Aaron Bradshaw update: Ohio State learns status of key forward vs. UCLA

Ohio State forward Aaron Bradshaw will not play against UCLA on Sunday, per Jon Rothstein. Bradshaw is reportedly battling an illness.

Bradshaw also didn’t play in Ohio State’s 70-49 loss to Northwestern on Thursday. Bradshaw’s absence on the court was obvious for the Buckeyes, who gave up 13 offensive rebounds to Northwestern and shot just 32.7% from the field.

Aaron Bradshaw is averaging 6.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game this season while shooting 51.1% from the floor. He was pivotal in OSU’s win over Washington on Feb. 12, when he tallied 12 points on perfect shooting.

Although they’ll be without Bradshaw on Sunday, the Buckeyes desperately need a win. Ohio State has lost three of its last four games and is currently 7-9 in conference play.

The Buckeyes were in the NCAA Tournament in most analysts projections last week but after their blowout loss against Northwestern, they’re clinging onto the March Madness bubble.

A win over the Bruins would do wonders for the Buckeyes’ NCAA Tournament résumé. Ohio State is 5-8 in Quad 1 matchups this season. If the Buckeyes could upset UCLA, they’d be one step closer to being .500 in Quad 1 showdowns.

Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler certainly won’t accept Bradshaw’s absence as an excuse if his team fails to perform. He made that much clear after the Buckeyes’ loss against Northwestern.

“We were healthy enough,” Diebler said after the loss on Thursday. “You step between the lines, there’s an expectation to perform at the standard that’s in this program. The illness is real, and we’re fighting it. We’re doing everything we can to try to protect the guys who are out there to be their best. I don’t think you can expect to be 100% this time of year.

“Maybe we were feeling that a little bit too much, but that’s no excuse. You step between the lines, you perform to the standard. That’s the expectation in this program.”

Ohio State’s 49 points against Northwestern are the least it’s scored in a game this season. At 3:45 p.m. ET on Sunday, the Buckeyes will have a chance to redeem themselves and Jake Diebler expects his team to take advantage of the opportunity.

“This is not an acceptable way to play this game,” Diebler said. “I think there were stretches where we were playing hard but the way we were letting our offense affect our defense felt almost like a new, young team, which we haven’t been. You’d expect something like that to happen in the beginning of the season. That can’t happen again, clearly.”