Ohio State updates status of three players for Tuesday night game

Ohio State is taking a break from Big Ten play to take on Horizon League foe IUPUI on Tuesday. The Buckeyes will be shorthanded, though.

Meechie Johnson, Justice Sueing and Seth Towns are all out for the game, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. Johnson has a face injury, Sueing is dealing with an abdominal injury and Towns hurt his back.

Johnson has appeared in 13 games this year, including one start. He’s averaging 6.6 points per game and shooting 40% from three-point territory. After missing Ohio State’s last two games, Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann recently said Johnson is “taking steps forward” toward a return.

Sueing averaged 10.7 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game last season, but this year has been a different story. In two games, he’s averaging six points and 3.5 boards per contest so far.

Towns hasn’t played this season.

No. 18 Ohio State is 11-4 overall this year and 5-2 in Big Ten action. The Buckeyes are coming off a 61-56 victory over Penn State on Sunday and get a little break from conference play Tuesday night.

IUPUI — Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis — is having a rough go this season. The Jaguars are 1-14 overall and 0-6 so far in Horizon League play.

Tipoff between Ohio State and IUPUI is coming up Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network.

Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann provides timetable on return of Meechie Johnson

Ohio State point guard Meechie Johnson has missed the last two games with an injury. Johnson missed Thursday’s loss against Wisconsin and Sunday’s victory over Penn State.

On Monday, Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann updated the status of Johnson, saying that he is “taking steps forward,” via Rivals’ Colin Gay. Johnson got hit in the face by an inadvertent elbow.

Once Johnson is able to return for Ohio State, he might be wearing a protective mask on his face.

“I’m sure he’ll have fun unveiling that,” Holtmann said via Gay.

Gay added that Johnson is currently not cleared for any physical activity.

In the 13 games that Johnson has played this season, he has mostly come off of Ohio State’s bench. On the year, Johnson is averaging 19.7 minutes, 6.6 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists. He is shooting 36.8 percent from the field, 40 percent from three point range, and 71.4 percent from the free throw line.

Johnson is a former four-star recruit, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He held offers from Michigan State, Xavier, Indiana, and Wisconsin prior to choosing Ohio State.

As a freshman last season, Johnson played in 17 games, averaging 1.2 points per game.