Zed Key expected to play against St. Francis after leaving Duke game late
COLUMBUS — Ohio State five man Zed Key was looked at by trainers in the final minute of Wednesday night’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge loss at No. 17 Duke. Key experienced pain while jostling for an offensive rebound with Blue Devils center Ryan Young.
Key said postgame that he stretched back too far for the ball but noted that the injury was “nothing too serious.”
“Just icing it and getting treatment,” he said.
Ohio State assistant coach Jack Owens met with the media Friday and was asked about Key’s status ahead of Saturday afternoon’s game against St. Francis.
“I think he’s OK. I think it was a little stinger or something like that,” Owens said.
Owens added: “Just one of those things that I believe happened a few weeks ago in practice that he re-aggravated. But I think he’s fine. He would be good to go for tomorrow’s game.”
Key scored a career-high 21 points in the 81-72 defeat at Cameron Indoor Stadium, as the No. 25 Buckeyes dropped to 5-2 on the season.
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Key bounced back after a tough first half where he was overmatched by Duke big Kyle Filipowski and picked up a pair of first-half fouls. Of his 21 points, 17 came in the second period. At one point, Key and fellow Ohio State upperclassman Justice Sueing combined for 16 straight Ohio State points.
Key also finished with eight rebounds. He’s averaging 13.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game this season, both of which are on pace to be career highs.
Ohio State is back in Columbus after four straight games away from The Schottenstein Center. The Buckeyes played three games in the Maui Invitational and then made the trip to Durham for this week’s game against Duke. In that span, Ohio State has played a trio of AP Top 25 teams, going 1-2 in those contests, with its lone win coming against then-No. 21 Texas Tech.
The Buckeyes will face a very different kind of opponent Saturday. St. Francis is coming off back-to-back losses to Patriot League foes Bucknell and American. The Red Flash is 2-6 on the year and No. 330 in the nation, according to KenPom.
