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Three Points: Zed Key turns in admirable effort during Rutgers thriller

IMG_7408by:Andy Backstrom•12/09/22•

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Zed Key led the way for No. 25 Ohio State in its Big Ten opener against Rutgers Thursday night with 22 points and 14 rebounds. (Matt Parker/Lettermen Row)

COLUMBUS — Ohio State led by as many as 11 points in the first half of its last-second, 67-66 victory over Rutgers Thursday night. Center Zed Key was the reason why.

Key, who set a new career high with 22 points and matched another with 14 rebounds, starred in the opening frame, during which he put up a 15-8-2 stat line in 16 minutes of action.

There was one sequence, in particular, that stuck out: a 7-2 run orchestrated by Key that staked the Buckeyes to a 31-20 advantage. First he received a bounce pass from guard Sean McNeil and turned for a two-handed slam. Then he teed up his second assist of the night — Key attracted three different Rutgers defenders in the post before pivoting and finding Justice Sueing, who was cutting along the base line, for a basket at the cup. Last, but not least, Key drew a charge from Scarlet Knights center Cliff Omoruyi, which set the stage for a Brice Sensabaugh 3-pointer on the other end.

Of Key’s eight first-half rebounds, six came on the offensive glass. The 6-foot-8, 255-pound junior was everywhere, even on the deck for loose balls.

In the Buckeyes’ previous high-major game, an ACC/Big Ten Challenge loss at Duke, Key didn’t turn it on until the second half. But, on Thursday, he was at full intensity from tip-off.

“I think he was highly engaged in this game,” said head coach Chris Holtmann, who noted earlier this week that Key is a top-five offensive rebounding big in the country when he’s playing hard.

“He knows how good this Rutgers team is. He knows how good their big kid is. So I think that obviously had his attention. But I think he’s been very consistent for us offensively and on the glass. Terrific in those areas.”

An always candid Holtmann conceded that Key still has room to improve when it comes to tying the Buckeyes defense together, especially in pick-and-roll situations. That said, the sixth-year Ohio State coach emphasized that he loves Key’s development.

Tanner Holden was the hero in The Schottenstein Center, drilling the buzzer-beating 3-pointer to kick off Big Ten play, but the Buckeyes wouldn’t have been in that position had it not been for Key.

“My teammates found me in the right spots,” Key said. “They trusted me with the ball, and I was making plays.

“So I’m thankful that my teammates found me in the right positions.”

Bottom line: Just as Key stole the spotlight in the first half, Omoruyi had his way in the second period to the tune of 14 points and four rebounds. And, even before that, the Scarlet Knights pulled themselves back into the game, a matchup that ultimately experienced 12 lead changes and 12 ties. No. 25 Ohio State (7-2, 1-0 Big Ten) needed a missed free throw, a missed call and a miraculous shot to squeak by an upset-minded Rutgers (6-3, 1-1) team that was coming off a win over now-No. 14 Indiana.

A wild final five seconds: the missed free throw, missed call and miraculous shot

So much had to go right for Holden to even get a look at his buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

But let’s wind back the clock before the Wright State transfer was swarmed by his teammates at half court. There were five seconds remaining, and Holden was subbed in after Rutgers guard Caleb McConnell made the first of two free throw attempts. Holtmann explained that Holden is the Buckeyes’ best long passer on inbounds, so he wanted the senior to run their full-action.

Now, of course, that was assuming McConnell, a career 76% free throw shooter, would make both of his shots at the charity stripe. Except, when McConnell missed the second, Holden was no longer pushing the ball up the court. That was the job of Sensabaugh, who pulled down the defensive rebound.

Still, it’s a situation Ohio State has practiced routinely. Sensabaugh flipped the ball to classmate and point guard Bruce Thornton. But, immediately, Thornton was pressured by McConnell, the reigning Big Ten Defender of the Year. McConnell had his hands up because fouling Thornton would have sent the freshman to the free throw line with a chance to tie the game at 66 points apiece.

McConnell used his 6-foot-7 frame to position himself such that Thornton had to tightrope the sideline. He got a pass off to Holden without a whistle, but that doesn’t mean Thornton wasn’t out of bounds. An on-court video from SLAM Magazine shows that Thornton’s right foot barely touched the white line.

Holden also stepped out of bounds before coming back in, catching Thornton’s pass and launching the game-winner. ESPN analyst Jay Bilas pointed out that, after stepping out of bounds, you can’t be the first person to touch the ball.

Here is the rule, as described in the NCAA’s latest rulebook:

Section 3. Player Out of Bounds.

1. A player who steps out of bounds under the player’s own volition and then becomes the first player to touch the ball after returning to the playing court has committed a violation.

a. A violation has not been committed when a player, who steps out of bounds as permitted by Rule 7-4.6.b, does not receive the pass along the end line from a teammate and is the first to touch the ball after returning to the playing court.

b. A player whose momentum causes that player to go out of bounds may be the first to touch the ball inbounds if that player reestablishes one foot inbounds prior to touching the ball.

