckeyes to the NCAA tournament every year since he was hired in 2017.
Not only has Ohio State competed at the top in the Big Ten under Holtmann, but the Buckeyes have also finished in the top 20 in the nation three times. Despite this, Ohio State hasn’t punched a ticket to the Sweet Sixteen since 2013.
Last season, Ohio State was poised for another big year with the return of EJ Liddell — but it ended ugly. The Buckeyes lost five of their last seven, including losses to Nebraska and Maryland, as well as Penn State in the Big Ten tournament. Even though the Buckeyes made the NCAA tournament, it was an underwhelming end to the season.
Entering the 2022-23 season, Ohio State is without four of its five starters from last season. Liddell’s and Malaki Branham’s departures to the NBA are most notable. Liddell — an All-American who was a second round NBA draft pick — averaged 19 points and eight rebounds last year.
Branham was named Big Ten freshman of the year last season after averaging nearly 14 points per game. Branham had eight games where he scored over 20 points, all against conference opponents. Now, after losing his top two scorers, Chris Holtmann had to surrender to the inevitable: high roster turnover.
6-foot-8, 255-pound big man Zed Key is the lone starter who returns and will give the Buckeyes a reliable low post scorer. Without having to share the post with Liddell, Key will see a lot of opportunities open up from him. The junior averaged eight points and six boards last season.
A big question mark is 6-foot-6 forward Justice Sueing, who enters his sixth college basketball season. Sueing only played in two games last year before suffering a season-ending abdominal injury. But the year prior, Sueing started all 31 games, averaged over 10 points and led the team in steals. Sueing was a huge loss last year, but with Branham gone, he might be an even bigger addition this season if he can stay on the court.
With the transfer portal basically becoming the Fourth of July weekend of NBA free agency, Ohio State won’t have to rebuild…