Ohio State freshman sensation joins rare class following Illinois win

If there were any qualms about who should be Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Ohio State star Malaki Branham might have put them to rest with his performance Thursday against Illinois. He also put himself in elite company in the process.

Branham went off for 31 points to help the Buckeyes defeat the Fighting Illini 86-83 on Thursday night in Champaign. It was his second 30-point game of the year — making him the only power conference freshman to do that this year.

He’s also the fourth freshman in Ohio State program history with multiple 30-point games. The others? D’Angelo Russell, Jared Sullinger and Michael Redd. Those are some good names to be alongside.

Branham is in the midst of an unreal stretch as of late. He’s averaging 22.8 points over his last four games since being held to just six points against Michigan on Feb. 12. In fact, over his last three games, Branham has 80 points on 40 shot attempts. He’s certainly kicked it into gear lately.

Ohio State continues to move up in the Big Ten standings and now sits a half game behind Illinois for third place in the standings. The Buckeyes are 1.5 games behind Purdue and Wisconsin, which are tied for first place — meaning the league race is heating up with the conference tournament just around the corner.

Chris Holtmann responds to Ohio State’s struggles to close out close games

At one point in the second half Thursday night, Ohio State had a 16-point lead over Illinois. But that eventually got down to one point before the Buckeyes pulled away — and Chris Holtmann spoke about his team’s issues closing out games this season.

It’s the second straight game Ohio State gave up a double-digit lead before coming away with a win. The Buckeyes had an 11-point lead against Indiana at home on Feb. 21, but ended up winning in overtime.

After Thursday’s game, Holtmann addresses the issues holding on to big leads. He pointed to another team higher in the rankings to back up his point.

“I keep reminding people, Duke let a lead slip at our place,” Holtmann said, via Eleven Warriors’ Griffin Strom. “Duke’s pretty good. … You can’t ever look at it like, ‘Oh, we’re doomed.’”

Margin of victory aside, Ohio State got a huge win over Illinois in Champaign Thursday night thanks in large part to a 31-point showing from Malaki Branham, who continues to make his case for Big Ten Freshman of the Year.