Justice Sueing explains Ohio State's mindset, growth after back-to-back Big Ten Tournament wins

It’s been a fun two days for the Ohio State men’s basketball team, picking up back-to-back upset wins at the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago. And with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament via a conference tourney title the only hope for Ohio State to make it, senior wing Justice Sueing explained the fearlessness that he and his teammates have adopted.

After a miserable middle portion of the season — one where Ohio State lost 14 of 16 games — the Buckeyes have found some late life this year. And while the challenges continue to get tougher, Sueing thinks he and his teammates are more than ready for whatever lies ahead.

“This is the last stretch for me, so I’m going out there, playing for our lives, really. For this entire team. Being a captain, I’m trying to show these young dudes how to get it done, how to stay composed and what not during these really big games. And I’m proud of my freshmen, shout out all of them. They’re playing a really big role in our run right now,” Sueing said on Big Ten Network after Ohio State upset Iowa, 73-69, on Thursday.

The freshmen, indeed, have been a big part of the run for Ohio State. Freshman guard Brice Sensabaugh has been on the radar for any number of college hoops observers since he burst on to the scene early in the season with his scoring. But alongside him, freshman point guard Bruce Thornton has grown immensely.

Against the Hawkeyes on Thursday, Thornton had 17 points, Sensabaugh added 16, and Sueing — a senior and team captain — added 14 of his own. All told, the Ohio State freshmen scored 44 of the 73 points the Buckeyes scored on Thursday.

“Just seeing them develop, man, it’s been crazy,” Sueing said. “Because you’ve been able to see them kind of grow. Through the good, through the bad. And now that we’re here at the Big Ten Tournament, they’ve been able to really step up, play their roles to their best and we’re seeing the results right now.”

Next up for Ohio State as it hopes to continue what might become a magical run is a rematch with Michigan State, a team that beat Ohio State twice this year. The most recent matchup was this past weekend in each teams respective regular season finale.

No matter how things go for the Buckeyes on Friday, it’s a safe bet that Sueing and his teammates will be playing with a similar fearlessness as the past two wins.