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Scarlet Sunrise: Malaki Branham riding five-game scoring surge for Spurs

IMG_7408by:Andy Backstrom•04/04/23•

andybackstrom

Malaki Branham by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Former Ohio State guard Malaki Branham slams home a dunk against the Golden State Warriors for the San Antonio Spurs on March 31. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Good morning, Ohio State fans, and welcome to the Scarlet Sunrise. Football will always be our focus, but every day we’ll cover news, notes and analysis from across Buckeyes sports. Join us each morning to get caught up on everything you missed in the world of Buckeyes football, recruiting, basketball and more in Scarlet Sunrise.

Malaki Branham riding five-game scoring surge for Spurs

Doug McDermott played hero for the San Antonio Spurs Monday night with a combined 22 points in the fourth quarter and overtime of a 142-134 road win over the playoff-bound Sacramento Kings. But the Spurs wouldn’t have gotten there without four other 15-plus-point scorers, including rookie and former Ohio State standout Malaki Branham, who was a one-and-done with the Buckeyes in 2021-22.

Branham has now scored at least 15 points in five straight games for the struggling yet young Spurs. That’s his longest streak of the kind this season.

Branham has averaged 17.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per outing while shooting 49.3% from the field during this span. He’s started his last nine games for the Spurs, and 28 on the season. The Columbus native is posting 9.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists with a 44.2% clip in 2022-23, but he’s really hit his stride down the stretch of the regular season.

Branham — the Buckeyes’ first Big Ten Freshman of the Year since 2014-15 — climbed the draft boards during his lone season with the program before making an early departure from his hometown school. The Spurs selected him with the 20th overall pick in last year’s NBA Draft.

Brice Sensabaugh experienced a similar Ohio State season in 2022-23. Sensabaugh, who at one point led the Buckeyes in scoring 13 straight games and reached the 20-point mark 11 times, might have been the Big Ten Freshman of the Year had the Buckeyes not, uncharacteristically, finished second-to-last in the regular season league table. Sensabaugh logged the fourth-most points of any Ohio State freshman and declared for the draft while preserving his college eligibility in late March. He has the chance to follow Branham’s footsteps as the second straight Buckeyes one-and-done and first-round pick.

Buckeyes finish 2022-23 season 49th in KenPom rankings

Well, the 2022-23 college basketball season officially came to an end last night when UConn defeated San Diego State in the National Championship, capping a wild NCAA Tournament.

It was the first time Ohio State wasn’t in The Dance since 2016-17. The Buckeyes finished the year 16-19, registering their first losing season since 2003-04, the final year of Jim O’Brien’s head coaching tenure.

With the end of the season, comes one last look at the season’s KenPom rankings. Here is the top 10:

  1. UConn
  2. Houston
  3. UCLA
  4. Alabama
  5. Texas
  6. Tennessee
  7. Purdue
  8. Gonzaga
  9. Kansas
  10. Marquette

Three of the Final Four are nowhere to be found there. As valuable of a resource as KenPom is, it can account for the randomness of March Madness. It couldn’t really account for Ohio State’s head scratching season, either. Even though the Buckeyes were only 5-15 in Big Ten play, they are 49th overall in KenPom’s season rankings. A strong four-game run in the Big Ten Tournament helped their cause, but, the truth is, Ohio State befuddled the computers all year long.

The Buckeyes, who started 10-3, registered the third-worst luck rating in the country, according to KenPom. They, at one point, lost 14-of-15 outings, a stretch that featured a pair of five-plus-game skids. The first included four defeats of four points or fewer.

Here is where Ohio State has clocked out in terms of KenPom ranking each of head coach Chris Holtmann’s six seasons:

  1. 2022-23: 49th
  2. 2021-22: 31st
  3. 2020-21: 11th
  4. 2019-20: 8th
  5. 2018-19: 44th
  6. 2017-18: 16th

Storylines to track as Buckeyes enter home stretch of spring practice

Ohio State football is more than halfway through spring ball. The Buckeyes are entering their second-to-last week of practice before the focus shifts to the summer. They’re coming off their annual Student Appreciation Day, which was won by the defense.

Questions still surround Ohio State’s new-look offensive line and, of course, the quarterback competition. Those are both integral to what’s unfolding in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

Lettermen Row has three storylines to follow as the Buckeyes enter their penultimate week of camp.

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Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Indiana: 151 days

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 235 days

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