Prior to an injury that forced an exit from the game, Ohio State third-year forward Zed Key (23) boxes out Purdue fourth-year center Zach Edey (15). No. 24 Ohio State (10-4) lost to No. 1 Purdue (14-1) 69-71 in Columbus on Jan. 4. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
Prior to Thursday’s matchup against then-No. 1 Purdue, Ohio State outrebounded opponents 40.3-31.6 on a per-game basis, in no small part due to junior forward Zed Key leading the team by pulling in over eight boards per game.
Less than five minutes into the matchup, Key suffered a shoulder sprain that saw him miss the rest of the Purdue matchup and Sunday’s 80-73 loss against Maryland. Since then, the Buckeyes have been outrebounded 78-58, and head coach Chris Holtmann said Key’s presence is missed.
“I think the ability to play through him and him to play with his physicality with his back to the basket, and his rebounding certainly would have helped defensively too,” Holtmann said. “Certainly the offensive and defensive rebounding that I think we missed with him.”
Holtmann said there’s no timetable for Key’s return, aside from making “regular progress.” In Key’s absence, the Buckeyes started freshman center Felix Okpara, who’s seen an increase in minutes being the primary big man.
Since Key’s injury, the Buckeyes have struggled to keep teams off the offensive glass. Ohio State gave up 15 and 11 offensive rebounds to Purdue and Maryland, respectively.
Okpara said he’s adjusting to his new role and believes he needs to play with more “intensity” on both sides of the ball without Key.
“When I come in for Zed I come in to play hard,” Okpara said. “I need to try and get over and chase the rebounds more.”
Holtmann said the team’s focus is improving upon the defense and rebounding, which grows more apparent with Key’s injury status.
“I think there’s been some really good stretches of play,” Holtmann said. “Our numbers have been really good as they’ve been the last couple of years. But our challenge moving forward is to continue to grow in our defense and our rebounding.”
Without their primary big man, the Buckeyes look to their depth to fill the holes Key leaves behind. Over the previous two games, freshman forward and leading scorer Brice Sensabaugh grabbed 12 rebounds, leading the team.
Freshman guard Roddy Gayle Jr. said the team has a new mindset without Key.
“We got to learn from the few games we’ve played and learn how to get better,” Gayle said. “With Zed down, I feel like he’s a big part of our whole game plan. So, we got to figure a way how to be successful without him.”
While Key continues to nurse a shoulder sprain, the Buckeyes look to rely on their depth to provide contributions in his absence. However, Holtmann said he will continue to help his players learn from their mistakes and grow as basketball players.
“I think you try to help kids remember: This is us growing as a group, us moving forward,” Holtmann said. “There’s no reason to get embarrassed. This is the normal process, and I think that’s all part of it.”
