Scarlet Sunrise: Chris Holtmann says 'it was clearly the right decision' for Brice Sensabaugh to sit against Spartans

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Chris Holtmann says ‘it was clearly the right decision’ for Brice Sensabaugh to sit against Spartans

Ohio State star freshman forward Brice Sensabaugh was ruled out ahead of Friday’s Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal matchup against fourth-seeded Michigan State. Sensabaugh — the Buckeyes’ leading scorer (16.3 points per game) and a projected first-round NBA Draft pick — was sidelined with knee soreness. Sensabaugh collided with Iowa guard Tony Perkins in the second round of the league tournament the previous day and didn’t play the final 3:17 of the upset victory over the Hawkeyes.

“Brice, late in the game last night, or yesterday, he said, ‘Hey, Coach, I need to come out,'” Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann recalled postgame Friday. “I thought he was fatigued. Then we took him to the bench, and then we found out his knee was bothering him.”

Holtmann continued: “He was evaluated by our medical staff. They decided, rightly and smartly, to keep him out for the rest of the game. There might have been five minutes to go at that point. Kept him out the rest of the game. Evaluated him last night, our medical staff, evaluated him again this morning. And he’s getting testing done tonight.”

Sensabaugh, notably, missed his entire junior season at Lake Highland Prep in Orlando because of not only COVID-19 cancellations but also a meniscus injury that called for a pair of surgeries. That’s a big reason why Sensabaugh wasn’t as highly touted a recruit as he probably should have been.

Sensabaugh went on to become Florida’s Mr. Basketball as a senior and has a chance to go one-and-done at Ohio State after piling up the fourth-most points by a freshman in Buckeyes history.

Holtmann’s squad found a way to beat the Spartans, 68-58, without Sensabaugh. But Ohio State needs all the firepower it can get Saturday to hang with top-seeded Purdue, which handed the Buckeyes their largest margin of defeat (27 points) this season on Feb. 19.

“We’ll hopefully know more tonight on how significant the injury is,” Holtmann said after his team’s third win in three days. “That’s really all we — we’re just concerned about Brice. He’s obviously got a really bright future. He really wanted to play, as did Zed [Key]. Both those guys would love to be a part of this. It was clearly the right decision for him.

“I told him, I said, if you say, ‘Coach, I’m playing,’ I don’t know if I’d have let you play until we know for sure the extent of the injury,” Holtmann said.

MSU head coach Tom Izzo said postgame that he thought Ohio State played better defensively without Sensabaugh. Izzo made it clear that such a statement wasn’t meant to be a knock on Sensabaugh, who he called “a helluva player.”

Sensabaugh has been a work-in-progress on the defensive end of the floor all season. Where he is missed, however, is in the bucket-getting department. The 6-foot-6, 235-pounder can score at all three levels, and he has 11 games with 20-plus points to show for it.

“Of course we want Brice on the court,” Buckeyes freshman point Bruce Thornton said. “He provides so much spirit with his way of playing and everything.

“Next man stepped up.”

That, they did, and 13th-seeded Ohio State got one step closer to sniffing an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Buckeyes become lowest seed to make Big Ten Tournament semifinals with win over Michigan State

Ohio State became the lowest seed to make the Big Ten Tournament semifinals after defeating MSU Friday. Five other double-digit seeds had won back-to-back games to reach the league tournament quarters, but none of them got further than that. The Buckeyes bucked the trend.

Justice Sueing doubled his season high with four 3-pointers. Bruce Thornton finished with 20-plus points for the third time in the last six games. Fellow freshman guard Roddy Gayle Jr. once again came through in the second half, this time scoring 12 of his season-high 15 points in the final frame.

Plus, freshman center Felix Okpara logged eight points, eight rebounds and five blocks, serving as a major disruptive for the Buckeyes. Okpara’s role went a long way in the Buckeyes holding MSU to just 38.2% shooting and 22 points in the paint.

It was a complete effort from a rejuvenated Ohio State group, which got the best of Tyson Walker, Joey Hauser, A.J. Hoggard and the rest of the Spartans.

For the full game story, go here.

‘On point’ Denzel Burke showing signs of resurgence early in Buckeyes camp

Ohio State cornerback Denzel Burke had an impressive true freshman season. But he dealt with a shoulder injury last year that contributed to his poor start to 2022. And then, perhaps more notably, he suffered a hand injury later in the season that required surgery. 

Burke is aiming for a bounce-back 2023 season. And it appears as if he has put in the work to accomplish that feat.

“I think everybody has seen the offseason,” defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said. “And then [Tuesday], he got his hands on more balls than maybe all of last spring and camp together. So he just seems to be on point.”

For the full story, go here.

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Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Indiana: 175 days

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 259 days

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