Regardless, it wasn’t called. Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell wasn’t happy and got the answer he was looking for Friday.

“I spoke to the Big Ten offices, and they acknowledged that mistakes were made,” Pikiell told the Asbury Park Press Friday. “We’re going to move forward to Seton Hall now.”

The Big Ten then released a statement confirming the mistake. The statement focused on Holden’s violation, not Thornton stepping out.

“The action of stepping out of bounds and being the first player to touch the ball after returning inbounds constituted a violation of NCAA Rule 9, Section 3, Article 1,” the statement read. “The play should have been stopped, and the ball ruled dead.

“The officiating crew that was on the court is one of the best in the country but unfortunately missed the call.”

Holden explained postgame he didn’t know he was out of bounds on the play.

“Thankfully, they didn’t call that,” he said before beaming a smile postgame.

“No changing it now.”

It’s Ohio State’s first walk-off, no time left, game-winner since Evan Turner hit one to beat Michigan in the 2010 Big Ten Tournament.

Rutgers caused disruption with different defensive looks

Turnovers haunted Ohio State at Duke last week, where the Buckeyes turned the ball over 16 times against the No. 15 Blue Devils. Giveaways were a problem versus Rutgers as well, and it’s not too surprising considering the circumstances.

Well, first some context: Ohio State’s turnover issues started before the Maui Tournament — in fact, Holtmann’s squad went into the early-season tournament at the bottom of the Big Ten in giveaways per game.

But, regarding the specifics of Thursday’s matchup, it’s important to mention the absence of Oklahoma State grad transfer guard Isaac Likekele, who returned home to Arlington, Texas, midweek to attend to a “family matter.”

That left Holtmann little time to adjust for a game against Rutgers — sixth in both adjusted defensive efficiency and defensive steal percentage, according to KenPom — without one of the Buckeyes’ primary ball handlers. The Scarlet Knights entered the contest first in the Big Ten in turnovers forced per game (18.0).

“We just weren’t as clean as we needed to be with some of those play busts,” Holtmann said. “We tried to simplify it, but even some of our simple things — it was just hard.”

Sueing was tasked with backing up the point, and the sixth-year forward struggled. He was tied for first in usage rate (27.2%) with Key, according to Sports Reference, and he committed a team-high four turnovers. It was a rough game for Sueing on both ends of the floor, as Omoruyi exposed him in the paint at points, and the Honolulu native finished with a team-worst plus/minus of -7.

It was a tough spot for Sueing, who Holtmann said has now had to practice at three positions this season. But, really, it was a tricky situation for the Buckeyes as a whole, given that Rutgers was showing changing defenses. The Scarlet Knights played 2-3 and 1-3-1 zones, both of which morphed into man-to-man. Holtmann assessed that Ohio State did OK against those wrinkles.

The plan was to be aggressive. With that strategy came 14 total turnovers, which Rutgers turned into 14 points.

“I think we turned the ball over a little bit too much in crucial moments,” Key said. “We work on that every day. We’ll definitely get better with that, starting tomorrow.”

Brice Sensabaugh did his thing offensively in first Buckeyes start

With Likekele unavailable, Ohio State had an opening in its starting five for the first time this season. Sensabaugh, who came into Thursday night leading the team with 14.3 points per game, got the nod.

Sensabaugh continued to prove that his four-point, five-foul game at Duke was an outlier with his eighth double-digit outing of the year. Sensabaugh was money from outside. He hit 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc, and he would have had another had Key not been called for an illegal screen late in the second half.

Sensabaugh rounded out the night with a team-best plus/minus of +12, as he arguably played his best defensive game of the season. Now, the bar isn’t very high there — as elite of a scorer as Sensabaugh is, he is a work-in-progress in other areas of his game. But those areas are malleable, and his scoring prowess is enough to showcase his one-and-done potential.

“He’s really hungry to get better,” Holtmann said. “Brice is a tremendous kid. He’s been raised really well. He wants to get better, and he will. He was highly engaged tonight, and we need him.”

Ohio State had two chances to take the lead late: The second was Holden’s buzzer beater, however, the first opportunity didn’t come to fruition. Holtmann drew up a play for Sensabaugh with under 30 seconds left. The thought was that Sensabaugh could get to his left stepback, like E.J. Liddell against Duke last year, Holtmann said.

Instead, Sensabaugh’s right-handed floater was blocked by Omoruyi.

It’s worth noting, though, that Sensabaugh’s number was called in that moment. Ohio State seems to have a different leading scorer just about every game. Finding out who the guy is for late-game situations will be key. Holden made the game-winner, but it looks like Holtmann trusts Sensabaugh to be that go-to option down the stretch.

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