Kyle Young exits game for Ohio State after scary head collision

Just as the Ohio State Buckeyes began surging in the second half, senior Kyle Young ended up back on the bench. He caught a stray elbow from a Villanova Wildcat and out of an abundance of caution, the veteran forward left the court. Young only recently recovered from a concussion. Sideline reporter Dana Jacobson shared that he won’t return to the game as he undergoes further evaluation.

The Buckeyes have brought the game back within six points thanks to sharp-shooting from Malaki Branham, but Young exiting could impact the comeback effort.

“It’s been three concussions in the last year and when I talked to the Ohio State staff earlier this week, they said it’s been really difficult for him to come back because of the concussion symptoms,” sideline reporter Dana Jacobson shared. “There’s no timeline, he didn’t know when he could come back. We finally saw him back on Friday.”

Young hadn’t contributed for the Buckeyes since March 1 but returned for the round-one game versus Loyola Chicago. He posted nine points in 35 minutes played.

Holtmann reacts to Villanova’s early success versus Buckeyes

Buckeyes head coach Chris Holtmann explained why the Wildcats are finding success early.

“We’ve screwed up a couple switches, give them credit, okay,” Holtmann told the sideline reporter before halftime. “We’ve had a couple errors defensively, screwed up a couple switches. Their defense is frustrating us a little bit down there. We just have to play with a little more poise and aggressiveness down there.”

Villanova senior Collin Gillespie and Ohio State junior E.J. Liddell led all scorers at the half with 12 points apiece. While Ohio State shot 38.5% in the first half, Villanova went 13-25 (52%). They also led the rebound battle with 19 boards to the Buckeyes’ 11.

The winner of Sunday’s matchup will advance to the Sweet 16 to face off against the Michigan Wolverines.