Justice Sueing stresses importance of his offensive rebounding

Ohio State pulled off a 72-60 win over Illinois over the weekend and the work done on the glass by a handful of Buckeyes big men, particularly when it comes to offensive rebounding, was paramount.

The Buckeyes held a 40-28 rebounding edge in the contest and even came up with some timely offensive rebounds to help secure the win. Forward Justice Sueing was a major part of that, tallying a double-double with 14 points and 11 boards.

“At that time coach was telling me to impact the game with some O boards, so that’s what I did and I was able to make a couple impactful plays for the team,” Sueing said.

Impactful indeed. Sueing was one of three scorers in double figures for the Buckeyes in the contest, along with Bruce Thornton (20) and Brice Sensabaugh (14).

In addition to the double-double Sueing posted, he also grabbed three offensive rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block.

“I just try to do everything that I can do on the court,” Sueing said. “I feel like my game has an array of things I can do.”

Offensive rebounding helps Buckeyes celebrate big win

Head coach Chris Holtmann could hardly contain his excitement after the win over Illinois. It’s been a tough season for his guys.

“That’s the best thing about it,” Holtmann said. “The best thing about it is seeing those guys smile, seeing them really enjoy, have fun playing today. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy the fun plays that happened in the midst of the game. Like, that’s the best thing about it.”

The offensive rebounding was a huge part of the win.

“Enormous key. They’re the second-best offensive rebounding team in the league,” Holtmann said. “They have guys off the bench who are really committed to offensive rebounding. It was a huge key. Players will tell you, we drilled it home for two days. We had a really physical practice yesterday because of how good they are on the glass. It was an enormous key and they did a good job.”