Ohio State junior guard Duane Washington Jr. (4) screams towards the crowd after the Ohio State-Michigan Big Ten Tournament game on March 13. Ohio State won 68-67. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Coming off the best offensive performance of his career in a loss, Duane Washington Jr. said he and the Buckeyes would see Michigan again.
Not only was Washington right, but he was prepared to make sure history did not repeat itself.
Washington’s 30 points were not enough to top then-No. 3 Michigan in Columbus Feb. 21, and the defeat marked the first of four consecutive losses suffered by Ohio State to close the regular season. However, the junior guard’s 19 second-half points less than a month later in Indianapolis paired with his positive leadership style flipped the script to down the Wolverines and secure a spot in the Big Ten Championship game Sunday.
Although Washington said March is about surviving and advancing, he admitted Saturday’s game meant a little more.
“Everybody knows that we lost to them earlier in the year, it was one of the best college basketball games — if not the best — of the year,” Washington said. “We were really excited for this one and we got the one that ‘mattered,’ and we’re moving on.”
Cultivating a unique view on the rivalry, the Grand Rapids, Michigan, native grew up around people that wanted to embrace the maize and blue instead of referring to the Wolverines as “That Team Up North.”
Despite the pull to remain in his home state, Washington ventured to a place close in proximity but distant in team affiliation.
“Everybody wanted to go to Michigan, Michigan State growing up — where I’m from at least,” Washington said. “That extra little chip in the back of my head, and I’m on the rivals or I’m on the dark side now for the guys back home, but in Columbus, I went to the good side.”
Head coach Chris Holtmann, who has not shied away from critiquing Washington’s decision making throughout his three-year career and joked Washington would “send [him] to an early death,” complimented the guard’s late-game decisions against Purdue.
One day later, Holtmann saw Washington record 24 points, six rebounds and four assists against the Buckeyes’ biggest rival to advance Ohio State into the final day of the conference tournament for the first time in eight years.
“It really does matter to him,” Holtmann said. “We know what it means to our fans and Duane feels that. He knows what this (rivalry) game means to our fans. It’s not football, we understand that, but Duane Washington, he cares about that, and he is as dialed in for these games more than any he plays his entire career.”
Sophomore forward E.J. Liddell, who earned a First Team All-Big Ten nod, called Washington a “primetime player.”
Stressing the importance Washington will play in the team’s success going forward, Liddell said the Michigan native’s consistent energy paid dividends in Saturday’s win.
“Any day I feel like Duane brings the same energy, every single time,” Liddell said. “Today, we needed him big, huge, and he comes out there and produces, and that’s why he’s a big time player.”
Washington’s journey to the eve of a Big Ten Championship game started before the first shot was taken in the 2020-21 season.
In a summer that existed in the aftermath of a lost Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament, Washington decided to alter his mentality.
Washington said he grew up as both a player and person in the offseason that marked his transition to being an upperclassman, and now his impact is felt beyond his ability to score.
“Positive energy manifests greatness and that’s what I abide by, so keeping my guys positive and making sure they’re confident in themselves,” Washington said.
Holtmann said Washington is positive and loose — qualities the fourth-year Ohio State head coach said are especially needed in a season impacted by health protocols.
Recognizing the criticism Washington has received for his offensive play from fans on social media, Holtmann said Washington is focused on the present and not creating a name for himself to those on the outside.
“I hope people realize he’s a heck of a kid and a heck of a player,” Holtmann said. “We’re going to have a huge challenge tomorrow, we’re going to have a huge challenge in our opening NCAA Tournament game, so I think that’s all his focus right now.
