Chris Holtmann shares injury status of Zed Key

Ohio State star forward Zed Key has been dealing with injuries throughout the season, and it appears he re-aggravate his left shoulder sprain Thursday against Northwestern. Buckeyes head coach Chris Holtmann said after the 69-63 loss that his junior big is definitely “sore.”

“He’s a tough kid, and he battled through it,” Holtmann said. “I’m not sure how much it impacted, to be honest with you, but I must give him credit for coming back.”

Key played 27 minutes but scored only eight points in the contest as he went 3 of 5 from the field. He also grabbed 10 rebounds in the game. On the season, Key is averaging 11.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest.

Those are both significant jumps from last season but still leaving some to be desired from the Ohio State coaching staff. After a loss to Illinois last month, Holtmann called on Key and Justice Sueing to provide more impact on the court.

“We just need more from them,” Holtmann said. “Like we need more, and it’s not just about points, we need more effort plays. We need more production from them. They’re too important to what we’re doing and we rely on them too much with how young we are.”

Chris Holtmann not happy with question about Brice Sensabaugh

It has not been a great last few weeks for Holtmann’s Zed Key-led squad, which has now lost 10 of its last 11 games.

In his post-game press conference, one reporter asked Holtmann a question about freshman Brice Sensabaugh, who has been coming off the bench over the last few games. Holtmann was not happy about the question.

“It doesn’t seem plausible that he could lead you in scoring for 12 games in a row and only now be getting the best defenders in the league, so my question is related to the fact that he’s been having offensive success while he’s been at the top of teams scouting reports. And I just wonder if, you put him on the bench at Michigan to keep him out of foul trouble, because I think he fouled out two or three games in a row — and my question in relation to that is, do you fear that you’ve taken him out of the rhythm he was in offensively?” the reporter asked.

Holtmann was short and quick in response.

“If that’s what you’d like to say, then feel free,” Holtmann said.